Oakley Council Seeks Grants for Trail, Rodeo, Pickleball Pavilion

The Oakley City Council authorized city staff in mid-March to pursue three separate grants targeting local recreation and event infrastructure: the Mill Race Trail, a rodeo, and a pickleball pavilion.

The Mill Race Trail application, described in council materials as a RAP-REC trail project, is one of three submissions the council greenlit. A second application involves a restaurant-tax grant, though the specific project that funding would support was not fully detailed in available records. The story title identifies the rodeo and pickleball pavilion as the other two projects, though the precise pairing of each grant program to each project requires confirmation from city staff.

The push comes as Summit County has been distributing $1.2 million in sales tax money across 15 recreation projects countywide. The Summit County Council approved a subcommittee's recommendations Nov. 12 to fund 15 projects with $1.2 million in sales tax money. RAP-REC money is reserved for parks or recreational facilities.

The single biggest grant recommended by the 2025 RAP-REC Committee went to Kamas City, which is receiving almost $264,000 to renovate Beaver Creek Park at 100 South and 100 East. The next largest awards were $140,000 for Park City Municipal's new community center and $130,000 for Basin Rec's Mid-Mountain Connector trail near Ecker Hill Middle School.

Other projects funded in that county cycle include Ure Ranch trail design and parking, a Weber-Provo diversion canal trail study, a Bonanza Flat warming hut or yurt, and what KPCW described as "Oakley's growing trail system." Whether that line item is connected to the Mill Race Trail application authorized by the council in mid-March remains unconfirmed.

The 2025 RAP-REC cycle drew 19 applications in total. Two unnamed applications were disqualified for not meeting grant requirements. The council discussed giving North Summit Rec and the fairgrounds extra time to resubmit their applications but did not want to set a precedent for future application cycles.

Grant request amounts, submission deadlines, and expected award dates for Oakley's three applications were not included in available council records. City staff would need to confirm which grant programs each application targets, what local match requirements apply, and when award decisions are expected.