Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative and LCRA representatives present a $24,238 grant for improvements to the Red Rock Community Center. The grant is part of LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program. From left, J.R. Regalado, Rosanky Christian Academy principal; Josh Coy, Bluebonnet Bastrop-area community representative; Elaine Fawcett, Rosanky Christian Academy teacher; Wesley Brinkmeyer, Bluebonnet manager of community and development services; Rhonda Lock, Rosanky Christian Academy teacher; Matt Arthur, LCRA board member; Haley Muniz, Rosanky Christian Academy teacher; Fisher Reynolds, LCRA chief of staff; State Representative Stan Gerdes, Texas House of Representatives, District 17; Phil Wilson, LCRA general manager; Mike Allen, LCRA board member; Meg Voelter, LCRA board member; Bobby Lewis, LCRA board member; Debbi Goertz, Bluebonnet Board member; Roderick Emanuel, Bluebonnet Board Vice President/Vice Chairman; Samantha Medina, Rosanky Christian Academy marketing and fundraising chair; Nicole Fondulis, Rosanky Christian Academy teacher’s aide; Jeanette Cowan, Rosanky Christian Academy assistant principal and teacher; Tori Rizk, Rosanky Christian Academy teacher’s aide; Annelisa Briggs, Rosanky Christian Academy physical education instructor; Rick Arnic, LCRA regional representative; Sarah Voigt, Rosanky Christian Academy director of enrollment and records; and Daniel Bellamy, Rosanky Christian Academy teacher.

Rosanky Christian Academy will be able to improve its outdoor community playscape and basketball court with new shade, lighting and other upgrades, thanks to a $25,000 grant from Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative and the Lower Colorado River Authority.

The Community Development Partnership Program grant to the Rosanky Baptist Church, along with almost $8,500 in matching funds from the church, will pay for a shade structure over the playscape, new lighting and a water fountain at the basketball pavilion.

“We’ve known for a while that the area around our basketball pavilion and playground needed upgrades, including efficient lighting, appropriate shade and water fountains,” said J.R. Regalado, school principal. “Many times, kids and families stayed away from the playground during the day because it was in direct sunlight. The upgrades will provide some relief from the Texas heat.”

The school grounds and playscape are popular outdoor spaces for the community, and the basketball court is the only one in Rosanky open to the public. It is available after school and on the weekends until 9 p.m., but the lack of lighting has limited its use.

“With the upgrades, our community will have improved access to the playground and pavilion,” Regalado said. “This grant is important because it will provide a safer area that is more accessible for the community.”

"We know being in the midday sun can be dangerous in the summer, so this will let kids have a cooler place to play,” he said. “We also know not everyone can get to a basketball court before dark, and having lights provides a safer and more accessible environment for those who want to play a little ball even after the sun goes down.”

The community grant is one of five grants being awarded by Bluebonnet and LCRA through LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program, which helps volunteer fire departments, local governments, emergency responders and nonprofit organizations fund capital improvement projects in LCRA’s wholesale electric, water and transmission service areas. The program is part of LCRA’s effort to give back to the communities it serves. Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative is one of LCRA’s wholesale electric customers and is a partner in the grant program.

Applications for the next round of grants will be accepted in January. More information available here

An unfenced outdoor play area in Burton soon will get new playground equipment, a fence and a pavilion, thanks to a grant from Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative and the Lower Colorado River Authority.

The $15,000 Community Development Partnership Program grant will enable the St. John’s Church of Christ to complete a group of projects totaling over $100,000 that will upgrade the play area for children on church property, while also providing a welcoming space for adults to gather and hold events.

The space has not been used much lately because it is not fenced and does not provide any shade. The project will add fencing and the new pavilion will provide shade to provide some relief from the Texas heat.

In addition, the project will enable the church to spruce up its current playground equipment, which is geared toward older children, and install new equipment that will be more accessible for younger children.

“The visionary phase for this happened around three years ago,” St. John’s Pastor Darrin Holub said. “It came about because we want to have a place for everyone. This is for people who live in Burton or visit Burton to come together and disconnect from technology.”

The project is important to the community because it will provide a nice, safe and centrally located park with easily accessible parking for visitors, Holub said. The playground will be open to the public seven days a week.

In addition to providing a place for children to play, the space is used for fundraisers, family reunions, Vacation Bible School, 4-H meetings and various celebrations, said Meghan Windham, St. John's UCC playground fundraising chair.

“There is so much excitement around this,” Windham said. “And now with this grant, there is this feeling in the community that this is really going to happen – it’s not just a plan on paper now.”

The project will also include some landscaping, drainage and concrete work.

The community grant is one of six grants being awarded by Bluebonnet and LCRA through LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program, which helps volunteer fire departments, local governments, emergency responders and nonprofit organizations fund capital improvement projects in LCRA’s wholesale electric, water and transmission service areas. The program is part of LCRA’s effort to give back to the communities it serves. Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative is one of LCRA’s wholesale electric customers and is a partner in the grant program.

Applications for the next round of grants will be accepted in July. More information is available at lcra.org/cdpp.