Union City council members March 21 approved a measure allowing the city to apply for a $100,000 federal Land and Water Conservation Fund grant to purchase property for a city park.

The council agreed to hire Bron Cleveland Associates, Inc. to develop and submit the grant application. A function of the National Park Service and U.S. Dept. of the Interior, the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) was established in 1964 to assist states in planning, acquisition and development of recreation resources and to finance new federal recreation lands. LWCF grants are funded by Congress through set-asides from crude oil taxes.

Council members were told that while grant amounts vary annually, the current maximum is set at $100,000. If successful, the city would be responsible for contributing one-half of that amount for the park property purchase, based on the conditions of the required 50 percent local match.

Bron Cleveland was hired to develop the pre-application documentation and, if approved, to pursue the full application. The council agreed to pay $3,500 for the pre-application process and another $5,000 fee for the full application paperwork if and when the pre-application is successful.