The city of Cape Coral Parks and Recreation Department plans to apply for a grant for the future Gator Circle neighborhood park and is seeking public input on the future park and why it is needed in the northeast section of the city.

There will be an open house and informational meeting on Thursday from 2 to 3 p.m., at the Lake Kennedy Center, 400 Santa Barbara Blvd. Display boards and comment cards will be available.

A $1 million grant is available through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The grant requires a match of $1 million. The open house is required to fulfill the grant requirement.

“It’s going to be the same design that is online. We got a lot of comment initially about the park, but for the grant those comments are not allowed and they need to be more current,” said Keith Locklin, recreation superintendent.

The budget for the park is about $2.6 million, Locklin said.

Gator Circle park, along with the other neighborhood parks that are part of the city’s voter-approved $60 million parks master plan, are expected to be completed by the end of this year.

If awarded, the grant would offset some of the Parks GO Bond funding and could allow the city to reallocate some GO bond funds for additional amenities as part of the Parks GO Bond initiative.

In addition to the meeting, there are other ways for residents to provide input:

* Send an email to the Cape Coral Parks and Recreation Department at ccpks@capecoral.net, and include “Gator Circle Park” in the subject line of the e-mail.

* Comment on the appropriate Facebook or Nextdoor.com post. Residents who have Facebook or Nextdoor.com accounts can comment on the city’s post asking for feedback on the future park.

* Comments must be received by Monday, Jan. 18, to be included in the application package.

“Much of what we have received has been pretty positive. They say we need the park out there, which is absolutely correct because we don’t have anything in the northeast,” Locklin said, adding that he believed most of the comments would be online.

For more information or to view the approved concept plan for Gator Circle Park, visit the Parks GO Bond website www.capecoral.net/GoBond.

For more information, call the Parks and Recreation Department at 573-3128.