BULLHEAD CITY – Recreation efforts gained attention Monday when Mohave County supervisors authorized staff to proceed with grant applications to fund improvements at Davis Camp in Bullhead City and at Hualapai Mountain park southeast of Kingman. County staff will apply for a $500,000 Legacy Foundation grant to help design, purchase and install a replacement playground for children at the county park along the Colorado River.

Staff documents reveal that the county intends to apply for other grants that could bring the funding total to $1-million for the playground as well as proposed construction of a splash pad for Davis Camp. Board Chairman Buster Johnson opposed the splash pad, saying it’s too close to the river to protect children from possible contamination.

“The splash pad is designed to be a recirculating, chlorinated system with no standing water,” staff correspondence noted for the action item. Staff said use of a system that activates flow features only when people are present and other design features also aim to conserve water use on site.

Supervisors also approved the staff plan to pursue 3 Arizona State Parks and Trails grants. $50,000 will be requested to maintain existing trails at Hualapai Mountain Park, $10,000 would be used for mapping and designing additional trails and $75,000 is sought for environmental assessment and planning for development of new RV spaces.

Supervisors also approved extension of a sublease of a little more than 2 acres to Custom Ops BMX for competitive racing and general bicycle riding activity in Section 20 in Bullhead City. Contract operator Turnell Henry said racing and other events improved the first three years that he supervised them on the parcel the county leases from the Bureau of Land Management at the southeast corner of Hancock Rd. and Highland Rd., but that success has been less evident and more difficult to measure during the pandemic.

“I want to thank Mr. Henry for doing a really splendid job,’’ said District 2 supervisor Hildy Angius. “It just keeps getting better and better.”

Dave Hawkins