(KLZA)-- Several Southeast Nebraska communities will receive grants from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development under the Civic and Community Center Financing Fund.

These grants support the development of civic, community, and recreation centers. The 2025 CCCFF grants for Capital Construction include the City of Auburn which will receive $562,000 for renovations to the municipal swimming pool and sports courts facility located in Legion Memorial Park.

The Auburn pool was constructed in 1994 and is in need of substantial renovations to improve the operation, safety and accessibility of the pool for the public. Proposed improvement include renovating the pool shell and gutter system; the pool basin, pool deck, waterslide, chemical and filter rooms and the bathhouse.

The sports courts were built in 1984. Recently requests for renovation include building pickleball courts, by converting two existing tennis courts into six pickleball courts and resurfacing the remaining tennis court and two basketball courts along with the installation of LED lighting.

The $37 thousand grant for the Village of Nemaha is for expansion of the existing Nemaha Memorial into the Community Building Memorial Park by converting unused green space between the memorial and the newly constructed Nemaha Community Building into a landscaped community space.

Plans call for a flagpole, sitting wall, paver walkway, stone patio area, six picnic tables and four benches. The site is located on 1st Street which is Highway 67 going through town.

Among the communities to receive Civic and Community Center Financing Funds for planning are Humboldt, The Village of Salem and Tecumseh.

Humboldt will receive $15 thousand for an engineering study to evaluate the conditions of the public swimming pool and assess the renovations necessary to repair the pool and estimate costs of repairs needed.

The Humboldt pool was built in 1951. A new pool house was constructed in 2008, a new pool deck was installed in 2016 and a new circulation system installed in 2018. The pool located in the Lake Park at Humboldt was last open in 2022.

A Humboldt pool committee has held 14 fundraisers with three more scheduled for 2025. The Humboldt Community Foundation holds more than $22,800 raised for the project.

Currently there have been no formal engineering studies of the facility to evaluate the condition or provide any type of cost estimate. The proposed study the grant funds will be used for should provide information required to decide on the feasibility of the facility.

The Village of Salem will use $15 thousand in grant funds to develop engineering and architectural plans and specifications leading to needed renovations to the Salem Community Building.

The building is more than a century old and is becoming unsafe for hosting town gatherings. The roof and exterior brick walls are no longer sealed against water. Water infiltration is damaging the structural integrity of the building.

The highest priority for the building is to stabilize the foundation, truck point and north, east and west walls and replace the roof and seal the building against further water deterioration.

The Community of Tecumseh will use a $15 thousand in CCCFF grant funds to develop a feasibility study concerning the building of a new unified and, multipurpose community building with larger and more efficient space.

Currently the community utilizes the existing community building for recreational purposes including pickleball and youth sports, and hosts community meetings in the cities public works building and library when available.