Cosmopolis got a lot closer to building a park for all of its residents with the help of a tech giant.

T-Mobile named the city of Cosmopolis a recipient of its T-Mobile Hometown Grant. Cosmopolis Mayor Kyle Pauley and City Administrator Darrin Raines attended an event Tuesday, Dec. 7, outside the Cosmopolis City Hall building where T-Mobile gave the city a giant check for $50,000.

Raines said the check was much needed.

“What this grant will help us do is achieve our goal of creating an all-inclusive park in the Highlands edition, which is one of our oldest parks in the city. We want to completely redo the park, and create some activities for people of all ages.”

Raines said redoing the park is expensive, because park equipment itself is “extremely expensive.” Unfortunately, Cosmopolis, like so many other cities across the county, has faced the financial ramifications from COVID-19.

But, Rainey said, Cosmopolis’ financial burdens started before COVID-19.

“Our city has gone through some difficult financial times prior to COVID over the last 10 years, from losing our largest employer in the city, and then them coming back not too many years before COVID hit,” he said.

He said Weyerhaeuser Timber Company owned the Cosmopolis Pulp Mill, which closed in 2008. Cosmopolis Specialty Fibers then purchased the mill in 2011, which Raines said has been a great partner to the city. But the company suffered because of COVID-19.

“They had to shut down for about eight months,” Raines said. “We were not only hurt in the economy from COVID, but also losing revenue from the mill.”

Raines said the city was just getting back on its feet when COVID-19 struck. The city was trying to get the park project up and going, he said, but the effects of COVID-19 threw everything out the window.

“We needed some help, not only volunteer-wise,” he said. “But also (to help) create a project that we knew could be beneficial to everybody and to be useful for the next 40 to 50 years.”

T-Mobile’s check comes in at just the right time. Local nonprofit Friends of Highland Park and Parks of Cosmopolis and “Friends” founder Linda Springer spearheaded the effort to bring grant funding to Highland Park, a city of Cosmopolis news release states.

“I am so excited and want to thank T-Mobile for selecting us as a recipient of the T-Mobile Hometown Grant,” Springer said in the release. “It has been a long-time goal and vision of mine, now coming to fruition because of T-Mobile, to make Highland Park an inclusive community park for all and for generations to come.”

The city of Cosmopolis was one of 25 small and rural towns across the country selected to receive a T-Mobile Hometown Grant in this funding cycle, the release states.

Brian Morrisey, marketing manager at T-Mobile, said Tuesday that the telecommunications company would provide 25 such grants every quarter. He said the company’s aim is to help give home internet to rural areas.

“Being able to do things like this has been fantastic,” Morrisey said with a beaming smile on his face.

T-Mobile worked with Main Street America and Smart Growth America to select Hometown Grant recipients based on their level of detail and completeness, potential community impact, project viability and other factors, the release states.

The Friends of Highland Park nonprofit submitted its grant request with full support from the city of Cosmopolis to “convert” the currently under-used park “with a focus on healthy, creative, physical play, social and emotional opportunities, making it a destination for everyone of all ages in our community,” the release states.

During the check presentation, Raines said the nonprofit was integral in getting the grant. He said the nonprofit worked with the city to write the grant, worked with the city on a design for the park and reached out to companies who could potentially help with the project.

While some companies have helped, the city still needs about $30,000 for the park. T-Mobile’s check helps provide a clear path for Cosmopolis’ park dreams.

“The Friends of Highland (Park) did so much to get this done,” he said. “(It was) desperately needed.”