Marion PRIDE met with engineer Darin Neufeld of EBH & Associates on Thursday to discuss plans to reapply for a grant for downtown beautification. PRIDE applied for the grant earlier this year but was not awarded a grant.

If approved, the project would help pay for new lighting, sidewalks, crosswalks, curbs, and an electronic sign in downtown Marion.

Neufeld said projects that the city and private residents have undertaken since the last round of grants should increase PRIDE’s chances of receiving one in 2014. In the past year, new planters have been installed at downtown businesses, light posts have been repainted, Main St. has been resurfaced, and the mural in Liberty Park was repaired.

If the area covered by the grant was extended on S. 4th St., the addition to Marion City Library would also probably count for a lot, he said.

PRIDE will seek another resolution from the city in support of the project and will have a public meeting to receive any comments from residents on Jan. 16.