Norwich — The city community development office received applications with requests totaling $1.3 million for the city’s expected $861,120 federal Community Development Block Grant, including applications from city departments to upgrade parks in Occum and Taftville, repair sidewalks and a World War I memorial.

The grant applications will be reviewed by the Community Development Advisory Committee, which will make recommendations to the City Council in spring for allocations. The applications come under three categories: public services, non-public services and administration costs.

The city Recreation Department requested $160,000 for “substantial improvements” to the Robert “Red” McKeon Park on Route 97 in Occum. The park, which opened in 1997, includes a picnic area, track, playground, basketball court and a large open field used for soccer and lacrosse.

Last year, the CDBG program awarded a grant to repair two basketball courts in Taftville, but the city reduced the funding to one basketball court to allow space for parking for the adjacent Taftville Volunteer Fire Department. The Recreation Department applied this year for $70,000 to build a second basketball court in the nearby village park.

The city Public Works Department is seeking $86,018 to refurbish the World War I Memorial Park at 57 S. Second Ave., adjacent to the Knights of Columbus hall. Two small stone towers, constructed by French Canadian workers at the giant Ponemah Mill, dominate the park. The proposed project would replace the roofs on the two towers, install new sidewalks, repair existing walkways, reconstruct a concrete slab in one tower that holds a fountain, restore the fountain and repoint and seal the stonewall and install lights.

“This project will benefit the Norwich population, but more specifically Taftville residents as this park represents an important landmark in the region,” the Public Works Department application states.

The Norwich Community Development Corp. applied for $40,000 to create a “working lab for entrepreneurs” program that would offer incubator membership and business coaching to start-up businesses. The program would be open to Norwich residents ages 17 to 24.

“The program is designed to help young adults explore business ownership and development,” the application states. “The program targets those young adults in our community that do not have a pathway to college yet seek business education and mentorship.”

Several applications were familiar to the program, including the $50,000 requested by Norwich Human Services for its Norwich Works jobs training program, $15,000 requested by Safe Futures for domestic violence prevention programs and $15,000 for Norwich Human Services’ rapid rehousing homeless prevention program.

c.bessette@theday.com