Washington’s City Council, during its meeting Monday, could authorize the city’s parks and recreation director to apply for a $83,700 grant to help pay for a new fishing pier at Havens Gardens.

If the Public Beach and Coastal Waterfront Access program grant is awarded, the city would be required to provide a $9,300 appropriation toward the new pier, for a total of $93,000 in grant and city funds earmarked for the pier. During its February meeting, the city’s Recreation Advisory Committee recommended the city seek the grant. The new pier, if built, would include cutouts from which handicapped people could fish, according to a city document. Though the Havens Gardens pier is included in the city’s capital-improvements plan, its tentative budget does not reflect the cost of the cutouts, according to a memorandum from Kristi Roberson, the city’s parks and recreation director, to the mayor and council members.

“The plan is to replace the existing pier, same footprint, but utilize the marine slats that are on the Municipal Pier,” according to Roberson.

Early next month, the grant program will decide which projects seeking grant money will be funded, with contracts for the selected projects to be signed in November, according to the memorandum.

The new pier was part of a list of recommended improvements for the waterfront park recommended to the city several years ago. Other proposed improvements at Havens Gardens include a loop walking trail west of the parking lot, a shelter on the west end of Havens Gardens so it overlooks the Pamlico River, a fenced-in play area for small children and adding facilities for a splash park, bocce and beach volleyball. A kayak launch at the adjacent boat ramps is in the works.

The council, according to its tentative agenda for its upcoming meeting, is scheduled to discuss what to do with the tennis courts at Bug House Park. For at least a year, city officials have talked about improving Bug House Park, including repairing or replacing the park’s deteriorating tennis courts. In June, during a discussion about the park, City Manager Bobby Roberson told the council the contractor hired to resurface the tennis terminated the contract, so the courts remain in disrepair. At that June meeting, Roberson said the Washington (noon) Rotary is interested in helping rehabilitate and improve the park.

As for dealing with the tennis courts, that’s an issue the city will revisit, possibly coming up with “another quote-unquote adaptive reuse” of the space where the courts are located, Roberson said then.

The council meets at 5:30 p.m. Monday in the Council Chambers in the Municipal Building, 102 E. Second St. To view the council’s agenda for a specific meeting, visit the city’s web­site at www.washingtonnc.gov, click “Government” then “City Council” heading, then click “Meeting Agendas” on the menu to the right. Then click on the date for the appropriate agenda.