Keene City Council signaled unanimous direction on Nov. 6 to pursue a downtown revitalization grant after City Manager Seitz told the council the city had already been awarded a $250,000 resilient-community grant.

City Manager Seitz said the resilient award is ‘‘$250,000’’ and that the downtown program would provide roughly ‘‘a million’’ dollars that requires ‘‘a 5% match. So for $50,000, we get a million.’’ He outlined potential uses including mapping utilities and infrastructure, conducting a road-priority study, designating an official downtown area, and directing portions of the grant to park and sidewalk projects.

The nut of the staff recommendation was that the city could stretch the grant to address several priorities: infrastructure mapping to reduce the risk of accidental utility strikes, a turn-lane and road study tied to growing traffic, downtown revitalization, and park improvements such as lighting and access paths. Seitz also said staff would reapply for a separate $1 million sidewalk grant in the next cycle.

Council did not take a formal roll-call vote on the grant application; after discussion the mayor asked for a show of hands and the council indicated consensus to proceed. Seitz said the match is small (5 percent) and that the firm assisting the city on grant pursuit is paid only if the city is successful. He also said the resilient-community award requires no local match.

Council members and staff discussed specifics the grant could fund, including using up to $250,000 of the downtown funding for nearby park improvements, extending and widening a local road to improve circulation, and adding lighting and sidewalks to connect downtown to the park. Seitz said the work would position the city to pursue additional grants and to prioritize road and drainage repairs.

The council directed staff to begin the application process for the downtown revitalization program and to coordinate required local match planning. Seitz said staff will pursue designation of the community center as an early-voting location and will coordinate logistics with the county election office if the council decides to host local early voting.

Officials said the grant timeline would require an application between January and April and that, if awarded, the city would need to provide the 5% match.