COQUILLE — The city of Coquille will have to wait yet another year for a shot at receiving a grant for its the Riverwalk project.

Rather than risk a fourth denial, the city is withdrawing its latest grant application.

“As difficult as it may be, it could be in the best interest of the long-term to withdraw our application for this year,” City Manager Terence O’Connor said.

The city was seeking approximately $500,000 from the Oregon Parks  & Recreation Department’s Local Government Grant program. In 2006 and 2007, the city applied for smaller grants under the department’s Recreational Trail Grant program for the project to be developed along the portion of Coquille River running through town. Each time, it was denied.

The Coquille Riverwalk Trail is planned to be a paved trail running the length of the city. It would include an elevated walkway and cover over the train trestle near Cedar Street. The entire project, to be built in three phases, would cost an estimated $1.2 million.

The Port of Bandon hired grant writer Kathy Ingram, of Medford, to assist  the city with the project for two years. It was at Ingram’s  suggestion the Coquille City Council asked O’Connor to withdraw the application.

As part of the application, the value of riverfront property at the former Georgia-Pacific mill site included in the project was figured into the revenue the city has invested in the project. But the application rules exclude values on assets acquired more than six years previously, O’Connor said. The city has owned the property since the 1990s. That stipulation decreased the city invested revenue by more than $600,000. Now, Coquille can claim only about $35,000 raised through brick sales and another piece of riverfront  property assessed at $70,000 donated to the city. The grant is a dollar-for-dollar match, so the maximum amount grant possible would be $105,000. That’s far short of what the city was hoping for.

It boils down to a chicken-and-egg scenario, O’Connor added. The chances of getting large grants increase as funding acquired for the project increases, but the city is having a difficulties getting the cash flow started.

The original grant — had it been approved — would have paid for the first phase of the project, paving the portion between Cedar and Adams streets and building a cover over the train trestle near Cedar Street as the project centerpiece. That portion would have cost about $600,000, O’Connor said.

The application is most likely dead for this year, but Ingram may try again next year.

“She still thinks there may be possible ways of packaging the project to get dollars from the local government program from state parks,” O’Connor said.

Ingram and O’Connor are scheduled to meet next week to discuss further options.