DeKALB – The group that helped establish Kiwanis Park is offering up to $10,000 if residents come together to stop a potential land swap that could develop the park, including its youth soccer fields.

Jim Morel, vice president of the Kiwanis Club of DeKalb, said the organization would offer a $10,000 matching grant to make improvements to Kiwanis Park if the DeKalb Park District and DeKalb School District 428 can guarantee the land will be preserved as a public green space.

The two government bodies are in negotiations to transfer ownership of the 41-acre park at Fourth Street and Fairview Drive from the school district to the park district.