Local Communities to Receive $6.7 Million for Parks and Recreation Gov. Cooper

RALEIGH -- Local Communities to Receive $6.7 Million for Parks and Recreation, Gov. Cooper Announces

RALEIGH
Aug 24, 2018
Governor Roy Cooper today announced the N.C. Parks and Recreation Trust Fund has awarded over $6.7 million in grants to fund 27 local parks and recreation projects across the state. The North Carolina Parks and Recreation Trust Fund Authority approved the grants at its meeting held today in Raleigh.

“Parks and Recreation Trust Fund projects support conservation, strengthen communities, and help local economies thrive,” Gov. Cooper said. “These grants improve quality of life and encourage residents and visitors to get outdoors.”

Local communities applied for the grants to fund land acquisition, development and renovation of public park and recreation areas. The N.C. Parks and Recreation Authority considered 50 grant applications requesting $12.6 million. The maximum grant awarded for a single project under the program was $500,000. Awardees must match funds dollar-for-dollar for the awarded amount.

Susi Hamilton, who worked in community planning before her tenure as secretary of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, has seen firsthand how these grants impact communities. “From our most rural areas to our largest towns and cities, PARTF grants instill new life into our communities and continue to benefit these areas for generations.”

“Robust recreational opportunities in our communities are more important than ever before,” said Dwayne Patterson, director of the Division of State Parks and Recreation. “We look forward to seeing these projects come to fruition to improve our physical and mental health and the vitality of our communities.”

The Parks and Recreation Trust Fund is administered through the state Division of Parks and Recreation and was established in 1994 by the N.C. General Assembly.

Grant recipients and amounts are as follows:

Local Government County Project Grant Amount

Aulander Bertie Aulander Municipal Park 129,300
Benson Johnston Community Park Improvements 366,850
Black Mountain Buncombe Veterans Park 211,024
Bladenboro Bladen McLean Park Phase 2 200,595
Boiling Spring Lakes Brunswick Robert Muse Memorial Park Redevelopment 208,000
Brevard Transylvania Estatoe Greenway Property Acquisition 90,000
Bunn Franklin Bunn Community Park 31,000
Cajah's Mountain Caldwell Cajah's Mountain Town Park 43,575
Calabash Brunswick Calabash Waterfront Park 147,332
Concord Cabarrus Hector H. Henry II Greenway, Riverwalk Phase 350,000
Creedmoor Granville Creedmoor Community Center 500,000
Crossnore Avery Crossnore Town Park Improvements 5,000
Davidson Davidson Hughes Park Expansion 168,222
Elizabeth City Pasquotank Coast Guard Park Improvements 146,000
Elizabethtown Bladen Green's Lake & Conservation Park 500,000
Granville Granville Growth, Access and Play: Phase III at the GAP 300,000
Lake Lure Rutherford Rocky Broad River Park Acquisition 223,125
Morganton Burke Catawba River Soccer Complex, Phase 3 385,000
New Bern Craven Martin Marietta Park - Phase 1 475,000
Ocean Isle Beach Brunswick Ocean Isle Beach Town Park 498,900
Pleasant Garden Guilford Pleasant Garden Community Center 352,000
Roanoke Rapids Halifax Chaloner Park Improvements 200,000
Salisbury Rowan Bell Tower Green 350,000
Tobaccoville Forsyth Village Park Land Acquisition 41,998
Watauga Watauga Middle Fork Greenway, Section 4 430,000
Wilkesboro Wilkes Accessible Recreation Facilities 153,920
Yancey Yancey Ray-Cort Park Improvement 250,000
Totals: 27 Projects $6,756,841

Contact Information

Ford Porter
govpress@nc.gov
919-814-2100