Grants boost recreation in 2 towns

Work at Smoot Park

North Wilkesboro was awarded a $500,000 park accessibility grant by the N.C. Parks and Recreation Authority for improvements to Smoot Park, said North Wilkesboro Town Manager Holly Minton on Friday.

Minton said the grant, matched with $100,000 from the town as required, will fund installation of a lift to help people with physical disabilities enter and exit the Smoot Park Pool, renovations to pool house and improvements to a sidewalk to the pool house to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

She said it will also fund installation of a “universally-designed” musical playground equipment and swing set, as well as trail connections in the park. “Universally-designed” playgrounds have feature intended to promote physical and sensory development in a wide variety of ways and allow children with and without physical disabilities to play together.

Minton said North Wilkesboro Planning Director Meredith Detsch and Nelson Martin, the town’s parks and recreation director, worked with the High Country Council of Governments to apply for the grant. At least one dollar in local funds is required for every $5 from the state. In-kind contributions, such as labor, can’t be used toward the match.

In and near Cub Creek

Wilkesboro Town Manager Ken Noland said it was learned in February that Wilkesboro was awarded a $1.6 million grant for realigning and restoring a section of Cub Creek near the Wilkesboro Wastewater Treatment Plant and constructing a new section of the Yadkin River Greenway along Cub Creek.

Nolan said it’s a Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant, funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and administered through a partnership with the N.C. Division of Emergency Management (NCEM).

“That creek really causes a lot of flooding issues” for the wastewater treatment plant, with 15-foot tall sheer drops offs along the stream instead of gradually sloping banks due to erosion, said Noland.

He was referring to portions of a 1,700-foot-long section of Cub Creek between Old U.S. 421 and where Cub Creek enters the Yadkin River. Noland said the new greenway section will be built along the west side of this portion of Cub Creek, connecting with an existing greenway segment on the west side of the mouth of Cub Creek.

The new greenway segment will pass beneath the Old U.S. 421 bridge over Cub Creek and continue along the west side of Cub Creek on town-owned land for about 1,800 feet before passing beneath the Oakwoods Road bridge over Cub Creek and connecting with an existing walking track in Wilkesboro’s Cub Creek Park on the other side.

Noland said state officials helped Wilkesboro seek the funds. The BRIC grant program is administered by NCM as part of a State Standard Hazard Mitigation Plan.

Noland talked about the work on and near Cub Creek and mentioned an upcoming mountain bike race on the W. Kerr Scott Reservoir property during the Wilkes Economic Development Corp. meeting on Friday morning.

He said the Dark Mountain Dash, a competition organized by the N.C. Interscholastic Cycling League, is April 1 on the Dark Mountain Trails at the reservoir. Over 500 teenagers on teams from across North Carolina are expected to compete in the event, said Noland.

The team from Wilkes, for students in grades six to 12, is called the Wilco Wolves.

Outdoor economy effort

In a related matter, Health Foundation Executive Director Heather Murphy spoke about efforts to build up the outdoor economy in Wilkes during the EDC meeting.

Murphy summarized development of a 15-year outdoor economy action plan by a group consisting of representatives of the Health Foundation, Wilkes Health Department, Wilkes EDC, Wilkesboro Tourism Development Authority, Yadkin River Greenway Council and the Wilkesboro, North Wilkesboro and county governments, working with Boone-based Destination by Design.

Murphy stated, “If we could move the dial on our places to go and do,” the health of the community would be improved, businesses could be attracted and visitors, who might become residents, could be attracted. She said this would utilize Wilkes County’s greatest asset, which she said is its natural beauty.

Murphy said the outdoor economy action plan for Wilkes is based on local governments and others doing their separate parts while also collaborating to achieve common goals.

Wilkes one of five western North Carolina counties chosen by Asheville-based Made X Mountains Partnership to be prepared for funding from the Appalachian Regional Commission and other federal sources. This includes technical support from Appalachian State University for developing an economic impact toolkit to quantify return on investment and economic value of improving outdoor amenities.