Grifton Receives Grants

AYDEN — The Town of Grifton recently received a $40,000 grant from the Recreational Trails Program which will help with several recreational projects at the Contentnea Creekside RV and Trail Park.

According to the North Carolina State Parks website, the Recreational Trails Program is a $1.1 million grant program, which is funded by Congress with money from the federal gas taxes paid on fuel used by off-highway vehicles. The program makes funds available for the development and maintenance of recreation trails and trail-related facilities.

Grifton’s grant is a matching grant and Grifton is responsible for at least a 20 percent match. The town has budgeted for the matching part of the grant, according to Town Administrator Michael Peoples.

The grant will be used to construct restroom and shower facilities, a canoe/kayak ramp, a gravel parking lot as well as extension of the current trail system. The total proposed costs is $55,900.

Peoples said the original grant application included $10,00 in outdoor fitness equipment but did not qualify for funding, which reduced the grant amount from $50,000 to $40,000.

The Town also received an Urban Forestry Grant to plant 101 trees in the Creekside RV and Trail Park as well as the Creekside Overlook Park.  The grant also includes identifying 120 trees with tree markers.

A special tree planting and identification day will be held at the Creekside Park  on Saturday, December 18. The event will begin at 9:00 am and conclude with lunch at noon. 

 Mr. John Sugg, certified tree arborist, will assist in the planting and will hold educational sessions about the importance of trees.

The Town of Grifton obtained around 75 properties in and around the Town of Grifton after Hurricane Floyd in 1999, including the property where the Creekside park is.

All of the property obtained in the Buy-Out program is located within the 100-year floodplain and can only be used for parks and open greenspace.  The property can never be built upon again.

A Creekside Committee was formed in 2001 in response to the acquisition of the property and its potential reuse. The  Committee focuses on what recreational opportunities are available  and what additional activities are desirable.

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