ELIZABETHTOWN — Green’s Lake and Conservation Park, take two.
After acquiring land near the Industrial Park last year to be used for Greene’s Lake and Conservation Park, the town of Elizabethtown also received, in April of last year, a waiver from the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund to allow for the full appraisal value of land to be counted for the local match on a grant application.
With a $512,000 appraisal value in hand, the town filled out an application for a $315,000 PART-F grant, but received notice later last year that it had been denied. At Monday’s meeting, Town Manager Eddie Madden told the council quick action was needed if they wanted to take full advantage of the possibilities with the land.
“We now understand (the reason PART-F denied the application) is because we had two open grants — one for Leinwand Park and one for Tory Hole,” Madden explained. “They wanted us to wait and submit the application again.”
In addition to writing a new application, the town is also upping the funds requested from $315,000 to the maximum allowable amount of $500,000. The increase, Madden said, will allow the the town to do things like walking trails, bridges, a parking lot, and an amphitheater that would “make it a more comprehensive and complete project” than was originally thought.
With the increase in requested funds came a requirement for an additional appraisal of the property, a requirement that worked in the town’s favor. The second appraisal came in at $580,000 — almost $70,000 above the original one. Since the property value can be considered as the town’s local match, and the 18-month waiver to do so expired Oct. 3, the town moved quickly and approved the new application.
“It’s now or never,” said Elizabethtown Mayor Sylvia Campbell.
In other action the board:
— Created an assistant town manager position and approved Pat DeVane as its first appointee. More information will be in Tuesday’s edition.
— Approved a contract with J.T. Cox & Associates Architects for architectural and engineering work related to the Elizabethtown Rescue/Fire Station project. Terry Cox will serve as the primary point of contact for the project, and W.K. Dickson & Co. will be performing the site and civil engineering design under Cox’s contract. The project is estimated to cost $2.2 million, which is covered by a grant from the Golden Leaf Foundation.
— Approved a bid from Columbus Utilities to extend sewer to the Elizabethtown Industrial Park. The project is expected to cost $128,640 and will be covered by a grant from the Golden Leaf Foundation.
Chrysta Carroll can be reached by calling 910-862-4163 or emailing ccarroll@bladenjournal.com.
