Park projects in 3 coastal counties chosen for state grants

Of the nearly $18 million in grants being awarded through the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, about $1.5 million will go to projects in Chowan, Hyde and Brunswick counties.

The Parks and Recreation Authority, during its meeting Aug. 23, approved the $17.9 million in grants from two different funding sources for 46 parks and recreation projects across the state, the governor’s office announced Thursday.

The selections were made from 40 applications from local governments requesting more than $15.1 million from the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund. Of those, 23 were chosen to receive a total of more than $9.5 million.

A separate source of funding administered through the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund called the Accessible Parks Grant program was appropriated $12.5 million in the 2023 budget to provide matching grants for projects to benefit people living with disabilities. All 23 applicants were selected for the first round of funding, which totals more than $8.3 million.

Two projects on the coast were selected to receive from Parks and Recreation Trust Fund $500,000 each, the maximum that can be awarded for a single project. Awardees must match funds at least dollar-for-dollar for the grant amount.

In Sunset Beach, the funds will go to develop a new public open space, the Majestic Oaks Park, and in Hyde County, the grant is to go to build a sports field, the Brandon Marshall Ball Field Complex.

Two projects in Chowan County were chosen for the Accessible Parks grants. Bennett’s Mill Pond Park phase 1 was selected to receive $134,619, and Edenton was awarded $391,437 for accessibility updates to the town’s Morgan Park.

“These awards through the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund and the Accessible Parks Grant will bring tremendous impact to communities across North Carolina by providing more parks, more trails and more accessible recreation,” Gov. Roy Cooper said in the announcement.

A second round of funding with more than $4 million available through the Accessible Parks Grant will open in September.