Oct. 11. Gov. Roy Cooper announced Sept. 30 that the N.C. Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF) will award over $5 million in grants to fund local parks and recreation projects across the state. 

The Town of Davidson was one of 14 projects in the state to be awarded.

This is the Town of Davidson’s first PARTF Grant Award. The award totals $285,000 for the Beaty Park Project which is projected to begin construction in December. Construction is expected to take approximately seven months with a completion date around June/July 2022. The Beaty Park Project was well received by the Park Authority for the natural resources on the property and preservation of trees with the plan. 

Davidson’s Parks and Recreation Director Leslie Willis says, “receiving this grant is a great honor. The grant application is extensive and very competitive. Our department, along with our collaborative partners at The Dodd Studio, put a lot of time into this process and are very excited to see it pay off.”

The PARTF Grant recipients are chosen by the Park Authority, a citizen board appointed by the Governor, based on the quality of planning, public involvement in the planning process, recreation facilities provided, quality of site with respect to its surroundings, quality of park land to be acquired, and the applicant’s ability to operate and maintain the park project.

This year, the N.C. Parks and Recreation Authority took 58 local grant applications requesting $19.3 million in total into consideration.