REIDSVILLE – The Annie Penn Community Trust and the City of Reidsville are joining forces to build a series of greenway trails throughout the city.

    It was announced at Wednesday’s City Council meeting that the Trust’s Board of Directors has approved a $909,650 grant over a 10-year period to help the City expand its greenways program. The grant will cover half of the estimated costs to extend the current Jaycee Park greenway and build the Sherwood Drive and Lake Trails.

    “I cannot begin to say how excited we are to receive this grant from the Annie Penn Community Trust,” City Manager Almond said. “This is a very generous decision by the Trust board. I don’t think any of us ever imagined that we would be fortunate enough to embark on such an aggressive construction plan for the greenway trails.”

    Almond noted that this is the largest grant the Community Trust has ever made in the community.

    “The far-sighted decisions made by the Annie Penn Community Trust’s Board of Directors will impact the citizens of Reidsville forever,” he said. “By proposing this joint venture, the Trust shows its commitment not only to the health of our residents but also to increasing the city’s overall quality of life.”

    Annie Penn Community Trust Chairman Skip Balsley explained at Wednesday’s Council meeting that the purpose of these walking trails is in keeping with the Trust’s mission statement, which is to improve the health and wellness of the community. He said his board is excited about the project and what it will mean for residents of the Reidsville area and also about working in a collaborative effort with the city.

      “Once this project is complete, it will be here for a long time,” Balsley told Council, adding “This is a project that will benefit all citizens of the Reidsville area and will be available for everybody to use.”

     “The Annie Penn Community Trust has funded numerous projects throughout the county to address the need for fitness-related equipment and facilities,” said Craig Cardwell, Interim Director of the Trust. “This includes Project Fit America equipment in eight elementary schools, walking tracks at numerous schools, a walking trail at Chinqua Penn, senior citizen fitness programs and other projects to address the need to improve the level of physical fitness in Rockingham County.”

    City Manager Almond said plans are to begin work on the Jaycee Trail extension by the fall of this year. Currently that trail goes from Jaycee Park to the parking area of Reidsville High School. The proposed half-mile link will join the Jaycee Park area with the lower Jaycee Park located on South Scales Street, he explained.

    The Sherwood Drive Trail will be built in two phases. The first phase to be constructed during Fiscal Year 2006-07 is a 1.48-mile path beginning at Courtland Park and ending on Sherwood Drive. The second phase, which is slated for possible construction in 2010-2011, would go from Sherwood Drive to Freeway Drive following Freeway’s expansion by the NC Department of Transportation.

    The Lake Trail is a proposed 2.90-mile trail, which would connect the Jaycee Park Trail at Reidsville High School to Lake Reidsville. It is planned that this trail would be suitable, not only for walkers, but also for joggers and mountain bike enthusiasts. This trail would be constructed during Fiscal Year 2008-09.

    When completed, the series of greenway trails will be approximately six miles long.

    In accepting the grant monies on Wednesday, the Reidsville City Council committed to finding the resources to pay for other half of the $1.8 million greenways project. Those funds will have to come from either the city’s Undesignated Fund Balance or from other revenue sources.

    “I am confident that we will be able to secure other grants because of the step the Annie Penn Community Trust has taken,” Almond said. Any other grant monies raised would be used to reduce equally the city’s and the Trust’s financial commitment to the project.

Release Date -- May 12, 2005