Let’s Hear it for Mint Hill!
Legislators….please approve this important grant to provide funding for a new park.
By Melinda Johnston, The Charlotte Observer
Mint Hill is one of 17 North Carolina municipalities selected to receive a North Carolina Parks and Recreation Trust Fund Grant if state legislators approve the proposed budget.
John Poole, PARTF grants manager, recently said the proposed state budget contains about $4 million for PARTF grants that will be distributed to municipalities statewide to acquire land and develop parks and recreation projects that serve the general public.
Mint Hill would be the only town in Mecklenburg County to receive a PARTF grant this year. The town of Fairview in Union County also was selected as a grant recipient and would receive $317,550.
Poole said 64 applications were submitted this grant cycle, and the list of 17 potential recipients was announced at a public meeting July 11. The Parks and Recreation Authority, a nine-member board appointed by the governor and state legislators, selected the recipients.
Mint Hill applied for a $335,000 grant and would make the required $335,000 match with town savings. Mint Hill would use the combined $670,000 to purchase approximately 20 acres on Brief Road across from the Mint Hill Athletic Association.
Mint Hill Town Manager Brian Welch says it would then be up to the Board of Commissioners to decide what amenities the new park should include.
“As part of the grant application, we discussed the need for additional ball fields in the town, particularly multipurpose fields that could be used for football, soccer or lacrosse; but it will be up to commissioners to decide how it will be developed,” Welch said.
“Once the grant is formalized, the board will have to publicly vote to buy the property. They will then select an architect and start the design process.”
Welch said Mint Hill has begun the title-search process, a preliminary environmental study and other tasks necessary to close on the property if the grant is formally received.
If completed, the park would be the town’s third, joining Mint Hill Veterans Memorial Park on Fairview Road and Jim Harper Park on Wilgrove-Mint Hill Road.
