Friends of the Valdese Rec October Newsletter

Friends of the Valdese Rec

October Newsletter

CWMTF Grant - On Wednesday, September 13, the Clean Water Management Trust Fund Board voted to approve the Town of Valdese's grant request for funds for the acquisition of land for Valdese Lakeside Park. Parks and Rec Director Doug Knight and FVR President Beth Heile attended the decision making meeting held in Raleigh. With the 2 grants and the pledges from Kellex and the Rostan Family Foundation, we have the money to acquire the land! Recap of the meeting from Board.

Save the Date - November 3, 5:30 pm - Old Rock School
To celebrate 2.5 years of work to acquire the land, we are having a reception for all those who helped make it happen. If you pledged, are an FVR member or helped in some way - you will received a mailed invitation.

Details are being finalized. But, there will be social time with drinks and h'oeuvres d'oeuvres, debut of Aerial Video of the land by Tony Glenn and Chris Rice, President of Kellex Seating, on why they committed $100,000 to the park. Door prizes of wine with Lakeside Park label - Cabernet Sauvignon or Malbec, outdoor items, trail mix.

Want us to mail an invite to someone you know? Reply with their name and mailing address. We want as many people as possible to be knowledgeable and excited about the land acquisition.

Sustainable Trails Workshop - Volunteers will help build and maintain the trails at Valdes

e Lakeside Park. There is a free workshop at Riverbend Park in Conover on Saturday, Oct 14 at 10:30 on trail basics and maintenance. FVR President, Beth Heile will be attending this one. Join her by registering here or be on the look out for other workshops you can attend.

Having A Plan: To get meetings with groups (Crescent Land, Foothills Conservancy, donors) to get people on board with acquiring 300 acres of land for a passive park, a Park Plan was created by Beth Heile to show the benefits of the park, possible features and funding options.

To be awarded grants and make sure they are doing what citizens want, the town has a Parks and Rec Plan that was created by WPCOG from public meetings and a survey. From the report, the top item citizens wanted was a trail from McGalliard Falls Park to the Wastewater Treatment Plant. There was a consensus for lake access via a passive park. And, all were in agreement for a downtown park with splash pad.

Now, we will need a master park design plan. Why?

To make sure we follow the restrictions of the grants - ex: clean water - we cannot upset areas with endangered plant areas. If we break the restrictions, we will forfeit the money.
To be eligible for grants - agencies want to see a master plan, that you know where the money will be used.
To make the park a "destination" that people will want to visit again and again.
To be able to host regional and state events for disc golf, cross country, mountain bike and the like by meeting specs of each organization.
To help with fundraising - know cost of large items for naming rights, unique display of individual donors
To have a layout for volunteers to come in and do the manual labor - if you had every group on the land trying to build their own trail (bike, hike, disc golf) - it would be chaos.

The new Valdese Parks & Rec Aquatic/Fitness Supervisor is Tim Pons. He is also a member of the 2017 North Carolina 4-Man Bocce Championship team (tournament held in Valdese). Team members (l-r), Rob Martinat, Grayson Andrew Turner (Valdese Recreation Commission Member), Tim Pons and Nelson Turner.

Pledges Due December 1, 2017
Now that we have the money available to purchase the land and know that the park w

ill go forward, we are collecting pledges. A payment request reviewing the amount pledged and the recognition name will be mailed to you. Your tax deductible donation will help with the park design plan and amenities such as hiking trails, mountain biking trails, a kayak launch, disc golf course, parking and a picnic shelter.

Copyright © 2017 Friends of the Valdese Rec, Inc., All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
PO Box 994
Valdese, NC 28690

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Friends of the Valdese Rec, Inc. · PO Box 994 · Valdese, Nc 28690 · USA