As 2008 begins, the Mount Holly Community Development Foundation and its Friends of the Greenways (FROGS) are preparing to move on Mount Holly’s first greenway.

“There are a number of touch points that are concurrent starting in 2008,” says Bob Suttenfield, chairman of the FROGS. “Most notably, we can now begin to look at construction drawings and funding the first phase of The Catawba River Greenway.”

The FROGS is also in discussions with Chuck Flink of Greenways, Inc., to have him assist the city and foundation in finding suitable grants and other funds to build this project. Flink’s firm was hired by the FROGS to design the Catawba River Greenway and the Greenprint, a plan to provide a structure for the City of Mount Holly to become the first integrated “Green” Community in North Carolina.  This plan promotes strategies that emphasize land conservation to ensure quality of life, clean air and water, recreation and economic development.  It calls for a public/private partnership that will enhance the city's overall sustainability.

The next major step came at the February 14 City Council meeting. At that time, the FROGS presented the final plan for the Catawba River Greenway and Greenprint plan.  Council approved unanimously.

Now that is done Suttenfield says the FROGS will embark on a major capital campaign to fund phase one of the greenway.  “The city will need to come up with a portion of the matching money, and the Foundation will as well,” he says. “The Foundation will conduct a major capital campaign to fund their matching portion, however the Foundation would like for the city’s portion of matching money to be as low as we can possibly make it.  Those of us who have been working on this project for the past three years do not expect the lion’s share of the cost to come from the City.  In fact, the city has yet to lay out any money on the greenway project.”   The Foundation paid for the Greenways, Inc. Catawba River Corridor Plan and the Greenprint Plan at a cost of just under $77,000.  “We want people to know that the city will not be asked to earmark any money at the February Council meeting and has spent no money so far as a condition of this partnership,” says Suttenfield.

Keeping the city’s financial commitment to a minimum is one of the reasons the FROGS are asking Flink to stay with the project. Suttenfield says Flink’s knowledge and experience with federal, state and local grants is key to achieving that goal.

“He knows where to get the money,” says Suttenfield, who says the greenways will be an economic asset to Mount Holly. Not only do Greenways provide quality of life opportunities and promote healthy activity, they connect communities.  The Greenprint plan will do just that.  “Greenways become a destination, something that draws people to the area to live and visit.  In fact they will also make a significant contribution annually to the economic vitality of Mount Holly,” he says.  For every dollar we invest in our Greenways we can expect an economic return at a minimum of $15 million every year thereafter. 

 With the manufacturing base disappearing in this country communities have to find ways to keep their communities alive and well.  This project will without a doubt accomplish that goal.   An added bonus is that our Greenway will become a key leg of the Carolina Thread Trails, a regional network of trails and greenways connecting 15 North and South Carolina counties in the Greater Metro area and spearheaded by the Trust for Public Land. The project recently received $14.5 million in pledges from several regional corporations.