This week, Gov. Jim Justice awarded four Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grants for community outdoor recreation development and open space preservation in Southern West Virginia.
The LWCF program is housed within the Community Advancement and Development Division of the West Virginia Development Office.
The projects awarded include:
- City of Lewisburg: The $59,400 grant award will be used for the installation of new, more efficient ballfield lights at the City of Lewisburg’s Hollowell Park. Hollowell Park is the city’s principal park, and these lighting improvements will enable 12 of the park’s 16 overhead light fixtures to be upgraded, which work began with an earlier NPS grant. School, league and tournament play will be greatly enhanced by the value of these improvements.
- City of Ronceverte: The $100,000 grant award for the City of Ronceverte will be used to begin site preparations on a 2.3 acre addition to the City of Ronceverte’s Island Park for new soccer and camping offerings besides a 1,300 foot walking trail, spraypad and other ballfield improvements to the main park grounds.
- City of White Sulphur Springs: The $60,000 grant award for the City of White Sulphur Springs will support the installation of new, more efficient ballfield lights at the city’s Dick Gunnoe Memorial Park, which was heavily impacted by the 2016 flood. This award will enable upgraded lighting improvements to be made to the park that were not possible from the 2016 flood recovery effort, supporting not only public outdoor recreation but the city’s fair and festival activities.
- Town of Marlinton: The $86,391 grant award for the Town of Marlinton will include the development of a new gateway park for the Town of Marlinton. The new Discovery Junction will adjoin the Marlinton Opera House with an outdoor pavilion, picnic and landscaping improvements. These improvements will serve to guide and direct visitors to the area’s recreational resources including the Greenbrier River Trail and Monongahela National Forest besides staging local farmers markets and other community events.
To learn more about LWCF programs and the funding cycle, visit www.WVCAD.org/infrastructure.