Story originally published in The Sylva Herald, March 15 edition
County commissioners recently examined an effort to reduce carbon emissions by building a sidewalk from the Recreation center in Cullowhee to Western Carolina University. It will be part of the Carbon Reduction Grant from the NC Department and will cost over $2 million.
The project and the details were discussed during the regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, March 7, 2023.
This discussion was a follow-up to the Jackson County Work Session held on Feb. 14. Planning Director Mike Poston informed the board of a grant opportunity to fund a side-path along NC Highway 107.
“The state of North Carolina has earmarked several million dollars over the next five years to be spent on carbon reduction projects in the rural areas of North Carolina,” said Poston. “It would be for side-paths, greenways, sidewalks […] type of infrastructure that you can show that if you had it in place and constructed it, would reduce travel trips and vehicles, and would reduce carbon emissions.”
The Jackson County Planning Department is in the process of finalizing a feasibility study, in which the final costs of the permitting process and construction will be decided.
The project, among various other choices in state-wide carbon reduction, would serve as an implementation fund, rather than a planning grant, because it is a construction project.
The proposed sidewalk would reach from the Rec Center on Cullowhee Mountain Road to North Country Club Road, connecting Western Carolina University and all surrounding communities. The path would stretch for almost a mile.
Poston described the construction of this side-path as “one of the top 10 projects to implement in the county.”
With all costs included, and due to the time frame that this project would take to complete, it is estimated that it would cost $2,087,200. The grant is an 80-20 match, making the county responsible for about $417,440.
“I think we can hold off from making that final decision,” County Manager Don Adams said when asked if the project cost would come out of the general fund. “Whether or not it comes out of Fund Balance or the Conservation Preservation Recreation Fund, I think that decision should be held off until we’re actually to the point of expending those funds.”
The Board of Commissioners granted the motion to submit the application for the Carbon Reduction Grant and commit to supplying 20% of the final project cost.
