Active Living & Parks details two matching-grant applications; board informed but could not vote

Active Living & Parks staff told the Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners on May 5 that the county’s matching incentive grant program has provided seed funding since the 1970s and that the commission recommended two applications for funding; no board action was taken because the board did not have a quorum.

Byron Hagler, Active Living & Parks, said the program has provided about $2.3 million from the county since its inception and that total project costs leveraging that money are about $5.5 million. Ray Moore, project event manager, said the Active Living & Parks Commission approved two applications: one from Weddington Hills PTO for outdoor seating in a public area at their school and one from the Mount Pleasant Dixie Youth Baseball Association for a storage building at the park to hold equipment.

Hagler framed the program as a way to provide recreational opportunities through partnerships with civic and community groups while leveraging limited county funds. He asked commissioners to note time-sensitive financial deadlines, which was the reason staff had sought a suspension of rules in the event the board could act; because there was not a quorum, the presentation served as notification and informational background only.

No formal county approval or appropriation was made at the May 5 work session. The Active Living & Parks Commission’s recommendation will be returned for action when the board has a quorum or per the county’s process for considering grant acceptances and budget amendments.