Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parks Trails topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Selma wins $500,000 trails grant; county plans trunk trail and depot-area park upgrades
Summary
At the Aug. 19 Selma Recreation Advisory Board meeting, a council member and staff described a newly acquired 95+ acre Selma Nature Preserve, a $500,000 Great State Trails Grant and county-led trail planning that will connect Selma to regional routes; officials said detailed plans are not yet complete and will come back to the board.
A council member told the Selma Recreation Advisory Board on Aug. 19 that Selma has acquired more than 95 acres for a Selma Nature Preserve and secured a $500,000 award through the Great State Trails Grant Program to begin trail planning and buildout.
The grant, the council member said, is tied to the land purchase facilitated by TLC and will be matched in part by funds used to acquire the property. The official asked the advisory board to study the town’s multimodal plan and prepare to advise on grant-funded design and construction.
The council member said Johnston County Parks and Recreation and county staff have been closely involved. He described a county “central trunk trail line” planned in the county’s McAdams study that would run down Anderson Street toward I‑95 and beyond to Pine Level, and said Selma’s trail connections can “tack onto” that corridor to link to regional routes including the East Coast Greenway and the Mountain‑to‑Sea Trail. “That is something that Johnston County wants to do and that we can easily tack onto with our trails coming away from the nature preserve and beyond,” the council member said.
The official also reported near-term work to move Michener Station to a pad at Selma Union Station, saying crews have “scraped out and staked out” a landing spot and that the station move is anticipated “in the next 3 to 4 weeks.” He stressed that the Selma Union Depot Park and the nature preserve do not yet have fully developed plans; the $500,000 grant will fund initial planning and designs that the board will be asked to review in the coming months.
Board members were told that Stantec completed a multimodal plan for the town through the North Carolina Department of Transportation and that those materials should be circulated to the advisory board. The council member characterized the Stantec material as guidance from NCDOT “based on what NCDOT knows and based on their expertise,” and said the town must adapt that guidance to local priorities before pursuing funding.
No formal vote or commitment of town funds for specific projects was recorded during the presentation; officials said additional decisions will be required and may need to be made quickly to take advantage of grant opportunities.
Town staff and the advisory board agreed to circulate the multimodal plan and to expect grant‑related design documents to come back to the board for recommendation.
Looking ahead, the council member asked the board to be prepared to advise on the design and use of future trail connections and park upgrades once staff presents more detailed plans and funding proposals.
