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Guilford County allocates federal money for municipal water, other projects

Local officials in Summerfield, North Carolina, are working with community partners to build a new regional park. More than $2 million in federal coronavirus relief funding will be used to create the destination-style site, complete with equestrian trails, hiking trails and large playground. Image Credit: Destination by Design and Piedmont Land Conservancy.

Several municipal projects in Guilford County will get a boost from federal COVID-19 relief money. The county's board of commissioners recently approved releasing a third round of funds from the American Rescue Plan Act.

The $41 million pot of money is being allocated to six municipalities in Guilford County: Greensboro, Stokesdale, Oak Ridge, Pleasant Garden, Gibsonville, and Summerfield.

Many of those communities are using the funds to improve public water infrastructure. Southwest Guilford County will also receive money for water system upgrades that will help support fire protection services.

Summerfield Town Manager Scott Whitaker says these water projects come at an important time with new economic developments in the area. This includes the Toyota plant at the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite and projects at PTI Airport.

“We are really in the feasibility and conceptual stage of it, and you know that really has long-term implications for how we deal with what we know is inevitable growth,” says Whitaker.

This round of federal funding will also bring more recreation into the area. 

There's the next phase of the Windsor Chavis Nocho Community Complex in Greensboro and a brand new regional park in Summerfield. Whitaker says the 120-acre site is called Bandera Farms Park. Plans call for equestrian and hiking trails, and a large playground.

“We will have designated areas just for horse trailers separate from general public parking for the greenway and the adventure playscape and we see it as a purpose-built kind of park that really will be a destination for some," says Whitaker.

Guilford County has received $104 million under the federal American Rescue Plan Act. So far, it's allocated nearly $59 million.

Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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