Various additions added to Big Spring Park including benches and fruit trees
By Matt de Simone
Look, there’s now a place to take a load off along the Big Spring Park trail.
Fincastle Town Council met for the monthly meeting at the Fincastle Volunteer Fire Department Training Room last Thursday night praising the work of the volunteer trail builders who dedicated time to build new wooden benches along the trail in Big Spring Park.
“(The trail builders) have continually been a gift to us as far as what they’ve been willing to do,” Town Council member Ed Bordett said during last week’s meeting. “Depending on weather, we pretty much have all the parts—we’re hoping to get benches in for the (outdoor) classroom soon.”
The area of the trail neighboring Breckinridge Elementary School was recently cleared as work on the outdoor classroom will begin to ramp up soon. Eagle Scout Carter Baka-Collins from Troop 211 in Troutville will begin work building the entry gate and fencing between the walking track and outdoor classroom in the next couple of weeks.
Bordett shared that fruit trees have been planted and another trail is slowly formulating along the creek. “It’s spring—walk (the trail) and see the changes,” Bordett added.
“For a town and a community of our size, I think we are very blessed in how we are able to get volunteers to come do a whole lot of stuff… it’s a good thing,” Mayor Mary Bess Smith said of the ongoing work on the trail at Big Spring Park.
Photos by Matt de Simone
Smith and Town Manager Melanie McFadyen updated council on the status of the Community Development Block Grant Program (CBDG) Planning Grant. Currently, the town is trying to build a calendar to be proactive in how to spend the grant but are simultaneously waiting to learn more about active projects in town like the delayed renovations/construction of the new county courthouse. The town is seeking input from citizens about how to spend the grant and plan on holding meetings in the coming months to learn more from the community.
Smith shared in the Mayor’s Report that the town plans to meet with VDOT this week about “No Through Trucks” signage in town and also addressing concerns of the speed limit surrounding Fincastle on Route 220. Council continues to work on the upcoming budget for 2024-25 and has paperwork left for the last reimbursement for the Big Spring Park grant. The town has been able to match volunteer time with cash outlays, having no issue hitting the 20% thresholds.
“The idea of the grant was an 80/20 match,” Smith shared. “We’ve been overwhelmed with the amount of volunteer time that we’ve been able to apply towards that grant… I’ve been able to bank some time that we can use as we go through these reimbursements.”
McFadyen spoke about the recent driving tour with representatives of CDBG and said they are “anxious for the courthouse project to get rolling so (CDBG) will have a better idea of their planning process.” The public design charette was originally planned for May, but has now been pushed back to June 11-12 in hopes there may be an official plan released by then via the county about the future of the courthouse’s construction. The town will continue to provide updates about their grant planning.
The town is planning “clean up days” for this spring and fall for leaf litter pick up around town. McFadyen and town groundskeeping attendant Cole Crowder are looking for feedback from the town in planning a day for the cleanup. McFadyen said the plan is for a truck and trailer to be located in town where people may dump their leaf litter.
Bess Madonna, a representative of the Friends of Fincastle Library, welcomed the community to the Earth Day Event this Saturday at the Fincastle Library from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Their goal for 2024 is to provide information to the community on environmental issues.
To view last week’s April 11 agenda, visit the Town of Fincastle’s website at https://www.townoffincastle.org/agenda-minutes-packets.php.
