Albemarle gets $500,000 for community center

RALEIGH — The city of Albemarle will get almost $500,000 for its E.E. Waddell Community Center, state officials announced this morning.

State officials announced that 10 local governments were getting grants worth $3.6 million from from the N.C. Parks and Recreation Trust Fund.

The matching grants, awarded by the Parks and Recreation Authority, will help fund land acquisition, development and renovation of public park and recreation areas.

The grants went to:

- Albemarle, $499,979 for the E.E. Waddell Community Center.

- Kenansville, $267,177 for Kenan Park improvements.

- Franklin, $500,000 for the Pilot Lion Community Park.

- Edenton, $500,000 for Meadow View Dairy Farm Park.

- Rutherfordton, $100,000 for Crestview Park lighting.

- Chatham County, $500,000 for Northeast Community Park.

- Lillington, $500,000 for the Lillington Recreational Facility.

- Selma, $291,000 for Richard Harrison Recreation Center.

- Smithfield, $451,950 for Smithfield Recreation and Aquatic Center.

- Jamestown, $55,863 for Center City Park land acquisition.

"The Parks and Recreation Trust Fund has been successful making more local parks and recreational opportunities available from the mountains to the coast," Bill Ross, secretary of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, said in a press release. "Sound environmental stewardship, education and economic opportunities have helped create these outstanding resources for our citizens."

Since May, the Parks and Recreation Authority has awarded $16.3 million in grants to 44 local governments. During the 2007-08 funding cycle, the authority considered 89 grant applications requesting more than $27 million. A maximum of $500,000 can be awarded to a single project.