August 2, 2004                                                                                       ITEM # 3b

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Item Title:   Approval of an Enhancement Grant from the North Carolina Department of

Transportation for the Construction of a Sidewalk in Fuquay-Varina

 

 

Specific Action Requested:  

That the Board of Commissioners:

·        Revise the Budget to allow for $67,000 in additional funding for sidewalk construction in Fuquay-Varina.

·        Authorize the Board Chair to sign documents to accept an Enhancement Grant from the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

 

Item Summary:  

Wake County’s Division of Housing and Community Revitalization (HCR) has been working with the Town of Fuquay-Varina to install approximately 2,553 linear feet of sidewalks on McLean, Bridge, and Lawrence Streets in the Lincoln Heights community of Fuquay-Varina. The Board approved the sidewalk project in the 2003 Housing Action Plan adopted on May 19, 2003. The sidewalk will provide safe pedestrian access for children and families and link three major facilities in the neighborhood: Lincoln Heights Elementary School, the Pine Acres Community Center and the Consolidated School campus. The sidewalk will also link these important neighborhood facilities to downtown Fuquay-Varina.

 

HCR has already allocated $255,000 of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds from prior years to this project. These funds have been committed for design, right-of-way acquisition and construction costs. The Town of Fuquay-Varina has recently committed an additional $20,000 to the project. The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) committed $47,000 of its enhancement funds for construction of the sidewalk. The addition of these funds will provide the necessary resources to meet the budgeted cost of the project, $322,000.

 

NCDOT funding is available on a reimbursement basis, in the form of a one-time payment when construction is complete. In order to be eligible to receive these funds the Board needs approve the attached Enhancement Agreement.

 

Construction of this project is planned to begin Fall 2004 and to be completed before the end of the year.

 

Attachments:

1.      Enhancement Agreement

2.      Budget Memo