GREENE COUNTY
Firefly Trail Inc. recently presented a $200,000 check to Woodville Mayor Phil Brock and Greene County leaders to assist with the city’s portion of local matching funds required to build the trail through Woodville.
“The City Council of Woodville and I would like to thank Firefly Trail Incorporated for the generous donation,” Brock said. “We have a small community with no taxes, and completion of the trail would have been years away without this donation.”
The funds make it possible for Woodville and Greene County to complete a vital 2.6-mile section of the trail, combining new construction with portions of the existing sidewalk and Elm Street.
The section is a key connection linking two other segments of the trail, which Greene County has nearly completed, south and north of Woodville from Union Point’s northern city limits to the Greene County/Oglethorpe County line.
When construction is completed later this summer, Greene County, Woodville and Union Point together will host a 6.5-mile section of the Firefly Trail, the longest continuous section completed to date.
Ultimately, the Firefly Trail will span about 39 miles from Union Point to Athens on or close to the historic corridor of the Georgia Railroad Athens Branch.
Greene County Manager Byron Lombard echoed Brock’s appreciative comments. “Greene County is very grateful for the partnership of Firefly Trail Inc. in the planning, development, and construction of the Firefly Trail Project,” Lombard said.
“Their commitment has been instrumental in this project, and their financial support is making the difference for completion of the project inside the city limits of Woodville.”
The project is being built using a $2.1 million grant from the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program (GOSP).
As part of that grant, communities are required to provide a local match equal to 25% of the total project cost.
“The input of GOSP funds is absolutely critical to – and a real Godsend – for the Firefly Trail and other natural resources projects around the state,” Firefly Trail Inc. President Mark Ralston said. “We extend our deepest thanks to Rep.
Trey Rhodes and the Georgia Legislature for making it possible.”
Ralston called the 25-percent local match requirement “a tremendous hurdle for small towns and rural communities.”
He also said, “FTI is thrilled that we were able to make such a substantial contribution to Woodville so that the project can be completed.”
The donation from Firefly Trail Inc. (FTI) was made possible primarily by support from Chattanooga-based Riverview Foundation.
Additional support came from hundreds of individual donations to FTI, as well as from corporate sponsorships such as those from Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center and Athens Physical Therapy.
Also funded by the GOSP grant is clearing and grading for an extension of the existing trail in Maxeys, and in conjunction with a major donation from the PATH Foundation, installation of a bridge over North Rhodes Street in Union Point. For more information about the Firefly Trail, visit online at FireflyTrail. com. - Contributed