A $1.7 million boost to the local economy for integrated trail development and related tourism industry developments is on its way to Montgomery and Smithers, according to a joint announcement earlier in September by Smithers Mayor Anne Cavalier and Montgomery Mayor Greg Ingram.
A $1.4 million grant was awarded to the Upper Kanawha Valley Strategic Initiatives Council (UKVSIC) by the United States Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce, the mayors reported. UKVSIC is an agency incorporated to coordinate ways of sharing services and assets between these municipalities when feasible for the benefit of both, they said.
“West Virginia continues to see the benefits of critical American Rescue Plan investments that drive economic development and create good-paying, long-term jobs,” said U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin. “I’m pleased the EDA is supporting these projects in the Upper Kanawha Valley to strengthen the local economy, expand outdoor recreation opportunities, and spur sustainable tourism growth.
“I look forward to seeing the positive impacts of this funding for years to come, and I will continue working with the EDA to support economic growth across the Mountain State.”
The USEDA grant will be matched by $350,386 in local funding, including $200,000 from the Kanawha County Commission. The project will support outdoor recreation and enhance the local tourism industry by bringing new visitors to the region, its businesses, and local attractions, according to the EDA.
The funds will be used to construct an integrated River Cities Trail System on the north side of the Kanawha River from Longacre Bottom in Smithers to the Montgomery Marina, formerly the WV Tech Marina; to develop the existing Smithers GATEWAY Center as a public trail headquarters; and to integrate the new trails into connections with the existing River Cites Urban Walking Trail in Smithers and public trails planned to fan out from both Smithers and Montgomery into surrounding forest lands. In addition, the USEDA grant will assist and finalize the funding needed to develop the former site of the old Oakland Elementary School in Smithers into a riverfront park for picnicking and non-motorized river access by the public.
The UKVSIC says the projects are expected to create over 50 jobs, retain nearly 30 jobs and generate an additional $5.6 million in private investment. The UDSEDA grant is funded under its $240 million competitive American Rescue Plan’s Travel, Tourism, and Outdoor Recreation program designed to accelerate the economic recovery of U.S. communities in their transition out of the Covid pandemic.
“This funding will prove a major benefit to our goals of involving the UKV in the ‘new tourism economy’ as a path to transition out of the economic and personal stresses of the pandemic and into a new era of local revitalization in the wake of the loss of WVU Tech and Valley High School, and the decline in once-thriving mining jobs,” said Cavalier, who is chair of the UKVSIC Board of Directors.
“We are excited by the award of this USEDA grant as a big step in reaching outdoor recreation development goals we have envisioned to improve quality of life for local residents and attract more visitors and business investment to the Upper Kanawha Valley,” said Ingram.
The USEDA grant and the local supporting investments will allow the completion of projects begun with Congressionally-designated funds totaling approximately $5 million awarded to Smithers earlier this summer for programs including Smithers GATEWAY Center improvements, new integrated area trails, and the Oakland Riverfront Park development. Manchin announced that funding on a visit to Smithers with U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland on March 18.