HAMLET — The Seaboard City is one of several municipalities in the region to be awarded a Rural Transformation grant from the N.C. Department of Commerce.
The list of grant recipients was released last week by Gov. Roy Cooper’s Office, showing Hamlet received a $400,000 grant under the category of Community Enhancements for Economic Growth.
Grants under that category are awarded to local governments “to smooth the way for economic development opportunities, such as the acquisition of land and buildings, the preparation of business sites, and the removal of structural and physical barriers that may be limiting development,” according to a press release issued June 15.
City Manager Matthew Christian said Hamlet requested $800,000 to install a bridge and complete the loop trail at City Lake.
“We are currently assessing how to best utilize the $400k award,” Christian said.
The trail extension is part of a Master Plan for City Lake approved by the Hamlet City Council in 2019 during the administration of Jonthan Blanton, who was city manager at the time.
Renovations to City Lake have been an ongoing project. In 2019, the city:
- worked out a deal with Vulcan Materials for 800 tons of rip-rap stone to line the lake’s shore; was awarded a $12,000 grant for a playground;
- was awarded $15,000 in grants for restoration of the caboose; and
- commissioned a mural near the Hamlet Senior Center, featuring the likenesses of late City Council member Joe Robinson and his grandchildren.
Twenty-eight other municipal governments received a total of $8 million from the Rural Transformation Grant Fund, established in March 2022, according to the governor’s office. NC Commerce has awarded $48 million so far.
“These transformative grants can make a real difference in rural communities by reviving downtowns and strengthening neighborhoods,” Cooper said in a statement. “These funds, with the support of our rural development team at the Department of Commerce, will bring more economic opportunity to people across the state.”
Cameron in neighboring Moore County also received $400,000 in the Community Enhancements category and Wagram in neighboring Scotland County was awarded $70,000. Elizabethtown (Bladen) and Cramerton (Gaston) were also grant recipients in that category.
There are three additional grant categories: Downtown Revitalization; Resilient Neighborhoods; and Rural Capacity.
Five municipalities received just shy of $50,000 each in the Rural Capacity category, including Carthage and Vass in Moore County and Marshville in Union County.
The town of Nags Head, on the Outer Banks of Dare County, received a $650,000 grant — the most of all the municipalities — in the Resilient Neighborhoods category.
“The need in our rural communities is great, but I’m pleased we’ve been able to meet some of these needs with this transformative grant program,” state Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders said in a statement. “I’m proud of the program’s strong track record of success, managed by Commerce’s experienced rural development team and grounded in tried-and-true best practices that we know work well.”
