The potential to receive a state grant of up to $100,000 to extend the city’s walking trail network prompted the Fort Oglethorpe City Council to convene a called meeting last Wednesday.
A special morning meeting was necessary to meet a Nov. 30 deadline for submitting applications for Georgia Recreational Trails Program grants that will be issued in 2012.
The trail network that will eventually connect the polo field at Barnhardt Circle with the bridge across Chickamauga Creek at Battlefield Parkway has been funded in large part by similar matching-fund grants issued by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
“Since 2003, the city has applied for four grants and been awarded three,” said Public Works and Recreation Director Jeff Long.
The DNR grants require a dollar-for-dollar match from the city, money which comes from special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST) collections.