INC NEWS - Regarding the Durham County Press Release on the Clean Water Management Trust Fund

[Deb Christie]

Note:  Press release sent earlier by Bill Anderson

To:    Erwin Area Neighborhood Group
        New Hope Creek Corridor Advisory Committee and associated members of the land conservancy community
        Members of the New Hope Creek Fundraising Committee
        Members of the InterNeighborhood Council

From:    Deb Christie, EANG Fundraising Coordinator
            New Hope Creek Park

Re:    Attached press release from the Clean Water Management Trust Fund

The attached press release in reference makes an interesting point on page two of the release:   funds raised by EANG (underwritten by the Triangle Land Conservancy) for the New Hope Creek Park will now exceed funds contributed by any other entity.  While EANG members have contributed a total of $200,000, the County of Durham will pay $151,643, Orange County will pay $73,257, Chapel Hill will pay $36,629 and the City of Durham will pay $27,471.  

The New Hope Creek Project has brought $1,112,000 in state funds into our area which would otherwise have been spent elsewhere.  Far from depleting open space funds from other projects, the New Hope Creek Park project has succeeded in saving significant open space close to the urban core at a bargain price to the taxpayers of four jurisdictions.

We have been exceptionally fortunate, through a truly phenomenal number of contributions, to have achieved this outcome.  We can well understand, in retrospect, the fears and doubts of those who wondered whether this purchase was a good use of land conservancy dollars.  We have achieved success despite the considerable difficulties thanks to extraordinary risk-taking leadership:  first of all Wendy Jacobs and Jeff Fisher, who conceived the original scheme, got the ball rolling and kept the pressure on; then Ellen Reckhow and Becky Heron (and their perennial supporter, Hildegard Ryals) who bought Durham County into the political lead on this project and recruited the other three jurisdictions:  Orange County, Chapel Hill and the City of Durham; then Wade and Carolyn Penny, who contributed key lands and their considerable endorsement to the project; then the Triangle Land Conservancy, who contributed essential land conservancy expertise, negotiation, management, and underwriting services to the project.  At last but not least, we acknowledge the leadership of all those who made pledges from $3 to $15,000 to assemble the $200,000 piece of the financial puzzle. 

Hats off to the whole bunch!

Hurrah!

Deb
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