Rural Infrastructure Authority is supported by the economic development team at the North Carolina Department of Commerce. Authority members review and approve funding requests from local communities. Funding comes from a variety of specialized grant and loan programs. Thirteen grant requests were approved last week. Three are of local interest:
WILSON – $850,000
Wilson recently found itself home to something altogether different: A collection of large kinetic sculptures inspired by windmills. Made by one of its residents, WWII veteran Vollis Simpson, these “whirligigs” have become internationally celebrated examples of vernacular art, many of which are part of collections at museums across the country, including the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore.
With many old moving pieces, though, the sculptures were in need of serious conservation attention. Working in a public-private partnership, Wilson Downtown Properties, the North Carolina Arts Council, and the City of Wilson set out to conserve the whirligigs with the future vision of exhibiting them in a new public park.
Grant proceeds from Rural Infrastructure Authority will support the ‘Barnes Street Properties Rehabilitation Project’ upgrading two buildings to create a Downtown and Whirligig Park Visitors Center that includes spaces for makers, offices, and Whirligig maintenance and repairs.
AURORA – $200,000
Town of Aurora (Beaufort County): A $200,000 grant will enable the Town of Aurora to complete infrastructure improvements and pay increased electrical service expenses for the development of the Town’s 30-acre industrial park. Beaufort County Community College and Nutrien (the nearby phosphate mine), are likely to be among the park’s first occupants.
LENOIR COUNTY – $1.9 MILLION
Sewer infrastructure improvements at the NC Global TransPark where the U.S. Department of Navy in conjunction with Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station will build a Fleet Readiness Center, intended to provide aircraft maintenance and repair for the C-130 military aircraft. The project is expected to create 311 jobs.
