The city of Cottonwood is receiving a $45,000 grant from the Nature Conservancy and the Walton Family Foundation to plan for recreation along the Verde River.
Similar grants have been given to other communities in the Verde Valley, Cottonwood Economic Development Director Casey Rooney said, including Clarkdale and Camp Verde.
In Camp Verde, funds are being used to develop a master plan for recreation along the river, including enforcement of property rights and protections while allowing access to the public.
In Clarkdale, some of the grant money has been spent on the Verde River@Clarkdale program, which in recent years established public and boating access point along the river.
“It is similar to what Camp Verde and Clarkdale got,” said Charlie Scully, Cottonwood long-range planner. “It seems to be a great opportunity to work with a great bunch of people.”
In Cottonwood, initial use of the grant money will be to look at connecting the Jail Trail in Old Town to the trails along the river in Riverfront Park.
“This is something that is good and won’t cost you anything other than city staff time,” Rooney said.
Rooney said that the news about the grant came quickly, within the last couple of weeks, so this is the initial stages of planning for river recreation.
Some talk has been of a possible loop trail through Old Town, Rooney said.
“We’ve been talking about trails for a long time but I don’t really think we’ve ever tied the thing together,” Rooney said.
Some of the money could be used to hire a consultant with expertise in planning in rivers and trails in order to help put together a cohesive plan, Rooney said.
Part of that plan could include signage and informational kiosks to help guide people along the trail.
“Some people do get confused on the jail trail looking for the river,” Rooney said.
Developing the trail system further could also help promote different interests in people who visit Old Town.
“Not everyone wants to go wine tasting and shopping,” Rooney said.
Since this is the initial phase of planning, Rooney said there are many options.
“If you’re handicapped, you have a real hard time getting down to the river at Riverfront,” Rooney said. “We might look at a hard surface trail.”
The funding may also open up other avenues of funding for future projects, Rooney said.
“It’s a no-brainer,” Councilman Terence Pratt said. “I think it’s important we value the Verde River.”
“The sky’s the limit at this stage of the game,” Rooney said.
