Woodfin – Members of the Woodfin Town Commissioners, along with their partner in the construction of a new park and greenway, held a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday morning (July 14).
The event was attended by members of the Town of Woodfin, some family members, members of county government and Rocky Hollifield of the Craggy Mountain Line, whose trolly line’s rails run next to the new playground will have a depot at the park.
“This is the first step…Thank everyone for coming,” said Mayor Jerry VeHaun after the group turned the first shoves of dirt. “I notice Rocky Hollifield here of the Craggy Mountain Line, who’s definitely going to be part of this.”
Woodfin Commissioner Debbie Giezentanner told the Tribune that a new timeline for the park and greenway would be posted to the website after next week’s town commissioners meeting where members of the board would get the first look and “then we’ll put it right on the website.” She said that Equinox would also be at the meeting presenting the final design.
“We do want to thank the Silver family who donated the property for their gift to the town,” Woodfin Commissioner Jackie Bryson. Bryson and Giezentanner expressed their disappointment that none of the family could be present at the ceremony. “They were very busy, so they weren’t able to come,” said Giezentanner. Charles Silver and his brother, Ricky Silver, initiated the gift of the property for the park. “They wanted to give back to the citizens of Woodfin. They’re Woodfin. They’ve grown up here and still live in Woodfin.”
“I’m really excited. This is something we’ve been working on for a little while now,” explained Buncombe County Greenway Planner Karla Furnari. “To finally see an actual groundbreaking is fantastic! Debbie [Giezentanner] and the town of Woodfin have been working really, really hard on this. We’ve had some snags along the way, but I think we’re moving forward really quickly now, so it’s awesome!”
The actual work by the construction company of Baker Grading, of Old Fort, NC, who won the contract with a bid of $1.89 million, would begin at the end of the month or beginning of August as they have a few items in the agreement to work out before its signed.