Grant will fund community garden near Westwood School | Local News

The Town of Dalton received a $150,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to establish an urban community garden on municipal property located on Trammell Street near Westwood School.

“We were able to make the case to the Department of Agriculture that various outreach efforts could be undertaken throughout the year through a gardening coordinator,” said City Administrator Andrew Parker during the a recent city council meeting.

The grant application requested $45,000 to fund materials for the raised beds. Parker said some of these beds will be accessible to Americans with disabilities.

“Some locations will be gardened by neighbors, students at the school and community members,” Parker said. “There are some retirement apartments right across the street, and we hope they can put them to good use.”

The grant application sought $103,000 to fund the salary and benefits of a gardening outreach coordinator for two years.

Council members voted 4-0 to approve a memorandum of understanding with the Limestone Valley Resource Conservation and Development Council to administer the grant. Parker said the grant requires a lot of paperwork and reporting, and Limestone council works with local communities to obtain grants and manage the requirements. Mayor Annalee Harlan Sams usually only votes in the event of a tie.

Limestone Council will receive 13.25% of the grant for its work.

“It’s not something we do on a daily basis, which is why we thought we should collaborate with them,” Parker said.

He said city officials will work with Whitfield County Extension office staff to train the new gardeners.

“We have not yet received a timeline for receiving the funds,” Parker said. “But we hope we can start building the beds this summer and people can start using them in the fall and if not, next spring.”

How will this differ from the Lakeshore Park Community Garden?

“The one at Lakeshore is not accessible under the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act),” Parker said. “It will be more formal. There is no outreach at Lakeshore. It's just a space for people to garden. We will have a coordinator from the parks and recreation department who will coordinate classes, coordinate rentals and generally help people.”