The Arboretum News - Platteville Community Arboretum

The Arboretum News
Our mission is to create a community-based arboretum for the purposes of education,
recreation, conservation, and the cooperation within the Platteville community.
Message from the
President
The PCA
has had a
very busy
winter!
We are
excited
to share
news with
you about
a new initiative called Moving Platteville Outdoors. Our
plans to greatly improve the
trail and bridges are under
way. Look further to see a
map of these improvements
as well as a brief description
of this year’s Nature Camp at
Rountree Branch and how to
register. Lastly, we would like
to recognize Rand Atkinson
for his many years of service
to PCA and the Platteville
community. Rand upheld
our mission, “to provide a
non-profit, community-based
arboretum for the purposes
of education, recreation, conservations, and the encouragement of cooperation within
the Platteville community” to
its highest degree.
Robin Fatzinger,
PCA President
SUMMER 2014
Nature Camp at Rountree Branch!
PCA will be holding its third summer Nature Camp at Rountree
Branch for third through sixth graders. This year’s campers will
not only spend time along the trail, but will also learn about
fishing, native trees and plants, and how to build a bird feeder.
Those interested in registering for camp should contact the City
of Platteville’s Recreation Office. Camp runs July 14 – 18 from
8:30am to 11:30am and has a fee of $20.00.
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A special THANK YOU to RAND ATKINSON
Rand Atkinson has been the Program Coordinator of the PCA for the past 7 years. Rand has
played an integral role in habitat restoration, trail
maintenance, arboretum projects, environmental
education, and so much more. His environmental integrity and vast knowledge has helped PCA
evolve to what it is today.
PCA would like to thank Rand for his guidance,
dedication, and passion during his tenure. Rand is moving forward to pursue a new
business adventure. PCA will miss his expertise, willingness to do anything that would
improve the trail and its surrounding habitat, and his belief in supporting one’s community.
Thank you Rand!
PCA kicks off fundraising for Moving Platteville Outdoors
$315,000 needed to complete $1.2 million project
With the approval of $150,000 in a funding pledge from the Platteville Common Council,
the Platteville Community Arboretum is kicking off fundraising for the Moving Platteville
Outdoors project.
The goals of Moving Platteville Outdoors are to encourage people to get outside and
enjoy the natural environment; promote a healthy, active lifestyle; and improve the quality of life in the Platteville community by expanding and improving the Rountree Branch
Recreational Trail.
The Rountree Branch Trail stretches from the UW–Platteville campus on the west to the
Keystone Development and the future Platteville–Belmont Trail on the east, paralleling
the Rountree Branch stream and Business 151 for most of its three-mile length.
The Moving Platteville Outdoors project will improve the Rountree Branch Trail by rerouting the trail around a set of stairs making it accessible to bikes, strollers, and the disabled; replacing a failing bridge; and constructing missing segments of trail to provide an
off road connection to the Platteville Dog Park and the future Platteville–Belmont Trail,
including moving an existing bridge to a new location; and paving and lighting the entire
three-mile trail to provide a uniform, safe surface from Chestnut Street to the connection
with the Platteville–Belmont Trail at Keystone Development.
Last year, after the city gave PCA a $50,000 challenge grant,
PCA raised $102,000 to complete the bridge work and trail
rerouting, and continue fundraising for paving and lighting the
trail. Plans changed after talking with potential funders.
“After talks with grant specialists at various agencies and foundations, PCA realized that finding funding for lighting alone
would be near impossible and that a larger project would
likely be more attractive to funders,” said PCA director Gene
Weber. PCA decided to hold off on completing the trail rerouting and bridge replacement so that they could use the
$102,000 as leverage for additional grant funds.
The Platteville community has the opportunity to apply for
grant funding for the trail improvements through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Stewardship Local
Assistance Program. However, the DNR program can only
fund 50 percent of the project costs. The other half of the
project costs must come from sources other than the state
government. The current cost estimate for the project is $1.2
million.
A Civil and Environmental Engineering Student Design team
is working on finalizing the design, and updated cost estimates
will be available in late April with actual costs being determined in a later bid process.
With the funds raised from the 3 for $100K projects and generous donations from Southwest Health Center and Platteville Development Group kick-starting the fundraising efforts,
the PCA has raised almost $135,000 of the $600,000 needed.
The city has allocated another $150,000 in matching funds.
“The use of park impact fees and TIF funding to help leverage
additional funds is a wise investment for the city of Platteville,”
said Common Council president Eileen Nickels. “Investing in
bicycle and pedestrian paths is essential to making our community safer and more sustainable. This trail will attract families, businesses and tourists to our city.”
grants, corporate and organizational contributions, and individual donations.
“David Canny, the original visionary of the Rountree Branch
Trail, was a small business owner who strongly advocated
business involvement in the community,” said Building Platteville President Kathy Kopp. “He would be pleased if his vision of a completed trail was embraced by Platteville business
owners.”
The Rountree Branch Trail improvements are expected to be
completed at approximately the same time as the Platteville–
Belmont Trail improvements are being completed in 2015.
Southwest Health donates: As part of its Heart of the Community initiative, Southwest Health of Platteville recently made
a $5,000 contribution to the Moving Platteville Outdoors
project to help light, pave, and provide trail enhancements to
the Rountree Branch recreational trails.
“It is our vision to build a healthier southwest Wisconsin, and
the PCA’s trail project is a vital part of making that a reality,”
said Southwest Health CEO Dan Rohrbach. “Improving local access to community recreational resources like the PCA
trail has been shown in many communities like ours around
the country to provide important and wide-ranging health
and wellness benefits, from reducing heart attacks to reducing
health insurance costs.”
How to donate: Contributions of any amount can be mailed
to the Platteville Community Arboretum, P.O. Box 302, Platteville, WI 53818. Donors are asked to include a note indicating funds are for the Moving Platteville Outdoors Project.
Contributions to PCA are tax deductible to the full extent
allowed by law.
“I applaud the efforts of the Platteville Community Arboretum to work with the DNR on grant opportunities to improve the current trail system in Platteville,” said Director of
Public Works Howard Crofoot. “People throughout the community are walking and biking for recreation, health and as an
alternative to the automobile. Any effort to make these trails
more accessible and user-friendly will enhance Platteville as a
place to live, work and have fun.”
The city’s contribution and other donations leave $315,000
left to be raised. “This is a huge undertaking for our small
organization and our rural community, but we have broad
community support and a strong commitment to improving
the health of our residents and the quality of life in our community,” said PCA President Robin Fatzinger.
While the PCA is spearheading this effort, the City of Platteville, Building Platteville, and the Platteville Community Fund
are strong partners in the project. The PCA and its partners
will be conducting fundraising on several fronts, foundation
Robin Fatzinger - President
Bev Loy
Tom Nelson
Evan Larson - Secretary
Kris Wright
Mike Penn
Jen Schweigert
Jessie Goodwin
Frank Steck
Julie Pluemer - Treasurer
Gene Weber
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