Jonesville builds community connections through recreation, infrastructure, and ARP investment

Jonesville, a town of approximately 2,300 residents, is known as the heart of the Yadkin Valley. It is part of the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and sits south of the Yadkin River, in close proximity to Statesville and Winston-Salem. Jonesville Town Manager Michael Pardue describes the rural town as a “small community with big aspirations.” Those aspirations include both growth and modernization and the town has been successful in securing the means to do so. 

“We’re an up-and-comer,” Pardue said. “[As far as] some of the grant money that we have been exposed to, we have had phenomenal success in the last couple of years to the tune of about $30 million to this little town.”

Jonesville has been relentless in pursuing grant opportunities and that persistence is paying off in a diversity of ways. As a result, the town has focused efforts on making large-scale improvements to infrastructure, investing in places for the community to gather, and building the town’s reputation as an outdoor recreation location. 

“We are putting a lot of emphasis on outdoor recreation, specifically being a tourist destination,” Pardue said. 

In 2019, the town received a grant that allowed it to purchase 155 acres of land at the terminus of the Yadkin River, along with the greenway beside the river. The town is working to turn this land into the Double Bluff Recreation Area with additional grant funding. The town hopes this area will include a disc golf course, mountain biking trails, fishing areas, a playground, shelters, and more. The project is underway with a projected opening of fall 2025.

The town is also working to rehabilitate the greenway along the Yadkin River through a federal grant. Pardue, who has experience in stream restoration, shared how this grant will assist in reestablishing the stream banks and mitigating damages from the river flooding. Greenway projects have long been discussed among town leaders, but they never had the resources to move forward with concrete plans. Pardue helped facilitate the assembling of a group of individuals in town to form a non-profit called the Jonesville Trails Association, which is now working to move this project forward. 

Just up the road from the greenway trailhead park is the site of the former Hugh Chatham Memorial Bridge that connected Jonesville with Elkin. The bridge, originally built in 1931, was found to be structurally unstable in 2006 and was closed to traffic, eventually being demolished in 2010. Jonesville and Elkin are cooperating on a project to rebuild the bridge for pedestrian use, allow easy access between towns, and connect with the greenway. In light of this future plan, the town is investing in creating a new pedestrian-friendly community hub that has been dubbed Uptown Jonesville. There are plans to build a roundabout and invest in new businesses and outdoor spaces. Even before these plans officially get underway, local businesses are already popping up in the area with many more in the works, including restaurants, coffee shops, and retail space. 

“For the next five years, I do expect a complete transformation of this whole town in a positive light,” Pardue said.

Of the over $30 million in grant funds allocated to Jonesville, about $20 million is going towards infrastructure, specifically rehabilitating the town’s water system. Aware of the need to upgrade its water system, Jonesville secured grants to fund those repairs. Amid this work, the town’s system was designated as a distressed utility by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), opening the door for much of the funds the town was allocated to make the needed upgrades. Since the town was already addressing its water challenges, it was in a good position to move forward quickly once the grant funds were secured. These water system projects cover a wide scope, including updates to the water treatment plants, putting in a new clearwell and new filter systems, plus adding in new water meters and water lines from the main line to residents and businesses.

This article has touched on some of the major projects going on in Jonesville, but there are still many others that the town received funding for or that are in its future plans. Two additional examples are the town’s plans to build a new library to replace the current one that has fallen into disrepair, plus the creation a new master plan for Lila Swaim Park. This park already includes a playground, tennis and basketball courts, sports fields, and walking trails but needs significant upgrades to create a suitable gathering space for the community.

When looking at these extensive projects, and the considerable grant dollars that have been secured, it may seem that the $700,000 Jonesville received in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds would be insignificant. But Pardue pointed out that the town’s ability to invest those funds in revenue replacement, thereby ensuring available funds to pay staff in the years following the COVID pandemic, has made a substantial impact.

“You have to understand how when we invested that revenue to maintain and keep quality staff, it has enabled us to do the other things,” Pardue said. “It helped pull this little town through some tough times because when we learned that COVID and everything was happening, we started taking some pretty serious actions. … We really started tightening our belt when we had to. … Your most important assets are your employees, and we could not start cutting them loose.”

Beyond this direct allocation of funds, several of the other grants received also stemmed from ARP. In particular, the approximately $15 million Jonesville received from DEQ for its water system are the direct result of ARP allocations to the state of North Carolina. Additionally, Jonesville is receiving support and resources from the UPLIFT program out of Appalachian State, which has a goal of supporting tourism through community-driven efforts in rural North Carolina and is funded by ARP dollars. Finally, Jonesville has worked closely with the League of Municipalities’ Municipal Accounting Services (MAS) program, also stemming from ARP dollars, both through taking advantage of the League’s grant-writing services and undergoing a full financial software conversion. 

The Town of Jonesville has been intentional in opening itself to presented opportunities and persistent in taking appropriate steps to improve needed infrastructure, build the town’s reputation as an outdoor recreation destination, and work towards creating new community-focused spaces.

“The next three to five years, we are going to be busy here. But we have a lot of ideas, a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of interest from our community and others and we are trying to put our best foot forward,” Pardue said. “We have come a long way, and with the grants and the ideas and these opportunities, we feel seriously for Jonesville that the best is yet to come. So, stay tuned.”