The Platteville Community Arboretum has been raising money for the Moving Platteville Outdoors Rountree Branch trail lighting and paving project.
The next phase comes when volunteers will distribute informational door hangers throughout Platteville the week of Oct. 12 to solicit donations as part of the Moving Platteville Outdoors Community Campaign.
The campaign’s goal is to reach, along with other donations, the $150,000 needed to fulfill the local match requirements of the grant the state Department of Natural Resources awarded the City of Platteville for the project.
Moving Platteville Outdoors is a community effort among the arboretum, the City of Platteville, the Platteville Community Fund, Building Platteville, and the UW–Platteville Foundation 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 Trail,” as stated in a PCA news release.
The Cindy Tang Charitable Trust has pledged to match all donations received during this Community Campaign dollar for dollar up to $25,000. The matching pledge, combined with the funding from the state Department of Natural Rsources, means that each dollar donated up to $25,000 will be worth $3 to the project.
Donors of $100 or more will receive a specially designed yard sign to recognize their support.
Contributions of any amount can be mailed to the Platteville Community Arboretum, P.O. Box 302, Platteville,WI 53818. Contributions are also being received online at plattevillearboretum.org/MPO. The PCA is a 501(c)3 charitable organization, making contributions tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law.
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.
• 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.
• Paving the entire 3 mile trail to provide a uniform, safe surface from Chestnut Street to the connection with the Platteville-Belmont Trail at the east limits of the City of Platteville.
• Lighting the entire 3 mile trail to provide a safe recreational and transportation corridor.
The City of Platteville has received a DNR grant of $642,692 for expansion and improvements to the Rountree Branch Trail. This grant funding requires a dollar-for-dollar match. To date Moving Platteville Outdoors has raised approximately $440,362 (plus $52,700 in-kind) towards the required match through grants and local business donations and pledges.
Approximately $150,000 more is needed in matching funds. Additional fundraising continues through grants, business donations, and other fundraisers.
For more information about Moving Platteville Outdoors or the Rountree Branch Trail, contact Platteville Community Arboretum volunteer Gene Weber, geneweber4@gmail.com, 778-6914, or visit www.plattevillearboretum.org/MPO.
