Delaware County Council unanimously approved a second round of funding for its Green Ways Grant Program, providing more than $7 million of funding for municipalities to use for green initiatives like open space investments, trail and park development and maintenance, writes Kathleen E. Carey for the Daily Times.

The Green Ways Program was created in 2019 as part of a long-term strategic plan to conserve, connect and enhance the county.

A first round of the program funded 37 grants in 26 municipalities, spending $4.4 million of $10 million set aside for the program. This latest round uses up the remainder of the grant money.

For this second round, the county was inundated with 74 applications from 46 of the county’s 49 municipalities, totaling $13 million in requests.  

County Council agreed to cover 22 of projects with the $7 million in allocated funding.

 “This is a program that will bring better health outcomes to our residents,” said Councilwoman Elaine Schaeffer. ” It will bring economic vitality to our townships and boroughs who are trying to improve their economic standings and it will improve the quality of life for our residents.”

Read more at the Daily Times about the distribution of Green Ways Funds

Here’s a video advertising Delaware County’s Round 2 Green Ways grant program.