PELHAM – The city of Pelham recently received an $80,000 grant from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs that will aid in the completion of a trail system that will one day stretch to Oak Mountain State Park.

At a meeting on Feb. 20, the Pelham City Council authorized an agreement with ADECA to receive the funding.

The $80,000 grant, which requires the city to provide a 20 percent match, will be used to create a trailhead at Pelham City Park to enhance the trail system, City Council President Rick Hayes said.

The trailhead will include parking, water fountains, picnic areas and benches. The city’s 20 percent match amounts to $27,956.

Hayes said the city is close to having the engineering plans for the trail system completed and ready to submit to the state for review. Hayes said the first phase of the project might begin in the fall.

“We’re trying to make this trail system an attraction,” he said. “It has the potential to be a premier system and to become one of the top 10 places to visit.”

The ultimate goal is for the sidewalks being built on Bearden Road, across from Pelham High School, to connect to Oak Mountain State Park.

The Bearden Road sidewalk will come down to the back of Pelham City Park, following Bishop Creek and passing by the Pelham Civic Center and Oak Mountain Amphitheatre, connecting to State Park Road.