Grassroots organization Friends of the Lower Appomattox River plans to build a pier on the riverbank area behind the former Patrick Copeland school site.

Grassroots environmental group Friends of the Lower Appomattox River (FOLAR) has found its next project: A 100-foot pier over the river from the park area behind the former Patrick Copeland site.
"The pier will be used as another part of our riverfront," said FOLAR member Wayne Walton.
The pier will serve a number of purposes, said Walton: as a water quality monitoring station, as an observation deck and as a place to fish from. The group has undertaken a large number of such projects in an attempt to attract more people to the river; its most recent projects include two bridges built along the river in Petersburg and a similar pier for the Appomattox River Regional Park in Prince George County.
FOLAR is currently waiting to hear a price from the builders. The last pier it built in Prince George County cost it $25,000.
The group is currently trying to find the funds to build this pier. The Hopewell City Council recently awarded FOLAR a matching grant of up to $12,000, which will go a long way towards raising the money. That grant comes from a fine recently taken from a local industry for environmental violations, so it is not taxpayer money, notes Walton.
The group is currently looking for other grants, as well as its own reserves, to find the money to start building.
The pier should be simple to build, said Walton, but the longest part of the process is trying to get the permits to begin construction.
"Hopefully, we'll have it
built before the end of the
summer, once we get the permit," said Walton. "That's the hardest part."
Anyone looking for information or wishing to donate to FOLAR can contact the group at (804) 861-1666.

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