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Trail plan moves forward; USDA grant limits route to one side of the road, council told
Summary
Staff and partners updated council on a federally funded trail project; acceptance of a USDA Hispanic access grant was confirmed, but the grant restricts which side of the road work can occur and several right-of-way and utility issues remain to be resolved
City staff and project partners told the council the trail project has funding approval and is in planning. The city accepted a federal grant (described in the meeting as roughly $500,000) that will reimburse construction expenses; staff said acceptance is on record and the project will proceed into detailed planning and permitting before any significant construction begins.
Why it matters: The trail is intended to create multi-use connectivity in and around the city. The grant’s terms influenced the proposed alignment: the USDA funding rules effectively required construction on a particular side of the county road, which limited routing options and forced trade-offs related to sight-lines, overhead power lines, fence setbacks and other right-of-way constraints.
What staff reported: - Status: The council was told the grant has been accepted (the minutes record an earlier acceptance on July 17); the project is still in planning and has not moved to significant construction or “truck-and-dirt” phase. - Grant limits: The USDA Hispanic access grant included conditions that effectively restricted work to one side of the county road; staff attempted to seek exceptions but must abide by the grantor’s line-of-work rules unless USDA gives written permission to change alignment. - Outstanding issues: utility poles and overhead power lines, narrow right-of-way in places (some fence/property lines are within 10 feet of the road), drainage and tree/line-of-sight impacts, and whether motorized use (ATVs, e-bikes) will be allowed on the finished trail. Parking and access points were discussed but no final decisions were made.
Next steps: Staff will continue design and coordination with USDA, the county and utility owners; planning staff and project leads asked to be included in future discussions and to pursue USDA reconsideration if feasible. The council was asked to remain apprised during the grant-to-construction phase.
