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Board approves mulching head purchase and sponsors recreation-trail grant applications
Summary
The county approved buying a 60-inch FECON mulching head for natural resources work and agreed to sponsor two recreation-trail grant applications from local clubs seeking federal Recreation Trails Program funding.
Hubbard County approved purchasing a 60-inch FECON mulching head to fit the county skid steer and agreed to sponsor grant applications from local clubs for recreation-trail projects.
Parks and Natural Resources staff described the mulching head as the department's major equipment purchase of the year. Staff said the head matches the skid steer's horsepower, supports trail construction and maintenance, stump reduction, pre-commercial thinning and recreational-forest work, and comes with a one-year warranty from the U.S. equipment supplier. The board approved the purchase after members noted rental costs for similar machinery could be about $7,000 per week.
Separately, the board approved sponsoring two grant applications: one from the Forest Riders ATV Club for culvert work tied to a MnDOT roadway project on U.S. 71 north (cost-share contingent on grant award and a 25% local match) and another from the Forest Riders Snowmobile Club to replace a temporary wooden bridge at Hungry Man Lake with a permanent steel structure to allow year-round trail continuity. Staff said both applications require the county to be the fiscal sponsor and that the work would maintain regional trail connectivity.
Why it matters: The mulcher will expand in-house trail and forest maintenance capability; sponsorship for the ATV and snowmobile grants would let clubs seek federal trail funding to preserve and improve off-highway trail corridors.
County staff noted the mulcher can handle mulching up to 5-inch diameter wood in a single pass and could significantly reduce time and cost for stump and brush work compared with rental or manual methods.
