Village committee recommends south‑side Bell Road trail; council urged to act to meet grant timeline

At the Dec. 8 South Russell Village Council meeting, Carrie Schloss, representing the Safe Bicycling Pedestrian Committee, presented cost and design estimates for a proposed 5‑foot off‑road trail from Spring Drive to Route 306 and recommended proceeding with the south‑side design.

Schloss said the committee obtained cost estimates for both a north‑side and south‑side alignment. "The North Side came to a cost of 1,480,000 . . . 400,000 of that would be a cost that we can't use the grant for . . . and then 1,000,000 would be what we could use the grant for," Schloss said. She reported the south‑side estimate at about $1.8 million, of which roughly $1.0 million would be eligible for the grant and roughly $500,000 would be non‑eligible design/third‑party/oversight fees.

The committee favored the south side in part to avoid a route that would require multiple crossings, and because the south‑side alignment better supports future eastward connectivity on Route 306, Schloss said. The committee asked council to authorize the necessary scoping work so the village could submit grant materials; Schloss said if scoping documents and forms are submitted by the December deadline, the earliest available funding could be in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2027 (fiscal 2028).

Councilmembers asked clarifying questions about the exact boundary of the project and the portion of costs grant‑eligible versus local match or other funding. The committee noted that certain fixed fees — design, model authority and oversight — are not grant‑eligible, and that the village must decide quickly to secure third‑party oversight and complete scoping.

No final funding vote or design authorization occurred at the meeting; the committee requested council guidance and next steps so scoping can proceed.