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Danville Town advances $5 million trail plan, approves $78,000 water-main work from food-and-beverage funds
Summary
Danville Town reviewed a proposed multi-segment trail estimated at roughly $5 million, debated alignment and a $2 million bridge cost, and approved using about $78,000 in food-and-beverage funds for a needed water-main relocation to keep a key trail segment moving forward.
Danville Town discussed a multi-year trail project and moved forward with immediate funding to enable a key segment.
Speaker 1 presented a final trail map and financial outline, saying the full project could cost about $5,000,000 and that the bridge portion alone is roughly $2,000,000. He said financing could be staged over several years or built in segments: “If we finance it, if we do it in segments, we could probably do it over 5 years or something like that.”
Speakers debated alignment and user behavior. Speaker 4 and others questioned whether routing the trail to connect with the Steve Johnson Trail — a longer, scenic option — would discourage pedestrian use for short trips to downtown businesses. Speaker 1 replied that a highway-side alignment could be more direct but more expensive in certain stretches and produce safety concerns at crossings.
The council also considered utility work required for the trail: Speaker 1 reported a proposed water-main relocation tied to a trail alignment, estimated at about $78,000. He asked the council to permit use of food-and-beverage funds to pay that cost. Speaker 1 moved to approve using the food-and-beverage funds and Speaker 2 seconded; the motion passed by voice vote.
Why it matters: The trail is presented as a multi-million-dollar capital project that links parks, the hospital, and downtown and requires coordination across design, grant applications, and municipal utilities. Approving the water-main funding clears a key near-term hurdle for construction of at least one trail segment.
What’s next: Council members said they will review the town’s financial plan from Reedy Financial before deciding on broader financing (including possible bonds) and will continue to refine alignment to balance connectivity, safety and cost.
