County travel office pursues trail-signing crew grants as state tax bill looms

Emery County travel office staff told the Trails Committee on March 3 that the office has applied for OHVR and RTP grants to create a county signing crew and hire seasonal employees to maintain trails and signage.

Speaker 4 reported the county applied for an OHVR grant and is working on an RTP application to fund two seasonal hires and equipment (including a side-by-side and net trailer). The planned signing crew would be a collaborative project with the U.S. Forest Service, Sanpete County and Onyx Trails and would be administered by the county (county payroll) if funded.

Committee members noted OHVR grants were highly competitive; Speaker 6 said the OHVR cycle recently closed with more than $900,000 in requests beyond available funds. RTP funding was presented as an additional option for the county to pursue.

Speaker 4 also alerted the group to a state bill under consideration that would eliminate the restaurant tax used in part to fund the travel office’s programs. “That funding...comes to my travel office and is used for recreation stuff,” the staff member said, noting the office uses revenue to support museums, events, and trail grants. Staff estimated recent annual receipts in the low six figures and urged members to monitor the bill because the travel office relies on that small but steady revenue for local projects.

Next steps: the county will proceed with the grant applications, start hiring seasonals if funded, and monitor the state bill’s progress. If the restaurant tax were eliminated, the travel office said it would reduce discretionary funds available for trail programs.