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Council OKs property purchases, easements to complete Heartland Trail phase 3
Summary
Orville authorized agreements to purchase parcels and obtain temporary easements needed for Heartland Trail phase 3, noting more than $1 million in grant funding and partnership with rails-to-trails to cover property costs.
The Orville City Council on Sept. 16 adopted resolutions authorizing the safety service director to purchase specific parcels and obtain temporary easements necessary to complete Heartland Trail phase 3 (PID 115403).
Safety Service Director Wheeler told the council the phase had secured "over 1,000,000 dollars in grant funding" from the state and that rails-to-trails would bear the costs associated with the property purchases. He said the property acquisitions and easements were the final pieces needed to extend the trail from the Depot area across to Marshallville and ultimately connect to the Ohio-to-Erie Trail and the Great American Rail Trail.
Council members thanked staff and private property owners (identified in discussion as Elran, Wilbert and others) for cooperating in easement negotiations. Wheeler noted environmental and timing constraints — for example, certain tree work must be done in seasons that avoid impacts to Indiana bats — and staff emphasized careful routing to keep the trail off road where possible.
Next steps: council authorized the director to enter agreements; staff said they hope to bid the construction in spring pending completion of property acquisitions and easements.
The council emphasized this is a multi-year effort; funding, permits and successful easement agreements remain prerequisites to construction.
