Somerset County approves $17,500 to restore power and water at Grand Falls hut

Somerset County commissioners voted to approve $17,500 in local TIF/TIP funds to help Main Trails replace aging battery systems and restore utilities at the Grand Falls backcountry hut.

Wol Tone, executive director of Main Trails, told the board the hut has been unoccupied for six or seven years and lacks power and running water. ‘‘In order to make the water, we need some electricity to run the pump,’’ Tone said, describing a plan to replace heavy lead‑acid batteries with two or three new lithium‑ion units and to service the composting toilet system.

The funding request grew out of a technical assessment and a KORA‑funded trail plan that identified bridges, road access and infrastructure needs along the Dead River corridor. Tone said Main Trails has “been able to achieve our $2 million goal” for fundraising and is focusing on organizational resiliency, but that some targeted help would let crews occupy and steward the site.

Commissioners asked practical questions about the hut’s condition, access and possible shared use with snowmobile groups. Tone said the structure was “in great shape” structurally, but needs electricity, water and road maintenance to be safely occupied and used by trail crews and visitors.

The board placed the item on the consent/resolutions portion of the meeting and approved the payment. The vote was taken during the meeting’s resolutions sequence and recorded as Resolution 26116 (TIF funds to Main Trails). No individual mover or second was named in the public record of the discussion.

The county will list the $17,500 payment in the treasurer’s warrants and staff said Main Trails will return with additional details and follow‑up as the group advances phase‑two work and public outreach to increase hut use.

The next procedural step is placement of the formal resolution for final action at the next full meeting; staff noted Tone offered to appear again if the board needed more information.