Supervisors back DCNR grant support, convert park grant to small-community strategy

The Gilpin Township Board of Supervisors voted to back a region-building trail project and take immediate steps to secure funding and insurance for a newly acquired park.

Chris Tickler, a local project manager with Armstrong Trails, asked supervisors to provide a letter of support for a DCNR application for a $1,200,000 flyover that would span Norfolk Southern tracks and complete a 690-foot connection on a long-distance trail corridor toward Butler. "We're submitting a DCNR grant for 1,200,000 for the construction of a flyover that goes, overactive Norfolk Southern Railroad," Tickler told the board, describing the segment as a missing link on a route he said would help the region capture visitor spending.

Supervisors confirmed the township holds legal title to the park property and discussed next steps to record the deed and add the site to the township liability policy. The board approved a motion to request an amendment to an existing PRD grant so the project can be reclassified as a Small Communities (SC) grant — a change that, as staff explained, provides a $30,000 unmatched allocation up front and enables matching funds in subsequent phases. The board also approved submitting a first pay request to DCNR to cover approximately $13,500 in engineering costs, with officials saying those funds will come from the grant account and will not require township funds.

Supervisors authorized staff to add Gilpin Leesburg Park to the township's liability policy and to proceed with the grant-amendment and engineering pay request. Officials said converting to a phased SC grant would allow the township to complete priority site work first and push fencing and some accessibility improvements into a Phase 2 application round.