The Garfield County commissioners unanimously approved a
$150,000 matching grant for a portion of the Lower Valley trail project Monday.
The Lower Valley Trails Group needed to make up $300,000 shortfall to go forward
constructing a portion of the trail west of Glenwood Springs.
The bulk of the $1.2 million project is funded by a Federal
Mineral Lease District grant of $700,000.
“LoVa is extremely grateful for the County’s support in this
emergent situation. We find ourselves in a difficult spot in that we want to
accept the FMLD grant and deliver the project as it was awarded,” said Jeanne
Golay, executive director of the LoVa group.
“The county responded in a very positive way and we are
hopeful that the remaining project partners can increase their contributions a
bit more to make it happen,” Golay said.
The county will only provide the grant if LoVa can raise the
additional $150,000 from other sources. The Roaring Fork Transportation
Authority has pledged an additional $75,000 on top of the $100,000 they already
committed, Golay said.
Golay will ask the Glenwood Springs city council to consider
increasing their contribution by $75,000 at their Thursday meeting.
The Meet
Me In The Middle project will build just under 700 feet of trail along the
Colorado River heading west from the Glenwood Sanitation plant. The trail will
terminate at a wider section between the Interstate 70 and the river, where the
plan calls for building picnic shelters.
The cost of that project section alone is $1.2 million. Since there isn’t enough of a bank between the river and the interstate, the trail has to be placed on mechanically stabilized earth walls, similar to the path in sections of the Glenwood Canyon bike path.
Golay initially asked the county for the full $300,000
shortfall, which the commissioners declined, suggesting the matching grant.
The ultimate goal of the LoVa trail group is to have a trail
next to the Colorado River spanning Garfield County, from De Beque to Glenwood
Springs, connecting to the Glenwood Canyon bike path.
The most expensive portion of that theoretical trail is
through South Canyon, where cost of building the trail is around $2 million per
mile, according to Golay.
But once that section is complete, Golay sees the potential
of tremendous benefit to the region in terms of tourism and recreational
dollars.
The trail group has until Dec. 31 to turn in their final project
plan to the FMLD.
If the project fund is short at that date, the trail will have to terminate earlier than expected.
tphippen@postindependent.com
