Improvements could be on the way for the for the Chicopee Woods Area Park trail system, with the city of Gainesville serving as a metaphorical bridge to the process.
The $130,000 project budget, which, incidentally, will help replace two aging bridges along the trail, is funded completely by a $100,000 grant from the Department of Natural Resources and $30,000 from the local chapter of the Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association (SORBA).
Tom Saurat, SORBA's executive director, said the issue has to do with how the grants come in. Essentially, they come in as forms of reimbursement, so the work must be paid for upfront, then the funding comes in later.
Saurat said the Chicopee Woods Area Park Commission simply doesn't have the funding in its accounts, so it is asking to partner with Gainesville to borrow the money and pay it back.
"The city od Gainesville's being asked to fund up to $70,000 as a bridge to receiving that (reimbursement) funding," said Melody Marlowe, Gainesville chief financial officer.
If approved at the city council's voting meeting March 1, construction would be slated to begin in April on the first bridge, and work would begin on the second bridge in October.
The project would be completed by May 2017, and Saurat said it would attract people to the area.
"(The trail) is used not only by bicyclists, but also trail runners," said Saurat at council's work session Thursday morning.
"It's amazing how that exercise community is growing," said Mayor Danny Dunagan.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2016/2/373492/gainesville-considers-service-contract-for-chicopee-woods-trail-improvements