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Kosciusko County Parks and Recreation Board was asked to be the point leaders for phase II of the North Webster-Syracuse trail project during a meeting Thursday, Oct. 8.
Garet Becker, North Webster Trail Committee member, informed the board how diligently and patiently they have been working on funding for phase I of the project; taking the trail from the south end of North Webster on Ind. 13, up through the town.
“Through securing the funding … (the Indiana Department of Transportation) gave us a 90/10. They would fund 90%, and we were on the hook for the other 10,” said Becker. “While I hope it will start sooner, Beth (Johnson) has assured me it will start in 2028.”
Currently, they are looking at starting phase II, which will run outside of the purview of North Webster. Becker noted “that is why we need your partnership” on completing the phase two project to take it north of North Webster, up Ind. 13, and ending it at Wawasee Middle School.
Johnson, with USI Consultants, let the board know they are working on updating their cost estimates and scope of services for the second phase. The scope of the project will include a 10-foot-wide trail; a grass buffer of 20 to 25 feet between the road and trail with sections narrowing to 10 feet, “which will probably require a design exception from INDOT”; ADA compliance; warning signals; drainage improvements; and a trailhead at the middle school.
“The total length of the (phase II) project is 3.2 miles,” said Johnson. “We’re estimating between $6-7 million.”
Johnson stated the difficult part of phase II is finding someone to lead this part of the project. Because it is outside of the town of North Webster, they will need a full-time employee with the county to be a liaison “to take care of the reporting … of the INDOT funds.” She also let the board know it will be an 80-20 grant, instead of the 90-10 grant North Webster received, because the safety element would not be there for the second phase.
“The current call is for fiscal 2032 construction, so that’s July of 2031 through June 2032,” said Johnson. “The grant is … a reimbursable grant until you get to construction. You’re only paying INDOT the 20%.”
Board member Mike Cusick asked if the money had to be paid up front for this, which Johnson answered they would have to sign a letter of commitment, but do not have to have all the money up front.
Board Vice President Aggie Sweeney asked what the county commissioners said when they talked to them at their meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 6. North Webster Town Council President and Trail Committee member Dan Thystrup stated they were “all for it as long as you get those guys going on it.” Thystrup stated County Commissioner Bob Conley told him “he would like to see it up and running before I am done with my office.”
Cusick asked why the cost was high, which Johnson said it is because of the wetland areas that will have to be gone through in order to “get the result” everyone would be happy with.
“Would someone on this board have to be the (employee in responsible charge) for that or would it have to be something else?” asked Board President Troy Turley.
“The ERC would have to be a full-time employee from the county,” responded Johnson.
Turley asked what exactly the three were asking, which was to take ownership of phase II, and application, along with being willing to participate as the financial commitment for the project. Sweeney noted they do not have authority to do any of those, but instead that authority comes from the commissioners.
The other part of the project is connecting to Syracuse, and the board asked Tracey Ford with the Syracuse Trails where they are on their side of the project.
“(The Community Amenities Program) has agreed to support the Syracuse boardwalk project … that’s going to take a boardwalk through the town of Syracuse all the way to the north end,” said Ford. “As these guys head north, you’ve got the ultimate goal of regional connectivity that is in sight … it is a huge win for our community.”
With Wawasee South, which will head down to North Webster, Ford noted they are working on phase I, “which is a small but mighty section.” This phase will end at the Sleepy Owl and give connectivity to the South Shore neighborhoods. With the design and construction, they have been working with INDOT and USI on the designs and alignments of the trail. She noted once the funding was secured, they are ready to push forward with construction.
Turley noted “it sounds like the North Webster Trail would reach the middle school” before Syracuse did, which Ford said yes, that would be a part of a later phase in the project. Sweeney asked once phase II was complete for Syracuse, how close they would be to the middle school, to which Ford said they would be halfway.
“Obviously, this is within what we all want done,” said Board member Rob Bishop. “I’m worried how we’re going to pull this off, and what we will have to do to pull it off. What will we have to do as the next steps?”
“You have to have those conversations (with the county commissioners and the county council) … that’s step one,” said Johnson. “We can draft the commitment letter for you.”
County Auditor Alyssa Schmucker reminded the board that as far as funding goes, the budgets for next year have already been set, which may raise some flags when it comes to the commissioners and council, and they will need the paperwork to show the numbers, which Johnson is currently working on.
Ultimately, the board approved making a recommendation to the county commissioners during their meeting on Nov. 2.
In other business:
• The Pierceton to Winona Lake connectivity project is moving forward, with Bishop stating Pierceton is in the same boat that North Webster is in when it comes to part of the trail being outside of town limits. Zach Dripps, with the Michiana Area Council of Governments, is looking into requests for proposals.
• From 9-11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, the Kiwanis and Friends of the Trail will be working on cleaning up the pavilion and the monument at the Chinworth Trail.
• The bid for the restoration of the Chinworth Bridge was higher than expected. Turley noted he is working with the Kosciusko County Highway Department to get bids out again, so they are within the constraint levels.
• The board will look into trail policies when it comes to e-bikes and a policy for trail use. With it, they will send information to Ford when it comes to golf carts on the trails, as they have had some major safety issues with people driving their golf carts on the trails.
• Kosciusko County Community Coordinator Amy Roe gave updates on some other county projects, such as: Amy Irwin with the Atwood Parks Committee will hold a ribbon-cutting “sometime in November” for the grand opening of the park; Etna Green received approval for their final phase for their project; Mentone is fully funded and “moving slow and steady” after having some land donated to them; Sidney and Claypool have been asked to decrease their projects and apply for rebidding; and Syracuse is working on funding.
The next meeting will be at 1 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12.
