Committee agrees to extend Brad Freeman Trail grant while staff seeks survey, engineering estimates

The steering committee reviewed an expiring SBF grant for the Brad Freeman Trail originally issued Jan. 16, 2019, and amended several times. A district representative told the committee the project remains underfunded and that state-administered Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) rules will not release funds for portions of the trail that sit on private land without detailed survey and engineering work to quantify the split between private and public sections.

"The existing balance that has been allocated for this project does not meet the total project cost," the district representative said, describing an earlier application and the difficulty of determining precise percentages of trail length on private parcels without field staking and updated engineering. The representative said the district lacks resources to pay for that preliminary survey and engineering work and requested the committee authorize either funds for those tasks or a time extension to find additional funding.

Committee members discussed prior surveys and design work, options to seek grant reimbursement for up to 50% of survey and engineering costs from other grants, and the practical problems of narrow easements and changing alignments where the trail crosses different ownership types. One committee member proposed a six-month extension to allow staff to obtain preliminary cost estimates and identify potential funding partners; the motion was made and seconded.

The committee agreed to allow additional time for staff to obtain survey and engineering estimates and to report back with ballpark figures and potential funding options at a future meeting. Staff emphasized that if the committee chooses to continue to pursue LWCF funds, an engineer must quantify the private versus public sections so the application can be adjusted accordingly.

What happens next: Staff will seek preliminary estimates for staking/survey and engineering, explore grant options to fund those upfront costs (including possible 50% reimbursement in grant programs), and return to the committee with cost estimates and a recommendation for whether to extend the grant formally.