Trail Committee’s Fundraising Is Successful
Donn Baird, treasurer for the Syracuse Wawasee Trail Project, had good news to report at the committee’s regular monthly meeting Monday night.
In addition to approximately $28,000 being raised through the annual holiday mailer, the trail committee received a $50,000 grant from the K21 Foundation. An anonymous donor, who offered to match up to $50,000 raised from the mailer, donated the entire $50,000 considering the K21 Foundation grant as a match, and the Harkless Foundation awarded a $5,000 grant as well.
Baird told committee members there should be enough money to finish trail sections on Eastshore and Northshore drives and move forward to another trail section this summer.
In grant updates, committee grant writer Marsha Carey reported she, committee chairman Mike Buhrt and park superintendent Chad Jonsson met with James Turnwalk, a representative of Michiana Council of Governments, about pursuing a Transportation Alternative Program grant for the SR 13 trail section. A call for proposals for T.A.P. grant applications is expected sometime between February and early April. Once the call goes out, communities will have about 30 days to pull their proposals together and submit them.
Applicants for a T.A.P. grant must be a public entity, although Carey stressed no local public dollars would be used for the grant. The committee would be responsible for raising the 20 percent match. It was also recommended the committee ask an engineering firm to do some pro bono work to estimate the project costs and schedule. If the grant is awarded, the committee will have to follow federal regulations on bidding the project out.
Trail committee members will also need to have letters of support. Carey, Jonsson and Buhrt have discussed pursuing the grant with Kosciusko County Administrator Ron Robinson, county commissioner Brad Jackson and State Rep. Rebecca Kubacki and will be making a formal presentation to the county commissioners, asking for their support.
Kay Young, committee member, reported the weather has been problematic as far as where trail could be installed on the southeast end of Lake Wawasee. She and fellow committee member Jim Young will research more in the spring. Carey asked to be kept appraised as she has some ideas for possible grants.
The next meeting of the Syracuse-Wawasee Trail Committee will be at 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 17, at the Syracuse Community Center, 1013 N. Long Drive.
(For a more in-depth account of the meeting, see this week’s issue of The Mail-Journal.)