Procurement News Notice |
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| PNN | 8781 |
| Work Detail | A six-figure grant from the Minnesota DNR will allow the city to finally move forward with a long-planned trail expansion. The North Straight River Trail project has been envisioned since at least 2005, Owatonna Recreation Superintendent Mary Jo Knudson said, and stretches 2.1 miles from North Street near Industrial Drive up to 26th Street near Cashman Park. There is currently a trail with several bridges over the Straight River erected by the Owatonna Foundation, but the city is hoping finally to go back and make the dirt-and-gravel path compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, adding pavement, lighting and other amenities. “We’re just excited to get it going and get it completed and have more users on that trail,” Knudson said. “As it is, there are some people who can use it and some can’t, so to have it ADA compliant will be nice.” The project has been in funding limbo since 2013, when the city received a Transportation Alternatives Program grant from the federal Department of Transportation for almost $375,000. But that money came with two catches: To receive it, the city needed to provide almost $90,000 in matching funds, and the project needed to be built by 2017. To provide that matching funding, and even earlier, since 2009, the city has been applying for state grants to complete the project. And after years of rejection through at least three different grant programs, this year the city succeeded, securing $139,000 through the DNR Local Trails Connection grant. The grant was announced in June and formally accepted by the city at Tuesday’s council meeting. Knudson said the grant was very competitive, and she suspects the DNR may have rejected Owatonna’s applications in past years knowing that they would have another chance in 2016. This year was the last opportunity to secure state funds, although she said the project would have gone forward either way, with city capital improvement funds if necessary. “It was always in the city plan to complete the trail, because the amount of funding we received [through the federal TAP grant] is not something you want to send back,” she said. Between state and federal grants, the city now has all the funds needed to complete the project, although some city staff labor will be involved in preparing the engineering side of the project and ensuring compliance with the many requirements of both grants. In part due to those reporting requirements, the project will take time to complete. At Tuesday’s meeting, City Engineer Kyle Skov told the council he hopes to put the project up for bids in February or March to be completed by the end of August 2017. But barring unexpected setbacks, the project has a green light to proceed, Knudson said. And the trail, once completed, will tie into some other local and regional projects. “What makes this particular project so exciting is, where this particular trail is located, the state has designated the Prairie Wildflower Trail,” Knudson said. “The connection to the state trail is where this North Straight River Trail is.” And the city has further plans as well. Long-range goals include adding a trail loop to reach around Lake Chase, a park area with a pavilion, athletic fields for soccer, lacrosse and baseball and other amenities. But all that is on the back burner while the main trail is completed, Knudson said, and that process looks to be finally underway. “It’s something the city has been looking forward to completing, and we’re lucky to get the funding with very little input financially from the city,” she said. |
| Country | United States , Northern America |
| Industry | Transportation |
| Entry Date | 15 Oct 2016 |
| Source | http://www.southernminn.com/owatonna_peoples_press/news/article_124ceb44-f91a-5932-addd-95b0f96b4414.html |
