County board hesitant to back bike trail

Published 10:31 am Monday, February 7, 2011

The county board asked area legislators for bonding dollars to complete the trail to Rose Creek, but support for the trail wasn’t universal.

“Let’s get this trail into Austin and be done with it,” Commissioner Ray Tucker said.

County officials requested bonding funds for the trail Friday when they met with area legislators.

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Years after the trail debuted in LeRoy, the trail is still yet to get to Austin, let alone Rose Creek. The stretch from Adams to Rose Creek — the final step before bringing the trail to Austin — is ready for construction, which County Engineer Mike Hanson said he hopes will increase the chances of the state funding the project.

About $850,000 is needed to complete the stretch of trail between Adams and Rose Creek. The county recently secured about half that funding through the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

“If we had a little more money we’d get it done,” Hanson said.

However, the board isn’t 100 percent behind the trail as a top priority at this time. While he’s not opposed to the trail, Chairman Tim Gabrielson said the trail may not be the most important use of funds during tough economic times.

“I think the DNR maybe could use their money a lot better cleaning up our rivers and streams,” he said.

However, Commissioner Jerry Reinartz said many people urged him to complete the trail when he campaigned for his seat last year.

“There’s a lot of support for finishing that trail,” he said.

With the trail nearing Rose Cree, county and city officials are beginning to talk about how to get the trail to Austin. Once the trail reaches Austin, it will connect to a large number of trails within the city. The plan calls for the trail to eventually connect with the Blazing Star Trail.