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As phase II of the trail from North Webster to Syracuse will be out in the county, the Kosciusko County Commissioners on Tuesday heard an update on what it’ll entail and for approximately how much.
Garet Becker, on behalf of the North Webster Trails Committee, said, “It’s now time for us to step before you and let you know where we are with phase II of the project. Phase I was getting the trail through the town of North Webster and we’ve pretty much wrapped that up, just waiting for INDOT to finalize a few things and then we hope to have dirt turned sometime next year.”
Beth Johnson, with USI Consultants Inc., noted it was 2028 at the earliest.
Now moving to phase II, he said it’s outside of the town of North Webster so the county has to be involved.
“We need to work with you and the Kosciusko County Parks and Recreation Department, so we just want to give you guys some updates to where we’re at with that,” Becker said.
Johnson said USI is assisting the town with updates for the original engineering assessment that they did for the entire corridor from the town all the way to Wawasee Middle School. She said North Webster was able to get funding to complete sidewalk upgrades throughout the entire town limits.
“And then the next phase would be a 10-foot trail along State Road 13, with a 20-foot buffer between the road and the trail since it is along a state route that has a speed limit of 55 miles an hour,” she said. “Where it’s not feasible to have the 20-foot buffer, we would do a 10-foot minimum buffer. It would be designed to be ADA-compliant with programs and warning signals, along with drainage improvements and a trailhead at the middle school.”
The entire length of the county portion of the trail extension project is 3.2 miles. Johnson said they are still currently updating all the estimates for construction, engineering, etc.
“The goal would be to have the county on board, be able to apply for INDOT (Indiana Department of Transportation) funding this fall, possibly next year if you guys are not prepared for that yet, but the approximate cost is probably, total, all in, is $6-$7 million, and that is an 80/20 reimbursable grant, so the maximum amount we’re estimating currently is $1.4 million out of the county budget, over the course of next year through 2031-32, so it’s not all due at one time,” Johnson said.
As far as the North Webster project goes, she said the actual letting date is September 2029, but they are on track to go to letting a year early as long as INDOT has funds available to put it toward construction a year early.
Commissioner Cary Groninger reiterated the figures to clarify what the ask was on Tuesday.
“You got this 3.2-mile section. You’re saying the total cost is $6-$7 million total, and INDOT, if you apply for that, that’s an 80/20% match, so the county would be on the hook for 20%,” he said.
Johnson said that was correct and it is a reimbursable grant so the county would have to pay the full amount upfront and then get reimbursed as the project moved along. “The only thing that you would pay full upfront is the construction dollars, and that’s due 30 days, I think it’s 30 days, it might be less than that, after the bid is accepted,” she said.
Groninger asked if they’ve had a conversation with the Kosciusko County Parks and Recreation Department as far as how the trail fits into their master plan.
Johnson said she did believe it was included in the master plan.
Kosciusko County Community Coordinator Amy Roe said she knows it’s in the master plan but she didn’t know if it was of the highest priority. She said she met with Becker and he was supposed to meet with the Kosciusko County Parks and Recreation Department Board Thursday, “so they’re in the process of moving forward with that.”
Johnson said since it’s within the county limits, the county would have to own the project and the application and take ownership of it before moving forward.
Groninger asked what the deadline was to file for some sort of funding. Johnson said applications for fiscal year 2032 is the entire month of November.
“I guess the thing I would say is, we need to have some more conversation with our (parks and recreation) department, where they’re at, and then also the highway department on this grant opportunity,” he said, asking if they’ve been working with the Michiana Area Council of Governments (MACOG) on grant opportunities.
Johnson said the source of the grant is INDOT, but MACOG plays a big part in it as well.
Dan Thystrup, member of the committee and North Webster Town Council, said, “To make a long story short, when we first started we wanted to do the whole thing in one batch, and INDOT told us to split it into two. We went to K21 (Health Foundation) and all these, and they were willing to help us with the 20%. And then when it got split, now the second is put on hold, but we had a yes before so I think if we talk to them, we can get (support) again, at least most of it.”
Groninger said he’d like to understand better what the county exposure is and what K21 and other organizations might be willing to do.
“It’s in a state right-of-way. I know it’s in county jurisdiction and not in the town’s jurisdiction, it’s actually on INDOT’s right-of-way. Would it be right-of-way that we’d have to acquire?” he asked.
Johnson said there likely would be some right-of-way acquisition that would have to occur and that was included in the cost estimate.
Groninger said he appreciated them bringing the information to the commissioners but there was more information they needed to have to make a better decision. Currently, none of it is in the county budget as far as a project prospective.
“I’m even a park and rec. kind of guy, but I think we’re going to need a little more time here to understand what needs to happen,” he said.
Commissioner Sue Ann Mitchell said she agreed wholeheartedly.
