Park Board Looks To Grant To Make Improvements To Walking Trail

The agenda for Wednesday’s Trenton Park Board meeting may have been small, but the grant application the board approved could have big implications for the city’s walking trail.
The board authorized Park Superintendent David Shockley to prepare and submit an application for a Missouri State Parks Recreational Trails Program Grant. The matching grant, if approved, would provide funding to mill down the entire 1.3-mile trail about two inches and put a two-inch overlay back on it. The total cost of the project would be about $80,000.
The board had already budgeted $10,000 for sealing the trail this year, an amount that has become routine in the past few budgets. In addition, $6,000 had been budgeted to replace the asphalt in the area between Burleigh Grimes Field and 10th Street as improvements are to be made in that area. If the grant is approved and the entire trail is improved, the need for sealing would be removed and the cost of the asphalt would be included in the project. So, board members felt they could easily use the $16,000 budgeted for those two projects as the match for the grant.
In discussing the match, it was agreed that because the board would not need to budget $10,000 next year for sealing if the entire trail is improved this year, those funds could be included as a match as well. That means, Shockley will put a $26,000 match, more than 30 percent, in his application in hopes of “sweetening the pot” and giving the board a better chance at having it’s application approved.
Shockley said the application is due Feb. 16 and board members said if it isn’t funded, they haven’t lost anything – the work already approved and budgeted will move forward this spring.
In committee reports, it was noted that there have been no applicants for the pool manager or assistant manager positions for this summer at the Trenton Family Aquatic Center. Applications can be obtained at city hall and will be accepted until the positions are filled.
Also discussed were the signs at the Rock Barn and Van Meter Park. The sign at the Rock Barn was recently blown down and estimates will be gathered on the cost of replacing it with a sign similar to those at Eastside Park and the Ebbe Sports Complex. The large concrete sign at VanMeter Park was also discussed, with board member John Hamilton saying he doesn’t feel that the “chunk of concrete” there is indicative of what Ray VanMeter meant to the community. There is a possibility of cutting the sign in half and dressing it up a little, adding the edging similar to other signs in the park system. It was also noted that the parking spaces in front of the pool house need to be painted to be sure the handicapped spots are designated.
Shockley reported he has been doing routine winter maintenance and snow removal as well as preparing the grant application for the walking trail.
The board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for 5:15 p.m., Wednesday, March 2, with the location to be announced.