According to The Hutchinson News:
Developing a hike-bike trail from northeast Hutchinson to Sand Hills State Park appears to be at a standstill.
Last year, then-Reno County Commission Chairman Larry Sharp wanted to issue $300,000 in bonds – later deciding temporary notes were the better financial tool – to jump-start the project.
That never happened, and Sharp left office about four weeks ago.
“I’m not interested in it,” said Commissioner Brad Dillon, who defeated Sharp in the August primary and took office in January.
Commission Chairwoman Frances Garcia was cautious about moving forward with the trail project now because of uncertainties surrounding the 2009 budget and uncertainties about the planned, new K-61 that would allow the existing K-61 corridor to be used for the hike-bike trail.
New Commissioner James Schlickau said he didn’t know that much about the trail project, but he regarded it as “on hold” until the commission could sort through questions about the 2009 budget.
As his term in office wound down, Sharp advocated financing to cover the extra funding that would be needed for the 2009 Halstead Street improvement project and the hike-bike trail.
Quietly, though, the idea evaporated. [ read more ]
It’s too bad, and goes to show that, oftentimes, projects such as these without a high-profile “champion”, can just wither away and die…
It would be interesting to determine how much money society will save (on medical expenses) if more people were out getting exercise. Read the comments from the new story– it’s the typical crap written by people who probably think exercise is doing “12-ounce curls.” It’s amazing that in other parts of the country (including places like Lindsborg, KS) these sorts of things just get done.