Heron Trail receives support from city council
The trail squeezed between the shore of Moses Lake and the old Swedberg Poolhouse will grow until becoming the Heron Trail, reaching as far as the Japanese Gardens.
Matching funds pledged for completion of first step of trails system
A heron is taking flight in Moses Lake.
The Moses Lake City Council has pledged its support of the Trail Planning Team branch of the Healthy Communities Project's efforts to facilitate a city-wide trail system, starting with the development of a Japanese Gardens-to-Swedberg Pool path, which will be known as Heron Trail.
Joe Rogers from the TPT said that though a Washington Wildlife Recreation Program grant for the construction of the trail has not been officially obtained yet, part of the grant process requires that the city must sign that it will come up with matching funds to equal what the grant awards, which goes up to $340,000.
"Getting the money was not a requirement at this stage," he explained. "At some point before they give the grant to us, they demand a statement that says we will come up with the money."
What makes the city's commitment remarkable, Rogers noted, is that "the city put us ahead of the process," saying right away that they would come up with the funds.
At this point, Rogers said, for the grant to go forward, the minimal requirement was for the city to offer their support, and "they did us one better," by pledging to get the money.
Rogers believes the city would eventually have done that, anyway, but what they did was, in his words, "take one look at it and say 'we are going to go for it."
The key for achieving such support, Rogers said, was the "masterful presentation" by the leaders of the Trail Planning Team, especially, he said, Julie Harper, the chairman of the Grant Development Committee of the TPT, and TPT member Curt Carpenter.
"(Harper's) explanation and her background was so clear and logical," Rogers said, "that combined with the fact that it is a great project, it won the day for us." Rogers said Carpenter had come up with the numbers presented to the city: A $340,000 grant with a $110,000 monetary collaboration from the city.
The city will chip in about $110,000, the rest of the matching funds will take place in the form of time spent by the city staff in the project, as well as through donations of property and rights-of-way to help bring the project to fruition.
"It does not all have to be cash," Rogers said, adding that the city has enough in-kind donations of time and property to offset all but the $110,000 that will be ponied up by the city.
Councilman Dick Deane explained the city's enthusiasm by saying the trail was the first step of a plan to further develop the city into a quality place to live. "It's the master plan for a rejuvenating community," he said.
He went on to praise the members of the TPT, saying they were all groundbreakers.
"Everybody in that committee has Moses Heaven," he said, using his trademark nickname for the city, "deep in their heart. They charge the mountain and they have done it consistently."
For Deane, the support offered by city council to the project is a good opportunity for city council to show that it recognizes the efforts of the TPT, as well as to show "the kind of forward-thinking our community is undertaking."
Rogers said he is not worried at all about what it means to spend $110,000 on a trail project during a time where not only is the city on a tight budget, but the possibility of further cuts looms large with another tax-lopping initiative on the horizon.
"I have no concerns whatsoever," he said. "I think the city is going to get an enormous windfall for its money. They will get almost seven times over what they put into it.
Deane agreed with Rogers' outlook on the city's finances saying that the prospect of Initiative I-864 should not stop Moses Lake.
"We don't know that (I-864) is going to happen," he said. "And we cannot walk around with our heads in the sand. We have to move forward until we know where we are."
Deane said he believed that the city has to remain proactive and aggressive.
"When we get there, we will know if I-864 exists or not. We can't sit around wringing our hands and saying 'Woe is me, the sky is falling." If we don't take our community to heart, nobody else will."