PANORA, Iowa, Dec. 15, 2006 – The Guthrie County Conservation Board voted unanimously this week to resurface the Raccoon River Valley Trail from Panora south to near Linden during the 2007 construction season.

The bold 5-0 vote came during the Conservation Board’s meeting Wednesday evening, Dec. 13. 

Board members and Guthrie County Conservation Director Joe Hanner said the resurfacing of another five miles of the RRVT in the county — from Panora north to Yale — will be done when more funding becomes available.

That 10-plus miles of trail from Yale to Linden is 17 years old and the asphalt surface has deteriorated badly. Hanner and his staff have been patching the surface for several years, trying to maintain safe conditions for bicyclists and other trail users, while also trying to secure grant money from the Iowa Department of Transportation for a complete resurfacing in the county. 

Dallas County was able to find funding and resurface its 26-plus miles of the trail in the 2005 season.

The State of Iowa has made very little money available for maintenance of trails, because of the big demand from communities for new trails and for networking existing trails. However, Hanner was able to win a 175,000-dollar IDOT State Recreational Trails Grant in the past year, to use toward the resurfacing in Guthrie County. When it became clear that additional state money would not be available, trail enthusiasts in Panora and elsewhere in the county mounted a big, local fundraising effort.

As a result, the Guthrie County Board of Supervisors made a special 100,000-dollar appropriation for the resurfacing, another 91,000 dollars will be used from the Conservation Board’s “REAP” account (state money for natural resources enhancement), and the board has also committed 35,000 dollars from its own conservation account.

In addition, Guthrie County businesses and individual citizens have donated or pledged 39,400 dollars for the resurfacing.

That will cover the 419,145-dollar total cost that Guthrie County Engineer Kris Katzmann has estimated for putting a new 4-inch surface of concrete on the trail from the Guthrie-Dallas county line near Linden on into Panora, to the Heritage Park rest area along the trail, about two blocks north of Iowa Highway 44.

Conservation Board members also voted this week to apply for a 25,000-dollar grant from the Guthrie County Community Foundation Grant to cover any cost escalations, or for additional resurfacing.

Bill Wright, of Panora, a member of the board of directors of the Raccoon River Valley Trail Association and one of those who solicited funds from local companies and individuals, said the campaign was a big step for the county.

“When communities take on large worthwhile projects, you can usually count on the fact that there will always be barriers that will need to be overcome,” Wright said. “However those challenges can be worked through when you have committed leaders and their community groups working in unison. 

“That’s exactly what has taken place in Guthrie County in regard to the Raccoon River Valley Trail resurfacing project. Groups stepping up to the plate to lead this initiative have included the Guthrie County Supervisors, the Panora City Council, the Guthrie County Conservation Board, the Panora PRIDE economic development group, the Chamber of Commerce, the local area banks, Panora Telco and a host of other area businesses and individuals. Thanks to all of these volunteers and to the leadership of Joe Hanner, the Raccoon River Valley Trail is well on its way to be resurfaced, providing recreation and enjoyment for all for many years to come. We are indeed fortunate to have so many dedicated people working on behalf of our community.”

Trail advocate Chuck Offenburger, of Cooper in neighboring Greene County, said “on a per capita basis, Guthrie County has probably made a bigger commitment to the maintenance and resurfacing of this trail than any other counties in the state have made on their own trails.

“All of us who know the potential of these trails wish there was more state money available for maintenance and major projects like resurfacing,” said Offenburger, who is secretary of the RRVT Association. “But there just isn’t, at least yet. So what it takes is a tremendous local effort like Guthrie County has made. All of us who are regular users of the RRVT will be really grateful to Guthrie County for this.”

He said that “the payback for Guthrie County’s investment in this will come when a growing number of trail users start driving more economic development and tourism all along the trail.”

The county’s Conservation Board includes chairperson Jeff Bump, of Panora; Mike Rees and Scott Benton, of Guthrie Center; Lyle Reynolds, of Menlo, and Mike Laabs, of Jamaica.

Article Published: 12-15-2006