(Le Mars) — By a vote of 3 to 2, the Plymouth County Board of Supervisors approved signing a grant request for the proposed Plywood Recreational Trail that would extend from Le Mars to Sioux City connecting Merrill and Hinton.
Representatives of McClure Engineering firm appeared Tuesday before the county governing board on behalf of the Plywood Recreational Trail Association seeking the signature to proceed for a $100,000 R.E.A.P foundation grant. Supervisor chair, Don Kass offers some clarification with the approval of the grant application.
Kass says many of the supervisors feel as though they were misled with comments from the Iowa Department of Transportation indicating the IDOT were not planning for a recreational trail to be constructed near Highway 75.
Some of the county supervisors suggested instead of a trail that would run parallel to Highway 75, a better option would be to have county road K-49 be widen to accommodate bicycles, or perhaps to construct a trail that would follow the Floyd River.
Kass says the county supervisors, along with many constituents, have three concerns about the proposed trail. First, the initial cost to construct the trail. Second, the cost to maintain the trail, and third, the safety factor of having a bicycle trail so close to a major highway congested with traffic. Kass says he is troubled by the use of the R.E.A.P. funds for such a project.
Some of the supervisors are concerned a recreational trail, especially, south of Hinton to Sioux City, will make an already bad drainage situation even worse.
