Connected community: County, town groups come together to apply for grant

Brown County could soon receive a $20,000 matching grant to help write a master plan to focus on expanding and improving the local trail system including the possible extension of the Salt Creek Trail to Deer Run Park.

Last month, an application was submitted to the Indiana Department of Health’s Division of Nutritional and Physical Activity for a grant to create a plan for improvements to bicycle and pedestrian paths here.

The letter with the grant application was signed by both Brown County Commissioner Diana Biddle and Nashville Town Council Vice President Anna Hofstetter.

The commissioners voted to give Biddle permission to pursue the grant in December and the town council voted to allow Hofstetter to work on the grant application in January.

The vision for Brown County to be “a bicycle and pedestrian-friendly community” is for “present and future generations to enjoy an environment that encourages bicycling and walking by connecting neighborhoods to schools and downtown as well as connecting the existing downtown to nearby parks and trails.”

“A bicycle-pedestrian friendly community is one where motorist, cyclist and pedestrians are equally respected and everyone can navigate the area safely and without conflict,” the application submitted by both the county and town states.

The application continues that Nashville is a tourist town, but is not bicycle or pedestrian-friendly due to “narrow streets, few sidewalks and no real bike path system.”

Some sidewalks that exist currently in Nashville have steps. They are also “narrow and uneven.” With those issues in mind, sidewalks cannot be used by everyone and are also not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The sidewalks “do not foster a safe way for pedestrians with wheelchairs, walkers, canes or even parents pushing small children in strollers to walk in the area,” the application states.

The proposal also notes that Brown County State Park’s biking and hiking trails will connect to downtown Nashville by the Salt Creek Trail, which has been built in phases. This master plan could result in additional funding to extend the trail beyond the three current phases, which have funding already.

The Salt Creek Trail was initially envisioned to link the state park with downtown Nashville. Planning for the paved, multi-use trail started in October 2002. The first three-quarter-mile section opened in 2013 between CVS and the YMCA, following Salt Creek. It sees heavy use by locals and by visitors seeking a safer way into downtown Nashville than crossing State Road 46.

The trail master plan will also address under-served populations in the community, like those who are low income, by providing an alternative option for transportation as opposed to driving a vehicle, which some may not be able to do due to disabilities or financial issues.

Extending the Salt Creek Trail to the high school and middle school in town would provide students a way to access both Eagle Park and Deer Run Park who may not have a car in their family or someone to drive them to recreational activities. Currently that phase of the trail has not been designed or funded.

“This trail will not only provide a safe route to some wonderful facilities, but will provide nearly three miles of easy walking and biking, something that is hard to find in Brown County,” the application states.

The county is home to “winding, hilly and narrow roads that are not safe for walkers, runners or inexperienced cyclists,” but the state park and forests are safe for those activities for both residents and tourists alike, the application continues.

“In order to provide a bike and pedestrian-friendly community, the challenges must be met to connect the neighborhoods to the parks without the need for motorized transportation.”

A committee to put the plan together will be formed that will include representatives from the Brown County School Board of Trustees and the YMCA along with members of the county’s elderly population to ensure their need for flat sidewalks and trails that are easy to walk on.

There will also be a project advisory committee with the following groups participating: Nashville Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Group, the town council, county commissioners, the YMCA, the Brown County Community Foundation, the Brown County Health Department and Brown County Parks and Recreation.

In the grant letter, Biddle wrote that the grant would provide “an excellent opportunity” to collaborate with town partners. After receiving permission from the commissioners to pursue the grant in December, Biddle reached out to the town and discovered they were also planning to apply for the planning grant. That is when they decided to join forces.

“They could do their own plan, we could do our plan, but unless we do our plans together neither one of our plans will likely work because we’re not planning it together,” Biddle said, noting the grant is for the entire community.

“Where we want to focus this grant, if we get it, is basically Washington Township, so county and town. Obviously we have Salt Creek Trail. We are hopefully getting to a place where we can connect those areas then the question is where do we go next?”

She noted the commissioners have also been asked about extending the trail to the Forest Hills Apartments in Gnaw Bone. There is a possibility to connect with other trail systems in neighboring Bartholomew and Morgan counties, too.

The grant would require a match of $20,000, bringing the total to $40,000. Biddle said on Jan. 19 that would give the county about a third of a master plan for trails here.

She said a complete plan could cost around $100,000.

Funding for the match could come from county and town sources, she continued.

“This is something we can really use to develop a health and wellness perspective, community-oriented plan to connect some of our parks and walkways,” Biddle said.

Funding for expanding the Salt Creek Trail beyond Phase 3 could come from state grants, like the Indiana Next Level Trails grant program, but to receive that grant funding a county has to have a master plan in place, as this planning grant would fund.

“It is something we’re going to have to have and if we can work together and really do a plan that is doable and real and actionable then we all win,” Biddle said.

“As we’re coming out of COVID people are really focused on health and well-being.”

Letters of support

The grant application included six letters of support from the parks and recreation, Purdue Extension, the community foundation, the YMCA, Brown County Enrichment for Teens Association (BETA) and the Nashville Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Group.

BCCF CEO Maddison Miller wrote in her letter of support that the community foundation has been working with different groups, like the schools and county government, to bring young professionals and families here to attract new development opportunities to “grow and diversify our local economy.”

This growth cannot happen without addressing “basic infrastructure needs for families and businesses.”

“Without a master plan to aid in prioritizing implementation strategies, our efforts to build a thriving community will continue to be thwarted with every dilapidated sidewalk, inaccessible park space, unfinished trail or nonexistent bike lane,” Miller said.

Trails will also provide opportunities for a more active lifestyle for residents and decrease carbon emissions, Miller continued.

This grant would allow the county to continue “work building a successful community that we believe is becoming a magnet for the ‘wellness generation.’”

YMCA CEO Kim Robinson wrote in her letter of support that the lack of a trail master plan impedes to “strategize and work cohesively as a community.”

She noted that the YMCA sees the daily foot and bicycle traffic on the Salt Creek Trail. She continued that additions to the trail system “will enhance and encourage a healthier lifestyle for our residents.”

The Brown County Parks and Recreation Department recently submitted a five-year master plan draft to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. One of the priorities mentioned in the plan was the connection of Deer Run Park via foot, bike or other non-motorist transportation options.

Parks and Rec Director Mark Shields referenced the plan in his letter of support IDOH for the grant. The draft master plan states that planning for expanding the Salt Creek Trail to Deer Run Park should take priority before any other “signature amenities” are added at the park.

“The BCPRD staff, its board and the public recognize the issue faced by local families and youth in accessing Deer Run Park’s programming and amenities — like the newly constructed Victory Skate Park — without a car,” Shields wrote in his letter.

“We feel that addressing this issue is critical to ensuring the continued access and safety of our target audience and vulnerable populations in the county.”

MORE ABOUT THE SALT CREEK TRAIL PROJECT

Funding for the multi-million dollar Salt Creek Trail project has come from funding through the Indiana Department of Transportation and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Some local donors also helped with Phase 1.

Phase 1 ends at the YMCA, and Phase 2 is the section being worked on now, beginning at the state park pool area and ending at the RedBarn Jamboree, going around the back of the Eagle Park property. The bridges in Phase 2 used to span the Eel River on State Road 46 in Clay County. INDOT relocated them here at the state’s expense last year.

Phase 3 will be the middle section, between the RedBarn Jamboree and the YMCA. The route and timetable for that section are still under consideration. Remaining money from the grant used on Phase 2 of the trail will be used to fund Phase 3.

In the fall, the commissioners awarded a bid to All American Express Solutions to pave the part of the trail between the two bridges that runs through Eagle Park to the state park.

At the Jan. 19 commissioners meeting Highway Superintendent Mike Magner said that due to wet ground in the fall and the holidays work was delayed until the ground has frost on it then crews can start doing base clearing for the paving.

“So they don’t rut it up real bad and cause more problems than what we already had,” he said.

Magner is the local point person for the project. He said the project would move forward through the spring.

As far as Phase 3 of the trail, Magner said the hope was to put that paving project to bid this year, but that restructuring within the funding sources will most likely delay that until next year.

“We still have that money locked in at this point to pay for all of that section three, which goes from Red Barn to YMCA,” he said.

“It is still moving forward.”

Magner said there is a “preliminary plan” for the Phase 3 route.

Commissioner Diana Biddle added that because it is an acquisition project using federal funding the county cannot legally engage with property owners.

“It literally forbids us from having any acquisition conversations with any possible land owners for acquiring right of way or possible just properties. It has to be appraised,” she said.

The Phase 3 design has to be 60 percent completed before property owners can be approached, Magner said.