I'm writing this letter in response to the letter from Mr. Bird in the September 26, 2024 issue of the Benton County Enterprise. Mr. Bird is certainly entitled to his opinion regarding the decision made by the Board of Aldermen of the City of Cole Camp, however some of the statements he made were not correct. Had he attended the open meeting held to discuss questions the Board had regarding the grant application he would had an opportunity to hear the information from the various entities present. There were representatives from the Missouri Department of Parks, from MoDOT, and the writers of the grant application itself. He stated that building the trailhead would "cost the city almost nothing for construction". He talked of all the materials and labor that would be donated. The fact is that the TAP grant is a federal grant and there are strict regulations about the materials that must be used. Materials must be purchased from vendors that are approved by the grantors and labor must be contracted with approved contractors. None of these vendors or contractors are local. He neglected to mention that the other towns that are building trailheads did not do so with a TAP grant. These towns raised the funds with the help of the Friends of the Rock Island Trail. That group has raised approximately $7000.00 of the over $125,000 needed to build the trailhead and the 3/4 mile of trail (not 1/4 as he stated) required by the grant. The rest of the funding would have come from city taxes paid for by the citizens of Cole Camp on their property. Part of that funding could have been offset by the donation of land, but the amount that was pledged was not large enough to support all the parking, etc. needed for the trailhead and would have necessitated the city purchasing additional land. Mr. Bird stated that the city would "be guaranteed" not to get another grant from MoDOT. It was clearly stated by the representative from MoDOT that turning down the grant would not preclude receipt of future grants from MoDOT.
One of the big issues of contention is that not having the Rock Island Trail will "destroy the only viable economic development plan on the horizon" for Cole Camp. The representative from the Dept. of Parks stated in the open meeting that the trailhead will be built in the future whether or not Cole Camp chooses to build it now. The location of the trailhead may not be in the same location however. A potential problem with the bicyclists contributing to the economic development of the city is the location of the trailhead being out of town. There is no easy, safe access for bicycle riders come to Cole Camp from the proposed location of the trailhead. The other cities that have reported increases in sales tax revenues have their trailheads located within the city so there is easy access to the local businesses. This trailhead would be at least one and one-half miles north of Cole Camp. Additionally, U Hwy. is the only available road between the proposed site and the city. This road has inadequate shoulders for safety of bicycle riders and there is no way to widen the road to accommodate the bicyclists.
The Board of Aldermen stated clearly that they are not against the Rock Island Trail itself. Their concern is simply that the tax dollars from the citizens of the city would be more wisely spent at this time on city infrastructure such as repairing roads and sidewalks.
Diana M. Burdick, Mayor
660-668-4444
colecampmayor@yahoo.com
