There was a meeting with the land managers last Friday called for by Lorne from DCNR. Lorne is spearheading the effort to have Trail Solutions (TS) come to Trex.
The first item I brought up was to ask the County what their vision was for Trexler concerning mountain biking. Bob said it should be a part of all the users but it should not be the dominating user in the Park, which it clearly could be. He said that we will proceed with small steps through the years and for right now we will have TS examine the previously agreed areas in the southern half of the North Range, The Firemans Trail corridor and the northern half of the Central Range.
Trail Solutions was then on speakerphone for part of the meeting and they explained what they need to provide a quote. They asked if we needed an assessment of the existing trails and/or a layout of new trails. I suggested that Frank has already done an assessment and we should focus their effort on new work
We all agreed that a national company like Trail Solutions would lend credence to the Trex project, but the issue of funding their cost is another matter. TS estimated $6,000 to $20,000. $6K for an assessment only, $10K more likely. DCNR is looking into a $2500 grant, Lehigh County is looking into their Trexler Account, Lorne is going to contact Trexler Trust and they asked if VMB would be willing to invest in Trexler by providing $1000.
I addressed several concerns the land managers had concerning multi-use, earth disturbance, autumn olive clearing and signage. Bob was under the impression all our trails were designed for biking did not know that our main trail was laid out with slopes under 10% so they were pedestrian friendly. Tom Gettings is going to get temp signs made ASAP.
I again reiterated that Broken Arrow was under construction.
Overall I'd say everyone is getting more comfortable with matters.
