10 miles of Flint Hills Nature Trail open
Three miles resurfaced with more to come
By Scott Rochat
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
About 10 miles of the Flint Hills Nature Trail is now walkable and three miles has been resurfaced to handle bikes and horses as well.
Gina Poertner, the president of the Kanza Rail-Trails Conservancy, said the trail is now open to the public from Allen to the Morris County line. A limestone surface has been laid down from Allen west for about a mile and a half, and for a similar distance east of Bushong.
That still leaves about a two mile gap between the two communities that has not been treated. That’s waiting on a challenge grant by the Olivia Garney Lincoln Trust. If the conservancy can raise $5,000 by Dec. 15, the trust will match it.
“With that, we will be able to connect Allen with Bushong,” Poertner said in a Wednesday presentation to the Lyon County Commission.
The limestone covers over the rocks originally used for the railroad bed in the area, rocks that can be sharp and difficult to walk or bike over.
All together, the Flint Hills Nature Trail will extend for 117 miles from Herington to Osawatomie. The trail is being reconverted from a former railroad corridor.
“Our organization took the trail on in 2000-2001 and we thought it would be 10 years before we got any surfacing down,” Poertner said. “So we’re ahead of schedule and very happy about it.”
Several benches have been put along the trail by Eagle Scouts, although one was stolen last spring. Boy Scouts have also helped clear away the old metal from the railway, with the money from recycling the scrap used to help the troop.
County Appraiser Gary Post asked for Poertner to work with his mapping people and indicate which stretches of the trail have been developed.
“I think you can make an argument that once it’s developed as a trail and not just vacant land, it could be exempt from property tax as a beneficial use,” Post said.
The county commission also:
F Discussed purchasing seven bulletproof vests for the Lyon County Sheriff’s Department to replace ones purchased in 2002. The five-year warranty has almost run out. The cost is $3,773.
F Reviewed the replacement of a radio for the sheriff’s department at $1,755.
F Reviewed the proposed purchase of an electronic fingerprint matching system at $83,326. The Cross Match system would electronically collect the prints and forward them to state and federal authorities while the companion AFIX Tracker would store the information locally for future comparison.