By Charlotte Caldwell
SIDNEY — City Manager Andrew Bowsher and Parks and Recreation Director Duane Gaier gave an updated presentation on the urban trails expansion project at the Sidney City Council meeting on Feb. 26.
According to the presentation, currently, there are 3.22 miles of trail that was completed between 2008 and 2016. The trail expansion currently under construction goes for 0.9 miles under Interstate 75 and is expected to be completed this year. Officials involved with the project would like the trail to extend 2.5 miles to Lockington and want to start that phase in 2025. In 2026 and beyond, the plan is to extend the trail 2.4 miles to the Stolle Bridge.
Along the north/south trail section is a vacant train depot which the city wants to turn into a rest area with bathrooms, a playground next to it, and an area to park.
The city has applied for the Ohio Department of Transportation for a Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grant to construct the trails. The estimated cost of the project is $5 million; the grant would fund $4 million, so the city would pay $1 million. If awarded, the city would receive TAP grant funding in 2026.
“This project, the continuation of it, outside of just trying to rely on grants, would be funded in the future with our additional levy dollars, so this is a major project,” Bowsher said. “Obviously you’ve seen that we’ve went less than 4 miles since 2008, and now all of a sudden I think those existing trails are now needing maintenance. No funds were ever really allocated in 2008 for maintenance of those, so now we’re playing catch up of maintenance for these existing trails while still trying to build new, and that’s posing some problems. So that’s why this project is tied to those dollars as well.”
The council approved the January 2024 summary financial report and adopted the following resolutions:
• Authorize Sidney Alive to include alcohol with their Paddles, Pedals and Pints and Open Air Dinner events. These events will be on city property but outside of the Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA) boundaries;
• Authorize the city manager to enter into a municipal aggregation consulting services agreement with Priority Power Management, LLC — which purchased Affordable Gas + Electric (AGE) in July 2022 — and authorize the city manager to enter into contracts for the purchase of natural gas and/or electricity supply based on the recommendation of the company;
• Appoint Ed Thomas to the Civil Service Commission to fulfill Karl Bemus’s unexpired term which will expire on Jan. 31, 2028;
• Reappoint Ann Asher and Rick Steenrod to new three-year terms on the Tree Board expiring April 30, 2027. Asher has served on the board since 2007 and Steenrod has served since 2018;
• Reappoint Greg Bonnoront, Tim Gleason and Mardie Milligan to new three-year terms on the Downtown Design Review Board expiring May 1, 2027. Bonnoront and Milligan have served on the board since its inception in 1997, and Gleason has served since 2017. Milligan abstained from the vote.
The next City Council meeting will be held on March 11 at 5:30 p.m.
