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The Michigan Department of Transportation will let the bid. The KART trail is being funded by an MDOT grant, and local, matching funds. The Village of Kalkaska is the true grant applicant because it is an Act 51 agency; the County of Kalkaska is not.

According to Bill Cousins, village manager, local firms most likely will bid on the project because it is a lower cost project. Invoices will go to MDOT and then MDOT will invoice the village for the local match. The grant will require a 25 percent match. 75 percent of the project will be contributed by the State of Michigan.

ÒItÕs the best use of public money,Ó LaRowe said.

A ribbon cutting ceremony is planned for this summer either near or in concert with the Kalkaska County Fair.

More than 20 people, including members of the KART committee and interested parties, met in the Kaliseum on Feb. 15 to discuss plans for the future of the trail, which the group hopes someday will connect to the Traverse Area Recreation Trail.

ÒA lot of dreaming and scheming comes down to space and money,Ó said Russ LaRowe, manager of the Kalkaska Conservation District and co-chair of the KART committee.

ÒWe ended up softening some of the curves by the water tower,Ó LaRowe said. ÒMDOT required a 25 mile-per-hour curve. ÒSpecial provisions like 90-degree turns in the trail are being looked at by MDOT,Ó he said. ÒBut they were spots where we needed to stop anyway.Ó

All boundaries of the KART trail are public space, LaRowe explained. They will be used as open areas.

ÒWeÕve gotten a lot done in the past six months,Ó he said.

The committee also discussed plans for phase two of the project.

ÒFor those of you who know how long it took to get through phase one, we need to talk about phase two.

ÒWeÕre talking about tearing down the horse barns and building new soccer fields and new ball fields,Ó he said.

The new fields would be in the area currently covered with jack pine trees. It is the area that was slated for a new library.

According to LaRowe, the county will apply for DNR Recreation Trust Fund monies and hopes to create a recreation complex, with more tennis courts for the high school and up to three new ball fields. The recreation complex will be paid for with about $150,000 in recreation trust fund money for phase one, with an additional $35,000 to $40,000 in local match.

ÒThe school district will use their fields and if they hold a tournament, they will use all the space and vice versa,Ó LaRowe said.

ÒIt will be a first class recreational facility that can be used to host competitions.Ó

The group also is looking at the creation of a cross country trail.

ÒThat is not carved in stone,Ó LaRowe said. ÒWeÕre getting close, though.Ó Phase two is slated for completion in the summer of 2009. LaRowe predicted that the local match would be reflected in the 2008-Õ09 fiscal year budget.

ÒThe DNR (Michigan Department of Natural Resources) is interested in linking trails,Ó LaRowe said. ÒSpur trails are in the master plan so the DNR can fund 75 percent of the spur trails, with a 25 percent local match.Ó

The group discussed a link that would go to Log Lake and a spur to the Rapid River on Valley Road, as well as a trail all the way around Rugg Pond.

Eventually, all the trails would hook together, lead to Bates Road and tie into the TART trail. ÒItÕs important that we identify what to do next so we can get it on the calendar and talk about it,Ó LaRowe said.

The trail around the pond would be a different type of trail.

ÒIt would be paved on the west side on the east side would be an elevated boardwalk and would be a nature walk type of a trail,Ó LaRowe said.

Tom Sheneman, committee co-chair and one of the owners of the Northern Land Company (along with Bob Burgin), said, ÒWe will tie into the trail hooking us up toward McDonaldÕs and pick up the area near the Kalkaska Memorial Health Center.

ÒIt will fill a need for those individuals to have a safe trail and for the kids to get to school. Tieing together existing trails will bake the whole village walkable and bikeable,Ó Sheneman said.

Sheneman asked whether or not the group could do both the spur and Rugg Pond projects.

LaRowe said they are looking at a cost of between $100,000 and $125,000 per mile.

ÒIt would be another thirty grand in local match,Ó LaRowe said.

He said the two main issues are to: 1. Decide as a committee what the next step should be and 2. Design a plan to bring players on board (private owners, state land and school property.

ÒWe can try anything you want to try,Ó LaRowe said. ÒAnyone who hasnÕt participated financially yet in the KART plan should remember that their donation is tax deductible.Ó