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Home My Public Portal About2021.12.27 VALLEY CTY PATHWAYS NEWSLETTERVALLEY COUNTY LP!P'!T S JfewsCe tter December 2021 First steps completed toward 70 -mile valley -wide trail system Iis been a positive and productive year for Valley County Pathways, with the official opening of our first singletrack sidewalk, the Heinrich Demonstration Trail in June! This is the first of 70 miles of singletrack sidewalks we have planned valley -wide, connecting our communities from Cascade to McCall and New Meadows. We launched a much - improved, revamped web site last spring. It's been a year of strong financial growth for our humble non-profit, inspired by end -of -year contributions and the Idaho Gives campaign. We've made progress with the Donnelly Flyway, a 1.3 -mile non - motorized trail that would go from downtown Donnelly to the City Beach on Lake Cascade. Bike riders sample the new Heinrich Demo Trail near Lake Fork VCP teamed up with our community partners in Valley County and New Meadows to launch a trail - coordination outreach effort led by the National Park Service. In these yo-yo weird times with the covid pandemic, we can sometimes feel disconnected from our friends and community. So we wanted to provide an update, highlighting our achievements and projects in the last year! Many thanks for your support and wishing everyone a bright and prosperous 2022! - Steve Stuebner, VCP Board President VCP volunteers team up with Payette Environmental to build the Heinrich Demo Trail \1\7opened the Heinrich Demonstration Trail on Saturday, June 26. It's great to see our first singletrack sidewalk project come to fruition! The approximately 4,000 -foot -long, 3 -foot -wide trail runs from the south end of the North Valley Rail -Trail to Norwood Street, running parallel to Heinrich Lane. Wes Keller, a friend of the North Valley Trail who lives nearby, helped VCP Board President Steve Stuebner install the new trail signs with a motorized auger. BONUS!! The non -motorized trail is open to hiking, running and biking. Pedal - assist ebikes are OK, too. No horseback use is allowed for now. Trail base is not firm enough to handle that impact. Construction started in Fall 2020, led by Alex Ray of Payette Environmental. After seeing significant ground squirrel damage and thick vegetation growing on the trail surface following snowmelt, VCP decided to spend extra funds to apply an all-weather composite mix to the top layer of the trail in June. This added more expense, time and complexity to the project, but it should be worth it. We want it to be durable and low -maintenance. I'd like to thank about 15 hard-working volunteers, Alex Ray with Payette Environmental, and a host of business partners in helping us stretch our nonprofit funds to the maximum extent possible. Since this is our first singletrack sidewalk project, it's been a learning experience to see what will work best for a long-term sustainable trail for the public to enjoy. Our volunteers included John Platt, Tom Platt, Craig Strang, Jim Giuffre, Volunteers pull wet road mix out of the Mud Buggy and spread it 4-6" deep across the trail. Then, Payette Environmental rolled the trail with an Ingersoll-Rand compactor, and the Southern Idaho Timber Protective Association watered it to finish off the project. Quinn Stuebner, Rhea and Gabriel James, Eric Geisler, Lucas, Lida and Todd Clouser, Tyler Hanson, Tom Menton, Maura Goldstein, Mike Bowen, Steve Baughman, Jim Pace, and Mark and Laurie Anderson. It took three full days of good of fashioned hard work to do the trail - surfacing work. About 4-6 of us worked behind a motorized Mud Buggy to spread the compositive mix 4-6" deep evenly across the trail surface. The Central Idaho Mountain Biking Association (CIMBA) donated trail tools for the project. VCP Board member Andy Olavarria provided custom -ordered Subway sandwiches for our volunteers on each work day. And then Alex Ray compacted the trail with an Ingersall Rand compactor/ roller. A full application of water by the SITPA completed the process. VCP wishes to thank all of our business partners. Tates Rents donated the cost of a motorized tracked Whiteman "Mud Buggy," while Tony Meckel Excavation provided a discounted price on 130 yards of the composite road mix, the Southern Idaho Timber Protective Association (SITPA), referred to VCP by the McCall Fire Department, sprayed 3,000 gallons of water on the trail at no charge, and Todd Clouser with TMC Construction made multiple dump truck runs to drop the road mix in strategic locations along the trail at a discounted price. It was a rewarding community effort all the way around to build the Heinrich Demo Trail. We've had positive feedback from people who hiked, walked or ran the trail this summer. We had to knock back the weeds in August, and we hope to have a more sustainable native plant mix along the trail in the future. VCP makes progress on the Donnelly Flyway, inks Access Agreement with Joshua Murrey VP Board member Brett Shepherd of Donnelly originally conceived of the idea of building a 1.3 -mile non -motorized trail from downtown Donnelly to the City Beach on Lake Cascade. The best part of the trail would run through the pines adjacent to the Donnelly grass airfield. Brett has worked to curry support with the City of Donnelly for the trail project. We've received $3,000 in Local Option Tax funds for building the trail. We also are currently working with the city on an MOU that outlines roles and responsibilities related to trail construction and safety issues. We want to ensure that pedestrians and pets stay on the trail and off the airport runway. The airport property was deeded to the city by the Donald Coski family years ago. The trail is strategic because it links the downtown area with the City Park on the lake, providing a much safer route for pedestrians away from busy roads. The trail also would provide a safe route for kids to ride bikes to Donnelly Elementary. In the last year, Joshua Murrey purchased the adjacent property to the east of the Brett Shepherd Donnelly Airport. Surveys showed that 1111 Mr. Murrey actually ! controls access to the , airport access road from West Roseberry Lane. So we realized that we would need to work on an access agreement with Mr. Murrey to make the Donnelly Flyway trail possible. VCP Board President Steve Stuebner and Brett had a number of meetings with Mr. Murrey over the summer months. We're thrilled to tell you that we've signed a long-term Access Agreement with Mr. Murrey. The agreement provides for a 25 -foot easement corridor for building a non - motorized earthen -surface trail that's wide enough for two-way traffic. We want to thank Josh Murrey for working with us on the trail project. He's hoping to see a larger loop trail built on the west side of Donnelly that includes the Donnelly Flyway and adjacent properties. We're totally supportive of that! In the meantime, to complete the puzzle, we will be applying to Valley County to build a singletrack sidewalk trail from downtown Donnelly to the Donnelly Flyway trail shown in blue. The project has turned out to be much more complicated than we expected in the beginning. But we'll get `er done! Joshua Murrey parcel airstrip, and another short section from the airstrip to the beach. In addition, we need to finalize our MOU with the City of Donnelly. Donnelly Flyway trail would meander through the trees on the left side of the runway. Trees border the runway for almost a mile. VCP participates in NPS trail -coordination outreach project v alley County Pathways, alongside area trails partners, has been participating in a new integrated nonmotorized regional master -planning effort, facilitated by world -class trail experts with the National Parks Service's Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program (RTCA). Several VCP Board members have participated in a number of zoom meetings this year with our community partners so everyone could share notes about their existing and future projects. Officials with the Payette Land Trust, Weiser River Trail, Valley County Pathways, Central Idaho Mountain Biking Association, Cascade Mobility Group, Tamarack Resort, Jug Mountain Ranch, Payette National Forest, Idaho Power, Bureau of Reclamation, Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, University of Idaho - Extension, McCall Chamber of Commerce, and Valley Soil and Water Conservation District have been participating in our discussions. Local elected officials and planning and zoning officials also have been participating when possible. This was an initiative led by Andrew Mentzer, former economic development director for the West Central Mountains Economic Early draft of our vision map for future trail corridors in the West Central Mountain Region. Courtesy National Park Service. Development Council. It's been a valuable exercise to get everyone's plans on the table. Improved coordination among project partners could lead to more funding opportunities and a better product in the long-term. We look forward to working with our regional partners to realize a world -class regional recreational ecosystem. VCP has a long-range master plan that was approved by the Valley County Commissioners in 2017. Our master plan is integrated into the county's planning and zoning guidelines. It's good to see that our long-range plans dovetail with our trail partners' long-range plans as well. Now it's all a matter of priorities and funding to move projects forward. If you are interested in working on this initiative, please let us know! VCP Short -Term Priorities include: • Donnelly Flyway trail from downtown Donnelly to the City Beach - 1.3 mile project that includes a walking/biking trail adjacent to the Donnelly Airport. • Rogers Lane to Payette Middle School through the Carefree sub - about 5 miles of singletrack sidewalks. • Lake Fork to Donnelly via Nisula, Smylie Lane and Norwood. • Tamarack Falls to Tamarack Resort lakeshore pathway. (Tamarack Resort has the lead) • Connecting to New Meadows and the Weiser River Trail from northwest McCall area. • Cascade: Connecting The Strand to the Crown Point Trail. • Cascade: Extending Crown Point Trail to Sugarloaf boat ramp/picnic area. Meet the VCP Board of Directors Steve Stuebner, President Steve has been involved with Valley County Pathways since the group formed in 2003. He's got a deep trail - advocacy resume, and he's an outdoor author, blogger and PR pro. He loves living and playing in McCall with his partner Wendy and their 4 grown children. steve.stuebner@gmail.com Andy Olavarria, VP Andy lives close to the North Valley Rail -Trail, so the whole mission of VCP has always been a passionate cause. Andy is retired from the McCall -Donnelly School District. He's an active skier, mountain biker and river rafter. He and his wife Jamie have two grown children. aolava1101@gmail.com Mary Tracey, Treasurer Mary is a national financial consultant for the aviation industry. She was a key organizer for the 4 Summit Challenge in Cascade. She loves spending her time outdoors running, cycling, hiking, swimming or kayaking. In college, Mary was the first female All- American cross-country runner. metracey2@gmail. com Andrew Mentzer Andrew is the former Executive Director of the West Central Mountains Economic Development Council. Trails and pathways are a big economic driver and priority in the region. Andrew has been super helpful in crafting a Singletrack Sidewalks ordinance for Valley County and helping with our government affairs work in general. Andrew is currently on sabbatical, traveling the world. singlespeedicus@gmail.com Kurt Wolf Kurt is the Director of the McCall Parks & Recreation Department. It's great to have him on the VCP Board to ensure that VCP trail projects connect seamlessly to the McCall pathway system. Kurt is raising two kids with his wife, Sara. He's a super strong outdoor athlete, big game hunter and whitewater boater. kwolf@mccall.id.us Jim Zokan Jim is an Environmental Specialist for the EPA and former Lake Cascade Manager for the Bureau of Reclamation. His knowledge of the interworkings of the federal government is very valuable for our project. In his spare time, Jim likes to hike with his girlfriend Krista and dog, Reya, mountain bike and play in the snow. jrkmllc@gmail.com Tiffany Dobbs A McCall native, Tiffany is the Community Health Manager at St Luke's McCall and teaches yoga on the side. In her spare time, she likes to go hiking, running, snowshoeing, or snowboarding with her husband, Jamie, and playing with their dog, Greta. tdobbs@slhs.org Brett Shepherd Brett is the Director of IT for Tamarack Resort and lives in Donnelly. He's served on the board for the Central Idaho Mountain Biking Association (CIMBA). As our representative in Donnelly, Brett has been working on the Donnelly Flyway project. In his spare time, Brett likes to ski, bike and play guitar. donnellypathways@gmail.com Tom Reinhardt Tom is the CEO of the Cascade Medical Center. Tom gets out on local Cascade trails almost every day, including the Strand, Crown Point Trail, Blue Lake, Hasbrouck xc trails and more. He volunteers so that he can help preserve these trails and develop more for future generations. Tom and his wife, Rosemary, have two grown boys. treinhardt@cmchd.org Vacancy - Board Secretary Are you interested in serving on the VCP Board of Directors? We have an all -volunteer board. We need to fill the board secretary position so we have somone who can take minutes at our meetings and help with nonprofit support activities. Please contact Steve if you're interested . steve.stuebner@gmail.com Volunteers needed for Trail Ambassador program and more! e need volunteers for a variety of programs! • We need help with monitoring our trails • We need more photos and video of people enjoying our trails • We need help with commjunity outreach and more! Please get in touch if you'd like to help! New in 2022: We're going to launch a Trail Ambassador program for our trails, specifically the Crown Point Trail in Cascade, Boulder Creek Trail in Donnelly, and the North Valley Trail and Heinrich Demo Trail between Lake Fork and McCall. Our Trail Ambassadors can make trail users feel welcome on our trails, answer questions, help with any safety or bike issues, and keep watch for any trail maintenance needs or other issues that might arise. VCP will host a Trail Ambassador workshop for Wes Keller, left, and Tyler Busby help install the trail signs for the Heinrich Demo Trail. Thanks guys! people who sign up to provide an orientation and answer any questions people may have. We will provide Trail Ambassador vests for our volunteers. Contact Steve Stuebner @ steve. stuebner@gmail.com if you're interested in signing up. Thank you! Tom Platt, right, spreads trail mix on the Heinrich Demo Trail with brother John Platt, left, Craig Strang (on knees) and Steve Stuebner. Volunteers and professional carpenters helped us build the Boulder L -R, Jim Pace, Mark Anderson, Tyler Hanson, Matt, mud Creek Boardwalk in Donnelly in a matter of days. buggy operator, Steve Stuebner and Laurie Anderson finish the Heinrich Demo Trail. Cheers! Next up: Rogers Lane to Payette Middle School n our outreach with the McCall community, we identified a route from Rogers Lane through the Carefree subdivision area to the McCall Middle School as a high priority. People supported the route in person -to - person meetings and through an online survey. This would be a Safe Route to School and a bike -commuting route into McCall for people who live south of town. The length of this route would be about 5+ miles. VCP officials will meet with Rogers Lane, Carefree and Samson Trail neighbors to gauge their reaction to this trail proposal. We envisioned that we would build a singletrack sidewalk trail along the county right of way of the streets along the route. The trail would be 2-3 feet wide along Samson Trail and Rogers Lane, and perhaps wider where we have more space to work with in the Carefree area. We also would need to connect the Heinrich Demo Trail over to Rogers Lane and provide a safe crossing on Idaho 55. Purpose: Connecting our communities, safe routes to schools, commuting corridor, alternative transportation, health and fitness. Cost: $120,000 or more based on estimate of $5/foot for construction and surfacing. Background: Valley County Pathways has a county -approved master plan to build more than 70 miles of singletrack sidewalks valley -wide to connect our communities. We have set priorities for trail development based on community surveys, outreach meetings and online surveys. North Valley Trail • Rogers Lane to Payette Middle School Pathway (Early Draft) YAM (arh❑ 1111 PATHVA S V".01 Existing pathway Singletrack sidewalk (proposed) McCall pathwa9 liver Ranch North Valley Trail Spring Mountain Ranch Deyihard Ln Payette .. Ptiddre ..a . .>�i; School •1 jo l 6. °The McCall ActivAv Barn Heinrich Demo Trail Samson Trail Carefree neighborkkd Rogers Lane Special thanks to our major donors! $20,000 Julie Neustad, Stokli and Osha Ashcraft $10,000 Ron Nahas $1,000 + Ann and David McQuade Rick Hudson Bobby Petersen Tom and Rosemary Reinhardt $200-$999 Alan and Mary Nielsen Jim and Jolie Voulelis Bob and Kitty Looper Donna Daniels Barbara Waldo John Waite Peggy Wiley Steve Stuebner Pelican Cycles Sherry Maupin Brent and Jacque Simmons Jennifer Waskow Maggie and Bob Gamble Augusta Laidlaw Scott and Ann Montgomery Tom Platt Steve Spickler Dee and Paul Warner Caroline Valle Gail and Bruce Rankin Art and Carol Troutner Help the cause! Join VC Pathways! Valley County Pathways is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization that's dedicated to developing a system of pedestrian pathways that connect our communities - Cascade, Donnelly, Lake Fork, McCall and New Meadows. How can I help? Join Valley County Pathways! Tax-deductible donations and membership dues help finance trail projects. Membership levels: • Student - $25 • Regular - $35 • Family - $50 • Sustainer - $100 Please send membership fee/donations to VC Pathways, P.O. Box 233, McCall, ID 83638, or online: valleycountypathways. org/donate/ Valley County Pathways P.O. Box 233 McCall, ID 83638 We currently have 20+ miles of singletrack sidewalk trails to design and build for over $350,000. Questions? Please get in touch! Steve: steve.stuebner@gmail.com Andy Olavarria: aolava1101@gmail.com Brett Shepherd: donnellypathways@gmail.com Mary: metracey2@gmail.com Kurt: kwolf@mccall.id.us Tiffany: tdobbs@slhs.org Jim Zokan: jrkmllc@gmail.com Tom Reinhardt: treinhardt@cmchd.org Andrew Mentzer: singlespeedicus@gmail.com ValleyCountyPathways.org