Trails Project
PRESS RELEASE
April 27, 2022
A hiking and biking trails project around the Zoo Park has begun to take shape and is the first of several to come.
The Clay Center Community Improvement Foundation received a gift last fall of $150,000 with instructions to “Go do good”. Part of the gift was used to leverage up an investment of the Clay Center Parks Department developing Reed’s Park along north 4th street.
The Improvement Foundation became aware of a possible grant from the Sunflower Foundation for trails but the time frame necessary to meet the deadlines for the grant was tight. The Improvement Foundation formed a subcommittee including board members of Morree Floersch, Karli Hubka, and Jill Mugler. In addition, they asked Bill Oetinger, Marlin Mugler, Kyle Bauer, Scott Glaves, Natalie Muruato, Shannon Stark, and Taylor Mall to join the committee.
The Clay Center Public Utilities Department had developed a significant trail in Utility Park and over the past few years had bought and cleared an acreage on the west side of Huntress Creek. A trail on the west side could come within a block of Huntress Park where additional trails might be built, but it required a walking bridge over the creek. In addition, to walk to Utility Park required walking on Fourth Street which has no sidewalks and is a narrow traffic area. The plan called for a new walking trail entrance south of the corner of 3rd and Grant. Because there is no sidewalk on 3rd street, the grant application called for a 6 ft side walk from the corner of 3rd and Court at Garfield School and south two blocks to the new walking entrance of Utility Park. This sidewalk also provided a conduit on the Murals Trail to the Murals in Utility Park.
The Sunflower grant also allowed for wayfinding signs in the community to direct visitors to the Murals, Zoo, Trails and other points of interest in Clay Center.
The current grant has gained the imagination and cooperation from many entities. Grow Clay County wrote and assembled the grant application in a very short time as well as designed the wayfinding signs and plan. Kyle Bauer was instrumental in developing the Clay Center Exploration Trails Master Plan. Clay Center City Street Department has agreed to install the signs. Clay Center Public Utilities has cleared the land and prepared the bridge site. The Clay County Commission with the help of the County Road Department has donated 240 ft of 21 inch used I-beams for construction of the walking bridge. Bill Oetinger is arranging for the sidewalk contractors, consulting with engineers on bridge design, and will aid in bridge construction. The project is scheduled to be complete in the fall of 2022.