Blacktail trail fundraising continues

As of Aug. 3, the community match for the Blacktail trail project was $25,148.45, a little over half of the $40,000 goal. Fortunately, the July 31 deadline wasn’t set in stone and there’s still time to raise the remaining funds.

Part of the reason the deadline wasn’t set in stone is because the county was looking to see if the project had a local sponsor, according to Alex Hogle of the Flathead County Planning Department. In late June the county was informed that the Lakeside Community Development Foundation took on this role.

Essentially, the county wasn’t requiring the $40,000 match fund to be raised by July 31, but rather was requiring the project had local support.

In order to secure the $300,000 in Community Transportation Enhancement Program funding allocated by the county last March for the Blacktail trail project, the Lakeside Community Development Foundation needs to still needs to raise over $14,000.

Youth With A Mission is offering to build a portion of the trail themselves on their property, thus lowering the cost of the rest of the project. YWAM students also helped out by selling raffle tickets as well, according to Johanna Bangeman, a member of Safe Activities for Everyone.

“The distance of the trail is based on donations,” Bangeman said. “We’ll build the trail, but how far is dependent on how much we raise.”

As funding for the trail grows, the project will move forward through the established CTEP process, which includes completing a project specific agreement and having it signed by the Montana Department of Transportation and the Flathead county commissioners. After that, a consulting engineer will be hired to design the trail.

Hogle said the best-case scenario would be to begin ground surveying this fall. This could provide a window of opportunity to complete the design by spring and have the project out for bid and potentially begin construction next year.

“However, an equally likely chance is that this administrative process might take a bit longer than hoped, in which case it could hold back the surveying until next spring,” Hogle said. “It depends on how rough the winter is and how the season comes on.”

After the design is complete, the county will hold public informational meetings at a yet to be determined date. These meetings will allow the public to ask questions and address concerns prior to construction. The meetings are anticipated to occur in late fall or winter, depending on how quickly progress is made.

“We are still fundraising, but also want to thank everyone that has contributed,” Bangeman said.

Future fundraising plans include doing more direct requests for funding from those who haven’t already donated to the project.

The Safe Routes to Schools program gave a $10,000 grant to the group to use in the upcoming school year. The grant will be split into two different uses, $2,500 will go toward making walking maps of Lakeside and the other $7,500 will go toward conducting a study on safe passages to the schools in the Lakeside and Somers area.

Bangeman said the ultimate goal is to have the Blacktail trail connect with the county trail system. This would allow Lakeside Elementary and Somers Middle School students to have a safe route to school that keeps them off the roads.

Donations to the Blacktail trail project can be mailed to P.O. Box 1002, Lakeside, MT 59922.