The Houston City Council meeting on June 14 began with a presentation by the MN DNR detailing the history of the proposed OHV Trail thus far. Joe Unger, DNR OHV trail planner; Kelli Bruns, DNR Parks and Trails regional manager; and Karen Umphress from the Amateur Riders Motorcycle Association collaborated to present the information and answer questions from the mostly anti-OHV crowd filling the Houston Community Center.
According to Joe Unger, the first acquisition grant was in February 2010 from FRTP (Federal Recreational Trails Program); in August GIA (Grant In Aid) funding of $150,000 from ORV (off road vehicle) and $50,000 from OHM (off highway motorcycle) was procured. A second FRTP grant of $150,000 was obtained in February 2011.
In September 2011, 70 acres of land was purchased from Kruckow. An open house was held about the trail in January 2012; in July 2012 a public hearing was held to allow a land use change for South Park. South Park had originally been developed with LWCF (Land and Water Conservation Funds) and was to be used for outdoor recreation; in order to add the OHV trail the use change needed to be approved. A Federal Environmental Assessment was required when the OHV use was added to South Park; this was completed in 2013. The assessment included a noise study, cultural resource review, and a public review. According to Unger, 2⁄3 of the public comments were in favor of the project. He acknowledged that there were no names or addresses connected to the comments. When Karla Bloem questioned the validity of the noise study results since no OHVs were present at the time, Unger assured her the city could choose to conduct a further noise study.
In February 2014, an additional 10 acres were acquired from Marlene Schultz for trail access and parking. Schultz clarified that city Administrator Michelle Quinn had reviewed previous meeting minutes and found that council member Tony Schultz had abstained from voting during the purchase approval; there was no impropriety, contrary to previous accusations from the anti-OHV group.
The GIA is a cost sharing program; the DNR provides maintenance grants and technical assistance. Funding for this comes from OHV registration and gas tax money.
An ERND (Environmental Review Needs Determination), was conducted by the DNR and it was found that no environmental review was needed. A NHIS (Natural Heritage Information System) review will be required before the trail is built.
Unger informed the council that Trails Unlimited was used to teach trail building to the next generation of trail builders. A trail maintenance training and heavy equipment usage training will be conducted in the future by the group as well. In addition, Unger said the DNR would be getting out on the trails at least once a year to check the trial conditions.
The Houston OHV trail is different from the average GIA projects in that FRTP and GIA funding are used to match either; as a result, no city funds will be needed. Since a portion of South Park was developed with Federal Land and Water Conservation Funding, a change in use was needed. Each of the three entities has its own review procedures.
Because the trail has elevation changes and there is a need for erosion control, experts from the U.S. Forest Service Trails Unlimited enterprise team was contracted to provide professional trail design with plans for proper drainage for the trail. These experts may be consulted again to help with the actual construction.
Unger went on to explain what would happen if the city decided to not proceed with the OHV trail. The city would need to repay all money spent from the grants; land ownership would go to the state; and future state grants would be at risk. The city would not have the right to sell the property in order to repay the grants. An audience member asked for a precise accounting of how much was spent by the city; he was told he would need to ask the DNR for that.
Karen Umphress of Amateur Riders Motorcycle Association helped as a volunteer consultant for the OHV trail since 2009. She noted, “In general, there’s a lot of resistance to such a trail at first.” Gilbert, another town with a trail inside city limits had planned to do an additional noise study, but cancelled plans for one after the trail opened without a noise issue.
The DNR plans to hold another open house regarding the OHV trail this summer. The city will post the date and time on its website once it’s set. After the presentation, the DNR representatives continued to answer questions from the anti-OHV members in the parking lot while the council conducted its regular business.
At this point, the OHV trail committee has not met recently; Quinn will compile a list of new people who wish to join the group, and the council will discuss this at the next meeting.
Regular business
The council approved pay estimate 2 of $228,137.75 to Wapasha Construction Co. for the wastewater treatment plant; they also authorized applying for and accepting funding from ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act), a federal program designed to help cities recover from the pandemic expenses.
A bid for new lights from Hoskins Electric was accepted for the community center; the lights are projected to pay for themselves with energy savings in two years.
Gutters were approved for the community center building; at the recommendation of employees, the council chose to put gutters on the overhang of the building as well as the roof.
An additional summer rec employee was hired since the enrollment in summer rec has increased this year.
The council accepted the resignation of the Nature Center assistant, approved a revised job description, and the advertising of the position. They also approved the new Nature Center brochure.
Fire Chief Steve Skifton reported that he had taken a truck to the cities to take advantage of a $11,000 estimate for repairs. The cost ended up being only $2,000 when the truck tested ok.
In response to a police dog training complaint by a citizen, the council decided to talk to the officer in charge and see if a schedule or location change could be made for the training.
The next regular meeting of the Houston City Council will be July 12 at 6 p.m.; citizens are welcome.