ADRIAN — Higher-than-expected costs for a recent project that extended the Kiwanis Trail all the way to Tecumseh resulted in the Kiwanis Regional Trail Authority owing about $180,000 to the government of Lenawee County.

The Kiwanis Trail authority, a consortium of four local governments and the Kiwanis Club of Adrian, was founded to administer the 12-mile trail that runs from Adrian to Tecumseh. Trail authority chairman Dusty Steele addressed county commissioners at a May 13 meeting. He said the shortfall resulted from several unanticipated cost increases that came after the fundraising drive for the trail extension. 

One of those was that an easement was obtained that allowed for a much more desirable route for the trail than was originally planned, from both an attractiveness and a safety standpoint. However, following that more desirable route resulted in some cost increases. In addition, the cost of engineering oversight was not included in the original project estimate but was a requirement of the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grant that helped pay for the project. 

Steele noted that $381,735 in private money was raised from more than 250 donors, demonstrating public support for the trail.

Steele said the trail authority does not want to avoid responsibility for the overrun. However, he said that the authority only has a fund balance of about $150,000, and he asked county commissioners if they would be willing to consider some ways of lessening the blow. 

The ideas the Kiwanis Trail Authority proposed were:

• A partial forgiveness of the shortfall.
• A multi-year repayment plan that would prevent the authority from having to pay the entire amount all at once,
• Giving the county a seat on the Kiwanis Trail Authority board, and thus a role in its governance, but without any obligation to pay into the authority the way that the four municipalities and the Kiwanis Club do.

Steele said having to pay the entire $180,000 shortfall right away would hurt the Kiwanis Regional Trail Authority’s ability to pursue future projects for the trail’s improvement. Those projects include:

• Repairing and rehabilitating timber bridges along the trail that are developing structural issues due to their age.
• Repairing sections of the trail asphalt that have severe cracking due to age and underlying soil conditions.
• Upgrading signage along the trail.
• Improving road crossings with pavement markings, vehicular signage, and warning features to improve safety.
• Supporting the city of Adrian’s efforts to extend the trail to the east side of Adrian via the planned M-52 tunnel.
• Developing plans for potential connections to the trail such as the Hickman Hospital campus, Heritage Park, the cillage of Clinton, and other locations throughout the County.
• Researching long-term sustainable funding options to support a trail system in Lenawee County.

County commissioner Kevon Martis (R-Riga) said that he and commissioners Dustin Krasny (R-Onsted) and Jim Van Doren (R-Tipton) met previously with Steele to discuss the situation. He said that although they are only three commissioners out of nine and can’t speak for everyone, the multi-year repayment plan was the proposal that they felt was the most viable.

“I appreciate, and I know we all appreciate, your whole team and your commitment to this community,” Martis said to Steele.

The Kiwanis Regional Trail Authority was incorporated in 2020 and consists of representatives from the city of Adrian, Adrian Township, Raisin Township, and the city of Tecumseh, as well as the Kiwanis Club of Adrian.

The city of Adrian contributes $50,000 per year toward trail maintenance, and the other four municipalities and the Kiwanis Club contribute $12,500 each.

Van Doren, who is the commission chairman, said he knows how important trails like the Kiwanis Trail are to communities, and doesn’t want to see anything happen to it. He also noted that the trail is only a few miles away from potentially being able to link up to Washtenaw County’s trail system.

“If we could come up with some sort of solution for the repayment that doesn’t hurt the Kiwanis Trail moving into the future, we all want to see it be part of our community,” he said.

Steele said that the trail authority would ultimately like to pursue a millage for the trail.