Henderson County Rail Trail Advisory Committee Chair Chris Burns called the meeting to order, and opened the floor to public comment. Hearing none, the meeting continued with a Friends of Ecusta Trail (FOET) update from FOET Vice President Lynn Huffman. The new brand and website were recently revealed, and Huffman thanked Marcus Jones, county engineer, for attending the celebratory event. She mentioned that FOET is working with Mast General Store to sell the new T-shirts.

Burns announced he had met with Jones, who informed him the estimated cost of trail cleanup from Helene is almost $500,000. Debris removal has started on the first section and the contractor is looking at the next section. Also, they are closer to marrying up the last two sections so that ongoing construction will be synchronized.

The main topic of discussion focused on what rules to establish for the trail. There were vigorous comments on a variety of issues, including those on procedure, coordination with other entities’ rules, and enforceability. Several people expressed the importance of moving forward in a timely fashion. The end result was that the committee reviewed the list prepared by county staff, which primarily came from the Parks and Recreation Department, and compared it with the one FOET has on its website, with the goal that both should be consistent with each other. To create consistency, many items on both lists were revised and some completely dropped as unnecessary (like “be alert”) or misleading (lock your valuables in the trunk of your vehicle).

The committee achieved its goal of keeping things simple by limiting and prioritizing the number of rules. Consensus was that there is more work to be done by staff to coordinate the enforceability of some of the rules with other entities, and to determine if ordinances need to be created or changed in order to accomplish desired outcomes. On some topics, such as firearms, the general solution was to follow park, not greenway, rules. Generally, the rules focused on etiquette. Different sections of the trail may, by default, have different rules because of local needs. 

Some very specific details of operation were discussed, such as the procedure of having one phone number trail users can call if there is an issue. Right now, people should call  the phone number on the FOET website, but that may change to a Parks & Recreation number. County staff will lead that effort but coordinate with FOET along the way.

Planning Director Autumn Radcliff then reintroduced Austin Parks, who presented the trail overlay zone with potential parking along the trail. Quite a bit of discussion ensued, including acknowledging business partners’ participation in offering parking, and determining if it is desirable to create a special zone adjacent to the trail with other permitted uses in select areas. The overlay zone can help determine whether parking should only be allowed in the designated areas, or left up to private enterprise. The overlay zone can also be used to help determine what type of things are not desired, and where natural beauty should be the priority. 

Brent Detwiler, Hendersonville engineer and public services director, added that there are 30 spots on S. Main Street that need to be added to the overlay zone. Committee member at-large Bart Salvaggio mentioned that while trail partner Trailside Brewery is listed on the overlay, Lennox Station as a whole has even more spaces that could be shown. Burns suggested a field trip along the trail to see all these potential areas in person might be helpful in making decisions. 

Detwiler also mentioned that the city of Hendersonville is developing a RAISE grant application for the Above the Mud project to better connect the Oklawaha Trail, downtown and the Ecusta Trail. The RTAC members then unanimously voted to support the application.

During the time when additional items can be brought to the committee’s attention, at-large member Ken Shelton suggested that a policy needs to be developed regarding procedures for holding events on the trail. He recommended involving Steve Croucher, who handles the nuts and bolts of such events on the Swamp Rabbit Trail.
For more information on the Above the Mud project and to submit public comments, please visit Above the Mud Project – PublicInput

Cindy Ruzak