Henderson County RTAC meeting May 8, 2024

Chair Chris Burns opened the meeting with the traditional solicitation of public comment, to which none was offered.

Friends of Ecusta Trail (FOET) President Mark Tooley briefly reported that the re-do of the website is moving forward, and that discussions have started between Henderson County, Brevard, and FOET toward creating a MOU (memorandum of understanding) regarding governance of the trail’s operation once it is built.

Brevard’s City Councilman Aaron Baker, participating via a Zoom link, reported that they expect the 30% design for the western end of the trail to be completed by June, and that the focus right now is on community outreach, along with the previously mentioned MOU.

Chris Todd, Henderson County’s Business and Community Development Director, offered thanks to FOET Board member Lynn Huffman toward structuring the MOU document with consistency, and that a draft for Henderson County’s framework would be done this week. It should then be reviewed by the City of Brevard after it completes its annual budgeting by mid-June.

Autumn Radcliff, Henderson County Planning Director, and Marcus Jones, Henderson County Engineer, pictorially displayed that a lot has happened on the trail’s construction since the last RTAC meeting. Jones reported that construction of the first six miles is on target for a December finish. He is in the process of receiving the proposal for the east (Hendersonville to Horseshoe) section amenities. The amenities were in the original JMT 30% design, but had to be pulled out due to difficulties in the federal grant process at that point, and thus the need for this separate proposal. Maybe the bid will end up with the same contractor, or a different one, but should go quickly to 60% because part of the work is already done.

Marcus praised the work of Brent Detwiler, recent city engineer and for the past year Hendersonville’s Public Service Director, on the design of the downtown bike trail connection. This will require an additional small supplemental contract, likely with JMT, to connect the end of the trail to the one downtown.

At this point, Chris Todd mentioned the question he frequently gets from the public is where will the actual trailhead be for the Ecusta Trail. He believes that it will most logically be located at the Visitors Center where parking is readily available nearby; so, this connector is a win for all parties, and works as an economic development tool for downtown.

The slide presentation presented by Jones and Radcliff supported the statement that “the contractor is on an aggressive schedule” for the first six miles, with NHM personnel doing additional shifts, along with multiple inspectors onsite daily. Several pictures show bridges with new abutments in place waiting for the final pre-assembled top portion, areas  almost ready for paving and grading and drainage being completed.  After the picture taken near Daniel Drive was shown, Burns asked how the Laurel Park roundabouts near there and at White Street would affect the trail traffic pattern at those points. Jones and Todd committed to looking into coordinating those details with DOT by the next meeting, while RTAC Vice-Chair Selena Einwechter verified that these roundabouts cannot be built within the trail right of way.

Some pictures showed the care being taken to preserve the character of the surrounding area. For example, on the bridge near Allen Street attempts were made to save the existing railway bridge support wall by putting new abutment a bit further inward, and a fence was left standing within the right of way but is distant enough from the trail to conform to safety standards of construction. In conclusion, Jones exclaimed that “it is really starting to look like a trail.”

In response to Burns’ query for any additional comments from the public, an audience member questioned whether this board is involved in plans for a Saluda Trail yielded the answer that Conserving Carolina is currently involved in that process. Todd emphasized the importance of collaboration between all of these connecting towns and trails regarding rules and etiquette in order to promote continuity for trail users, and to make sure these are in place before the Ecusta Trail is open.

By Cindy Ruzak