BELLE — Belle officials on March 3 hosted the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) and State Parks to discuss the imminent development of the Rock Island Trail through the city limits.

Mayor Josh Seaver along with aldermen Ken Stanfield, Fred Bethmann and Jeanette Struemph  were in attendance with 30 citizens and state officials. 

Melonie Smith, deputy regional director of state parks, gave meeting attendees information about the Rock Island Trail.

“We hope to visit all the communities along the trail in the next six months to find interests and needs,” Smith said during her presentation.

Smith shared information with the community that will be helpful as the trail is developed.

“Fencing will be available along the 144-mile corridor,” she said. “DNR will buy the materials and landowners will install it. There is an item that says State Parks will maintain the fencing and we will work through that, but we don’t have any staff yet.”

State Parks will only provide one type of material for fencing, which includes barbed wire and posts. 

Smith also discussed amenities along the trail. Trailheads along the Rock Island Trail will be located about every 10 miles, depending on location and amenities.

“A trailhead includes an information depot, bathroom, parking lot, water, shade, and information about the community,” Smith said. “It will also show directionally where it goes if you go right or left.”

The corridor has specified uses.

The trail will only be available for hiking and biking. Some sections will be available for equestrian use depending on local interest. Squeeze gates will be installed at the intersection of roads and bike paths to force bikers to slow down and prevent vehicles from driving on the trail.

“The trails don’t offer camping, no overnight use, and boundaries are marked,” Smith continued.

Various types of funding are also available. The city of Belle has already applied for the Recreational Trails Program (RTP) grant.

“RTP has a 25-year commitment to develop and maintain a section of the corridor,” Smith began.

RTP requires a 20 percent project match while the grant provides the remaining 80 percent to fund the project.

“Will the advisory committee that decides who the grantees know that the grant was taken away from us previously?” asked former mayor Steve Vogt, who is referring to an RTP grant the city was awarded in 2014 before it was taken away by state entities.

Smith said that it is an independent committee, although some of the committee members are probably the same people as when the city was awarded the first grant.

Mike Sutherland, deputy director at DNR, said funds could come from other places such as donations.

“We are looking at partnerships, trying to be creative and inclusive on funding,” Sutherland began. “Missouri State Parks Foundation raised money to support State Parks with the Rock Island Corridor Endowment Fund which has raised over $1 million.”

The Rock Island Corridor Endowment Fund is raised from donations and spending the money requires legislative approval.

“Additionally, ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) is federal funding that comes to towns as well as the state,” Sutherland said. “$2.9 billion comes to Missouri and State Parks and DNR have asked for $69 million to spend on development.”

There is also a Department of Economic Development (DED) grant that goes towards trail building.

Development of the trail would be a commodity to local people as well as visitors.

“An estimated 25 million people live within an hour’s drive of the trail,” Smith said. “An estimated 70 percent of visitors are local and the remaining 30 percent cross state lines.”

The trail is estimated to have an economic impact of $45 per person in related expenses per day.

“For every 3.21 people on the trail is $147 a night,” Smith said.

Restoration of bridges and tunnels will have a huge impact on economic development for communities nearest those attractions.

“The first step is to assess what has to be done, and hope structurally the assets can be rehabilitated and used,” Smith said.

While rehabilitating the bridges is costly, as long as they are structurally sound it can be done.

“The bridges on the Rock Island are built heavier because they were built to carry freight,” Sutherland said. “Some trestles are rotten, but underneath, the beams are unbelievable.”

Bridges will need to be sturdy enough to support pedestrians and the occasional maintenance vehicle. Tunnels will also need to be assessed and lights added.

Costs of the corridor— two tunnels, and three bridges — is significant,” Sutherland said. “A significant amount of the corridor looks the same as it does through Belle. There is no way to estimate a cost per mile.”

Sutherland added that if someone needs help, the trail will be wide enough to call the police or an ambulance in addition to any heave maintenance equipment.

“Most places have good cell service,” Sutherland said.

Representative Bennie Cook, R-Houston, 142 District, was present at the meeting with safety questions. He filed Feb. 22 to be a representative candidate for Maries County when redistricting takes effect after the August 2022 elections.

“When someone calls 911, can those departments get a hold of the park rangers as well?” Cook asked.

Chief Scott John of the Maries County Sheriff’s Department Belle Division answered.

“They’ve already met with us, and dispatch and are making the rounds,” John reassured.

Community members asked about the timeline before the Rock Island Trail is completed.

If the Belle community chooses to use a grant or fund its own trail development, the city will be responsible for maintenance until State Parks has staff available along the corridor. Maintenance staff on existing sections of the corridor and on the Katy Trail work Monday through Thursday with staff members available for call out the rest of the time.

“We anticipate communities to begin developing their sections,” Sutherland said. “Then we will build out from each community and figure out how to connect them.”

Sutherland reiterated that it all depends on funding and if State Parks receives $69 million for trail development it would go a long way.

Resident Jan Sassmann told State Parks that the city has been waiting a long time to see this project go through.

“For me, it’s been 30 years,” Sassmann said. “Always anticipating what this will be like. State Parks will be great neighbors to us. We need to do what we can from the ground up.”