FELLSMERE — The City of Fellsmere is moving forward on a grant that would help fund a portion of the Trans-Florida Rail Trail east of Willow Street and immediately south of Lincoln Street.
Community Development Director Mark Mathes held a public meeting Tuesday afternoon to present the proposed project prior to submitting the federal grant application by the Oct. 31 deadline.
The segment the grant would cover would tie into the existing Rails to Trails route that runs through town. In all, the route spans 17 miles from the Indian River Lagoon west to the Stick Marsh. Much of the route consists of existing sidewalks and pathways. What hasn’t been paved is mostly grass or sand and follows what used to be the Trans-Florida Railroad, a rail line that connected Sebastian to a town-turned-citrus grove west of current-day Fellsmere.
Mathes plans to file for a $75,000 grant that requires a maximum 20 percent match – or $15,000, bringing the total project amount to $90,000.
Along with creating an ADA-compliant path, Mathes said the funds would be used to address three ditches to help improve safety along the trail.
As it is, there is one small swale that if navigable by foot but would prove tricky for someone using a wheelchair and two drainage holes that eat into the trail’s right of way.
“You could walk into a hole,” Mathes said of someone walking the trail and not paying attention to their footing. He said the drainage would be piped and covered.
Currently, the city owns enough right of way along the former rail line to have space for both an equestrian path and a pedestrian/bicycle path.
He envisions horseback riders visiting the St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park and then coming into town using the trails.
Jimmy and Elaine Myers were two of the three members of the public who attended the meeting – being active bicyclists, they said they wanted to know more about the trail Fellsmere was planning.
“I don’t ride on the road,” Jimmy Myers said. “It’s too dangerous.”
The Myerses raised concerns about the material that would be used to “pave” the trail, explaining that the material used for the trail at Sebastian Middle School isn’t ideal for regular bikes.
“That stuff stinks,” Myers said. “It’s awful.”
He said it’s not the odor that stinks but that it’s hard to ride on.
“It’s rough on an old man like me,” he said.
Elaine explained that the stones slip out from under the tires and that a mountain bike would be better to ride the trail.
“It’s very important for us to know,” Mathes said, responding to their concerns. He said he had not ridden the trail out by the school but would examine it.
His current plans call for using crushed materials or asphalt millings for the Fellsmere trail, which would cut costs for the project. He said there might be a way to use the same materials but add something to it to better stabilize the surface.
Mathes said it could January or February before the city finds out if the grant application will be funded. Once that happens, the city will begin “putting the pieces in place,” he said.
With federal dollars involved, there is a large amount of paperwork involved, he explained.
If all goes according to plan, Mathes said he would expect the trail to be done about a year from now.