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At the first Ferry County Recreational Trails Committee meeting May 20 it became apparent that the 40 Ecology blocks, purchased by the North Ferry Enterprise Committee and donated to the County, could not be used on the south end of the 29 mile rail corridor due to a stipulation in the grant that the funds must be used specifically: North of the Hwy 21 and West Curlew Lake Road intersection.
Debbie Bechtol, Clerk of the Board of Commissioners, indicated that due to County budget shortfalls they could not afford to pay for more blocks and installation fees to place them on the trestle. The FCRTP, a locally operated non-profit 501c3 whose mission is to preserve the corridor as a non-motorized community rail trail, utilized supporter donations to write a check to secure the trestle.
The bocks were set by Stotts Construction Friday, just prior to the start of this long summer weekend. Early on, the County’s rail-banking attorney advised the County of the need to secure the Curlew Lake trestle as well as the tunnel between Danville and Curlew for liability reasons.
Bob Whittaker, president of the FCRTP, commented “We are happy to help the County make these first key steps towards securing the corridor and preserving this valuable community asset. There is much work to be done but this is a very positive move by the County that helps to addresses complaints from adjacent landowners who have been experiencing unauthorized vehicle trespass around the lake.”