Proposed projects and grant funding were the main topics of discussion at the regular monthly meeting of the Syracuse-Wawasee Trail Committee.

Grant writer Marsha Carey, who was unable to attend the meeting but sent in a detailed report, is currently applying for $5,000 grants through the Land O Lakes Foundation, Zimmerman, Online Corp. and Waterfield. Carey did ask for a detailed project description and estimated cost for the grant applications.

Mike Buhrt, committee chair, received an estimate of $82,000 for completing Eastshore and Northshore drives from Thompson Concrete. He recommended going after a K21 Foundation grant of $100,000 to complete the project.

Committee member Kay Young suggested purchasing some signage and benches for the Syracuse Lake Trail as well through the K21 Foundation grant.

“The nice thinking about Syracuse (Lake) is a lot of the property owners stepped up and paid for it themselves,” said Sam Leman, committee member. Donn Baird, treasurer, noted a Syracuse Lake resident has made several donations to the trail in the past, including asking for matching funds from the community.

Young asked if there was anyway to track how donated funds from an organization were spent. Baird and Buhrt said only if the donation was for a specific section of trail.

Another project under consideration is the narrow section of Eli Lilly Road. Buhrt said an estimate he received to convert the 3.5-foot wide trail to 6-feet wide would be just over $80,000. The project would involve cutting 1 foot off the south side of the road and adding 3.5 feet of trail on a compacted base, making cuts for every driveway, removing and reinstalling every mail box along the way, replacing landscaping and removing all the stripping and replacing it.

Young asked if there was a less expensive way to do the project, such as when the county resurfaced Eli Lilly. Baird pointed out it wouldn’t help if the county chose to chip and seal the road. It was also noted the oldest section of the trail has greatly benefitted the people in the area.

The board also approved spending $125 each to restripe the path on Cornelius and Pickwick as well as $150 on restriping a cross walk by Miller’s Merry Manor.

Other striping projects were proposed, but Chad Jonsson, park superintendent for Syracuse Parks and Recreation, suggested holding off until the town’s summer paving projects are completed.

For a more in-depth account of the trail meeting, see today’s issue of The Mail-Journal.