Representatives from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Outdoor Recreation visited Syracuse’s Conklin Bay Trail Tuesday, Nov. 17, to deliver a new sign spotlighting Next Level Trails’ part in funding the trail. Next Level Trails is administrated by the Division of Outdoor Recreation and is a part of Gov. Eric Holcomb’s broader Next Level Connections infrastructure program. In particular, NLT is designed to incentivize collaborative efforts to accelerate trail connections.
Pictured, from left, are Syracuse-Wawasee Trails Executive Director Erlene Yentes and Division of Outdoor Recreation representatives Amy Marisavljevic and Lisa Herber with the Next Level Trails sign, which will soon be installed along North Grandview Drive. InkFreeNews Photo by Sarah Wright.

By Sarah Wright
InkFreeNews

SYRACUSE — Syracuse-Wawasee Trail Committee met Monday evening, Nov. 16, and discussed the USI feasibility study, which will guide potential trail expansions that would finish the loop around Lake Wawasee while adding connectivity to Wawasee Middle School.

Trails Executive Director Erlene Yentes shared the planned agreement with USI has newly updated verbiage, which includes:

“It is recognized that only half of the funding has been secured for the trail study. It is also recognized that because of grant stipulations and public support, it is preferred to analyze, at some level, all proposed trail segments. For this reason, phase 1 of the study will consider all segments of the trail but will focus on preliminary RW (right of way), environmental/permitting, utility, and design aspects of the project. Upon receiving the complete funding, the study will be completed from its preliminary state to a final engineering assessment report.”

Committee members discussed whether to proceed with phase one but ultimately decided to table discussion for now and focus on exploring additional funding options. Currently, Yentes is working on securing two new grants.

In other trail committee news:

• Conklin Bay note cards, which are being sold 10 for $25 or $35 if shipping, are now available for online purchase at www.syracusewawaseetrails.com/support/.
• Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce had a  new sign installed at the chamber/trail office. Syracuse-Wawasee Trails will be purchasing a sign insert.
• A winter trail newsletter is in the process of being completed.
• The Winter Carnival 5K will not be held in 2021.