By Curt Peterson, Standard Correspondent
A Woodstock-area mountain biking group recently received a local economic development grant in support of a trail improvement project on the Woodstock Aqueduct Company’s 358-acre wooded parcel on Cox District Road.
Seth Westbrook and Matt Stout, co-founders of the Woodstock Area Mountain Bike Association (WAMBA), and Eric Wegner, president of the Woodstock Aqueduct Company, signed a 10-year property access agreement covering the tract.
WAMBA applied to the Woodstock Economic Development Commission for a $5,500 grant to partially fund their $15,000 trail improvement project. The Select Board unanimously approved the grant at their March 21 regular meeting.
The balance of the $15,000 project is comprised of private donations, additional grants and in-kind donations of volunteer time, Westbrook said. The EDC, chaired by Tom Weschler and Barry Milstone, is funded by a 1 percent options tax charged on rooms, meals and alcohol. They have three funding periods for grants each year, allowing a maximum total individual amount of $50,000. Weschler says most of their grants tend to be smaller amounts.
“We try to stay away from big, ‘blue sky’ projects,” he said. “We’ve approved about half the applications we’ve considered since 2015 when the options tax was voted in.”
Projects must relate to EDC goals – encouraging new businesses, helping Woodstock be more livable and welcoming, improving and making best use of resources, and promoting a sustainable economy. In short, applicants need to show their grant will increase visitor numbers, hoping they will connect with Woodstock and contribute to its growth.
Weschler also points out that that winning projects must demonstrate they will “generate reasonable return of commerce relative to the grant amount” and help Woodstock’s population diversify. The grant funds, which represent 21 percent of EDC revenue, reimburse grantees for invoices submitted after payment. The remaining 79 percent is invested in public relations and other activities designed to attract business and younger families, Weschler says.
The EDC is also building a “Big Bets” loan fund to finance new and expanding businesses in town at affordable rates.
According to Weschler, the EDC’s focus on diversity means attracting younger residents with school-age kids and with business ideas and ambition. The commerce generation from WAMBA’s development of the trails will enhance Woodstock’s attractiveness to younger families.
WAMBA’s $5,500 request includes $3,000 for bridges and boardwalks to protect and accommodate wet areas and build a trailhead information kiosk, $1,500 for signage on the trail system, and $1,000 to create and produce trail maps that will be sold at area businesses.
According to Weschler, the WAMBA trail improvements will provide long-term economic return on EDC’s investment.
“If just one family comes to Woodstock to enjoy these trails and decides to stay, our grant has paid off,” he said.
The Woodstock lifestyle will benefit, WAMBA’s grant application says, from “economic activity driven by growth in tourism, and the addition of new residents who are attracted to the area because of the expansive outdoor recreational opportunities.” It also cites the success of trail networks in Warren and Waitsfield in boosting economic activity in those areas.
Some of the Aqueduct property’s trails have existed for about 25 years. Stout and Westbrook say there are about 4 miles in the system now, and they hope to add about 3 additional miles over the summer as part of their long-range project.
“We’d like to continue to improve the shared-used trail opportunities on the property so that it becomes a real community asset for all those who value health and recreation,” Westbrook said.
Stout explained that the trails are designed so that people using them – such as mountain bikers and hikers, for example – can see each other coming for some distance.
In response to some questions from the Standard, the WAMBA Board said, “Our trails are safe for multiple uses. We consider sight lines as we are laying out trail corridors so that users are not able to surprise one another. Shared use trail systems are a proven concept around the world, and are easily achieved with some good planning and user awareness. The map and kiosk we plan to make with the EDC funds will include user information about trail etiquette.”
The Board continued, “The trails are accessible free of charge for all human powered activities. We welcome any and all who value experiencing nature and incorporating activity into their lifestyle. Free and open trails provide an avenue for everyone to recreate in the outdoors. A portion of the EDC Grant will help us build a kiosk and map so that all users understand, and can navigate the trail system.”
The WAMBA Board also said in their responses, “We take great care to make our trails durable and to minimize erosion, using accepted best practices in trail building and design.”
They added, “We also communicate with our users to relay trail conditions so that people stay off in times of wet weather.”
WAMBA is one of 28 Vermont Mountain Bike Association chapters, and has obtained financial support from VMBA for this project as well.
This article first appeared in the May 25, 2017 edition of the Vermont Standard.