As additions are in the works, Monterey is forming a maintenance plan to help upkeep the town’s rail trail.
Monterey Alderman Jim Wolfgram is spearheading the effort. Wolfgram said a maintenance plan is needed, as he feels the rail trail has been abandoned in recent years. Wolfgram said Monterey needs some form of authority committee to help maintain the trail.
“It’s been incrementally added on over the years, and nobody’s ever really thought to, I guess, envision what do we want it to look like kind of thing, you know,” Wolfgram said. “It’s we go through and we get grants and we get funding and we add a small section here and a small section there and then we don’t do anything with it.”
Wolfgram said common complaints about the rail trail are weeds and vines that grow along the trail, and parts of the wooden boardwalk are in disrepair. Wolfgram said the town’s building and grounds committee is hoping to form a maintenance plan that involves consistent upkeep of the rail trail.
“It’s gonna have to be a monthly or quarterly or something kind of thing,” Wolfgram said. “We do have a lease agreement with the railroad, and it’s very specific as far as like the maintenance of the trail of what we can do and what we can’t do, like vegetation-wise and all that.”
Wolfgram said the rail trail is an important piece of Monterey. Wolfgram said doing a better job of upkeeping the rail trail will bring benefits to the town.
“I think it would just enhance our community’s visibility,” Wolfgram said. “We are making some great strides in this town. New businesses and a lot of things have been cleaned up. We just kind of want to continue to push forward with that. We want Monterey to be an actual destination for folks in the area, or you know, just driving by on the interstate to come and look at and say, hey, this is a pretty nice place, and like I said, the rail trail just helps to enhance that image.”
Wolfgram said the town’s building and grounds committee has met to begin forming a maintenance list that would then be submitted to the railroad. Wolfgram said forming a maintenance plan will likely take multiple meetings to fully form.
Wolfgram said hopefully throughout the process, the town, the railroad, and rail trail advocates can be on the same page and form a good plan.