What Happened?
The Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration created the Recreational Trails Program as an assistance initiative intended to support the development of benefit recreation infrastructure. All grants offered through the RTP is sourced from motor fuel excess taxes collected from a variety of vehicles users. Half of the funds available through the program are distributed evenly across the country. The other half is allocated proportional to the amount of non-highway recreational fuel use in each state. Construction and redevelopment projects eligible for Recreational Trail Program funds include:
- Hiking
- Bicyling
- Equestrian
- Snowboarding
- Four-wheel driving
- All-terrain vehicle riding
- Cross-country skiing
The Goal
The RTP funds are distributed to the States by legislative formula: half of the funds are distributed equally among all States, and half are distributed in proportion to the estimated amount of nonhighway recreational fuel use in each State. Here’s a link to funding levels by State.
One Communities Experience
While there are many federal grants to choose from when determining how to support a local government initiative, many communities are struggling to make ends meet with just one payment. Olive Hill officials applied for two separate grants from the federal government to fund the construction of a restroom facility adjacent to historic landmarks in the city’s downtown area, as well as build a footbridge across a centralized creek to make pedestrian navigation easier. In addition, the city is planning to set aside some of the funds for a mile-long trail from the downtown hub to Hydreco Village.
Unfortunately, the cost of the various projects has increased significantly over the past two years but before the federal grants were approved. Because the city does not have the grants yet, it will be responsible for paying construction crews for work that has been done without promise of a full reimbursement through the federal program.
Funding Breakdown
One contractor working with the city estimates a total cost of $32,000 for his team’s efforts, while other extraneous costs threaten to increase that total even more. Olive Hill applied for the grants through the Federal Recreational Trails Program, one of which would be for $25,000 to build the restroom facility and construct the mile of trail.
The grant would be administered to Olive Hill through the Kentucky Department for Local Government and calls for the city to match the $25,000 contribution to cover labor costs. Olive Hill had to sign an agreement with the state department affirming its responsibility to continually clean and maintain the restroom and trail areas once the projects are completed. As the cost of the projects has increased since initial planning phases, the city may be forced to make significant cuts to the budget or increase the payroll tax to prevent accumulation of debt.
The second grant the city applied for would bring an additional $12,500 into the mix to build the downtown footbridge. The land agreement issues surrounding the project, however, may prevent the footbridge initiative from breaking ground any time soon.