Kp_trail

Jeff Green | Feb 16, 2006

Feature Article

Township questions proposed deal overK&PTrail

by Jeff Green

A proposal by the staff of the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority to turn over management of the K&P Trail is being questioned by members of the North Frontenac Council.

Deputy Mayor Gleva Lemke brought council’s attention to the proposal at a meeting of North Frontenac Council last Thursday. Lemke has been representing North Frontenac on the Mississippi Valley Conservation (MVC) Board for several years. She missed the last MVC Board meeting on December 22. At that meeting a staff report was presented to the board, recommending that management of the K&P Trail be turned over to the Eastern Ontario Trails Alliance, who would be better able to maintain and promote the trail. The K&P Trail runs through Central Frontenac, North Frontenac, and Lanark Highlands on the old K&P rail line.

Some board members at the December 22 meeting expressed concerns about the proposal, and it was also pointed out that Gleva Lemke from North Frontenac and Larry McDermott from Lanark Highlands were not at the meeting. The matter was deferred to a meeting on February 23.

Gleva Lemke invited members of North Frontenac Council to pass on their concerns to her to take to the February 23 meeting.

The Eastern Ontario Trails Alliance (EOTA) approached North Frontenac Council last year with a proposal to include the 56 km of Crown land roads that North Frontenac manages in their trail system, but the proposal was ultimately rejected by North Frontenac Council.

One of the concerns expressed by North Frontenac Council at the time was that the Eastern Ontario Trails Alliance is primarily focused on ATV use of trails, which is not always consistent with other kinds of trail usage.

This point, in reference to the K&P trail, had been made at the Mississippi Valley meeting by Mary Vandenhoff from Lanark, who was concerned that an agreement with EOTA would lead to ATV use only.

“An agreement with EOTA is not the solution if the Conservation Authority wants to continue with multi-use of the trail,” Vandenhoff is quoted as saying in the minutes to the meeting.

North Frontenac councillor Betty Hunter pointed out that a 15-page promotional booklet circulated by the Eastern Ontario Trails Alliance lists North Frontenac as a member municipality, “even though we have no connection to them.”

The booklet also lists the townships of Central Frontenac and Addington Highlands as member municipalities.

On page 3, under the heading “Economic Impact Study”, the booklet projects benefits from the development of the EOTA Trail system. It says, “Over a 10-year period the economic and tourist benefits could be $45.8 million and the creation of 1659 jobs.”