Detroit Mountain is looking to expand its mountain bike and Nordic ski trails with a new Legacy grant after securing $200,000 in matched funding from the City of Detroit Lakes on March 8.
The total project, including the expanded trails, a treehouse and natural play area for kids, and parking lot paving near the trailhead, will cost an estimated $1.65 million. Detroit Mountain will contribute $140,000 along with the city's contribution, which brings the project close to a 25% fund match for the grant application and increases the odds it will be selected as one of the grant recipients, said Jeff Staley, general manager at Detroit Mountain, during a meeting of the city's finance committee on March 8.
"It's got the Nordic trail expansion in it, which includes about a kilometer and a half, maybe more, of lit Nordic trail with snowmaking capability," said Staley. "The construction of the treehouse that was left out of the first grant due to budget restrictions and excessive costs on that, that's going to be redesigned and attached to that natural play area that was built."
He added, thanks to a 13-acre land donation by Mark and Cindy Fritz, the Mountain hopes to add four new future trail loops on the donated parcel.
"That is going to be developed with an additional Nordic ski trail, as well as a single track mountain bike and ADA assessible mountain bike trail, so there's four separate loops on that 13-acre piece," said Staley. "The final piece that we'd like to add to this grant application is the trailhead, natural play area and parking improvement."
ADVERTISEMENT
He also said, since the Mountain saw increased pedestrian traffic since constructing the natural play area, adding a treehouse should increase the play area traffic even more.
The Mountain received a grant from the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission in 2016 to construct mountain biking trails, a new playground, parking lot paving near the tubing lodge and corresponding signage, according to their new grant application. The 2016 grant financed a large portion of that project's $1.2 million cost.
Detroit Lakes' $200,000 contribution will come out of the city's food and beverage tax funds, which is expected to have a resurgent year and a positive $400,000 balance at the end of 2022.
"The good news is that fund rebounded pretty decent last year and the restaurants had a good end of summer to improve that," said Kelcey Klemm, city administrator for Detroit Lakes, during the city's finance committee meeting on March 8. "This is an authorized expenditure of the food and beverage tax fund and we can spend it on, arguably, two things, we can spend it on trail construction and also specifically what we're looking at would be the parking lot improvements next to a public facility."
