Politics & Government

U City Mayor Says Funding for Bike Trail Grant Was Never Certain

University City Mayor Shelley Welsch said a grant to build a bike trail through Ruth Park Woods was never fully funded.

Interim Parks Department Director Ewald Winker said his decision to to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources came down to finances. "Estimated costs did not meet the actual costs," Winker said.

The grant money was slated for construction of a bike trail through Ruth Park Woods. U City's partners in the bike trail were Great Rivers Greenway and The Green Center. The total project was estimated to cost $500,000. The DNR grant was for $100,000, and Great Rivers Greenway was putting in a fair share of the money. Winker said that with these two groups contributing, there was a $100,000 funding gap.

Former Director of Parks, Recreation and Forestry Nancy MacCartney met with City Manager Lehman Walker and Mayor Shelley Welsch about getting funding help, but the city manager said the City didn't have the money at that time. 

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Below is a statement from University City Mayor Shelley Welsch to University City Patch explaining the City's actions regarding the grant.

The Ruth Park Woods spur of the Centennial Greenway was NEVER fully funded. 

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Former Parks Director Nancy MacCartney underestimated the cost of installing the ADA-compliant trail through Ruth Park Woods.  She promised a $100,000 match to complete the trail (with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and Great Rivers Greenway funding) but she NEVER put the money in her budget to provide the match.

We NEVER received any money from DNR for this project, which was still in the planning stages when it was cancelled. 

Missouri DNR knows the project was not moving forward because of funding issues and has in no way indicated future funding opportunities would be in jeopardy because of this decision.  It was appropriate for Missouri DNR to be advised of our decision so that it could make available the funds we might have received to other communities which had match funding already in hand.

The proposed trail was a cause of contention within the community because it would have been a 10 or 12 foot paved trail through the heart of Ruth Park Woods, the last stand of oak/hickory hardwood forest remaining in this part of St. Louis County, and the only undeveloped section of woods in University City.  Many questioned whether it should ever have been proposed because of the potential irreversible damage it could have caused to the woods. 

Mr. Winker had no involvement in this project until he became the Interim Parks Director, when he had to decide how to proceed on an unfunded promise made, wrongly, by Ms. MacCartney.

At a time when the City was laying off employees I offered no personal support for any effort to provide funds for a bike trail through Ruth Park, despite my very strong support for bike and walking trails in our community.  My priority then, as it is now, is to work with City staff to put this City back on solid financial footing.  This does not involve spending $100,000 on a short bike trail through an irreplaceable natural area of our community.   


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