Wright City officials are seeking up to $400,000 in state grant funding for paving or other improvements to the gravel walking trail at Ruge Park.
The grant, administered by the Missouri State …
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Wright City officials are seeking up to $400,000 in state grant funding for paving or other improvements to the gravel walking trail at Ruge Park.
The grant, administered by the Missouri State Parks Division, would provide up to 80 percent of the cost of park improvements, with the rest of the cost coming from local funding, said City Administrator Jim Schuchmann. The grant was discussed at a Feb. 10 board of aldermen meeting.
Schuchmann commented that Wright City had unsuccessfully applied for the same grant in 2019, at that time offering to cover up to 50 percent of the estimated $500,000 cost for engineering and reconstruction of the Ruge Park trail.
“We were told it was a good application, but they just didn’t have enough money to go around,” Schuchmann said. He explained that the minimum contribution required from the city would be 20 percent, or an estimated $100,000.
“It’s not simply putting asphalt on top of what’s already there. You have to go back in, put drains in and prepare the base properly, and it would also involve engineering,” Schuchmann added.
An answer to the grant application would likely be provided by late-summer, he said. If approved, the city would have two years to complete the project.
The city’s elected leaders spent some time debating whether the project fits into their current priorities for public infrastructure spending. Although improvements at Ruge Park are desirable, Mayor Michelle Heiliger observed that the board of aldermen had just identified a list of other priority street and infrastructure projects totaling over $2 million.
Funding the Ruge trail project could mean reallocating some of that spending.
“That’s a lot of money to shift from one place to another. I’ve struggled with that,” Heiliger said.
“With so much stuff that we have on our need list for spending money, especially within the next two to five years, I don’t know if this ranks in my top 10,” agreed Alderman Karey Owens.
Alderman Ramiz Hakim observed that if the project is allowed to be spread across two years, Wright City’s minimum commitment could go as low as $50,000 per year.
“And that would bring us another $400,000 to do the project. That offset might make sense,” Hakim commented. “Committing $50,000 a year for two years ... can fit in our budget.”
Aldermen said they could get behind that thinking. They voted 4-0 to approve a petition to seek an 80-percent matching grant of $400,000 from the state program.
