Published: May 28, 2009 11:54 pm      

Greentown completes walking and biking path

$150,000 DNR grant helps committee build town’s first trail

GREENTOWN — Greentown officially will have its first walking and biking trail after a dedication ceremony and ribbon cutting Saturday.

The 1.25-mile paved Comet Trail was built after the Parks and Trails Committee of the Greentown Main Street Association obtained a $150,000 grant in 2004 from the Department of Natural Resources. The trail wraps around school property, and it was named as a tribute to the school’s mascot, the Comets.

The dedication ceremony is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday on Harrison Street near Eastern Jr.-Sr. High School. The committee plans to have visitors sign in for a historical record.

Committee chairwoman Jolene Rule said Saturday’s dedication will open the first of three possible phases for the trail.

The idea to build a trail came after Greentown developed a comprehensive plan of what residents wanted in town.

“We had several people write in saying they wanted nature trails, parks and green spaces,” Rule said. “That’s not only how the trail came, but the Parks and Trails Committee.”

After Greentown Main Street Association formed the committee, its 10 members wrote the grant proposal to the DNR.

The committee set to work obtaining permits and beginning construction after it received the grant money. Rule said she was “relieved” the project has ended.

“It has been such a big job,” she said. “When it first started, we were so excited. We thought ‘How difficult can it be to build a trail?’ We had not a clue about what needed to be done.”

The committee contacted Indianapolis-based Green Three Inc., which helped build the trail, and it contacted the school corporation to ask if the trail could be built on school property.

“We thought the more visible it was, people could enjoy it more,” Rule said. “It would be easier to promote future trail building. People seem to enjoy it already.”

Rule said she was appreciative for the town’s help with the project.

“It was the little, extra things like signage [the committee needed help with], and the town stepped up to repair some sidewalks that connect with the trail and that sort of thing,” she said. “They’re very supportive. They’ve been very good to us.”

Daniel Human is a Kokomo Tribune staff writer. He can be reached at (765) 454-8570 or at daniel.human@kokomotribune.com.



If you go:

• What: Dedication ceremony for the Comet Trail

• When: 10 a.m. Saturday

• Where: Harrison Street near Eastern Jr.-Sr. High School in Greentown