Planners of an expanded Blazing Star Trail are hoping for $2.

Sunday, October 28, 2001

Planners of an expanded Blazing Star Trail are hoping for $2.5 million to build an extension from the Myre-Big Island State Park to Austin, giving cyclists and other recreationists access to an eventual statewide network of trails.

A coalition of supporters delivered the proposal to members of the House Capital Investment Committee in Albert Lea Thursday at the National Guard Armory. The funds could be appropriated in the upcoming bonding session of the legislature, said Austin City Manager Pat McGarvey.

&uot;It will depend on the size of the bonding bill – we know that – but there’s a chance we could get approval so we can get started,&uot; he said.

McGarvey, joined by Albert Lea Mayor Bob Haukoos and City Manager Paul Sparks, described the 16-mile trail extension as a recreational link between the two cities.

&uot;Eventually, if we can continue to expand the trail system, people would be able to travel the trail from Albert Lea through Austin and all the way to the Mississippi River,&uot; he said.

The trail already has funding from previous bonding bills for expansion to the state park and, depending on how the funding holds out, to the outskirts of Hayward, Sparks said. Work on that segment of the trail will begin as soon as I&M Railroad grants an easement so the route can proceed along the tracks and into the park.

Albert Lea and Austin signed a joint powers agreement earlier this year to begin the funding-request process. Freeborn County and Mower County officials have also expressed their support for the trail extension, McGarvey said.

Rep. Henry Kalis, (DFL-Walters) is a member of the Capital Investment Committee. He said the bonding bill will likely be much smaller than recent years because the state may be headed into a deficit situation.

&uot;The tax cuts, rebates, spending and increased borrowing that the legislature has engaged in has put us in a tough position,&uot; Kalis said. &uot;I’m hearing projections now that could have us in a $1-2 billion deficit by the end of the biennium.&uot;

Rep. Dan Dorman (R-Albert Lea) and Sen. Grace Schwab (R-Albert Lea) have pledged to sponsor the bill to request the funds. Dorman said there may very well be a deficit, but to what extent – nobody really knows yet. New projections should be available in November,

&uot;Whatever the case – small deficit or big deficit – the bonding bill is intended to support investment in long-term capital projects,&uot; Dorman said. &uot;This trail expansion is one of those projects.&uot;

The 10-foot asphalt trail extension would swing northeast under Interstate 90, through a series of interesting features such as the stage coach trail and the Moscow Creamery, and then swing back southeast to Austin.