HUDSON – The Hudson Land Trust is seeking grant funding to cover the costs of trail work at Danforth Conservation Land.
It’s president, Gregory Opp, specifically requested permission from the Conservation Commission at a Nov. 18 meeting to get quotes and apply for grants.
“The intention is that we would use Land Trust funds for the project design phase,” Opp said. “But we have a limit in the $5,000 to $6,000 range.”
The project itself depends on the Conservation Commission approving it. The Land Trust also needs help from the commission to put together documents to finance construction and file a Notice of Intent to move forward, Opp said.
“The trail work is really a two-step process, right?” Conservation Committee Board member Brandon Parker asked on Nov. 18. “The Land Trust is spending money for design with the hope that we get a grant to do the construction of the work.”
Parker said he had visited to look at the trail himself. He said he agreed that work along an area where the trail passes through a long trench on the property was necessary.
The commission recommended that the Land Trust apply for the quotes for the design phase of the project and then proceed with the grant application process for costs of the actual work as well as the hiring of contractors.
“The Land Trust will have to front the money,” Opp said. “If we receive a grant, it will reimburse the costs. I do not expect all the costs to be covered.”
The Danforth Conservation Land project will be the first project for which the Land Trust applies for a grant for trail work.
Danforth has already been the site of multiple recent improvement efforts.
In May, eagle scout Jaxon Capobianco installed new trailhead kiosks at entrances to the area.
The land trust itself also already began work to stabilize and improve portions of the trail earlier this year.
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