County considers mountain bike trails

At the August 7 Buildings, Grounds & Parks meeting, committee members heard a presentation advocating for the construction of mountain bike trails on county land. This presentation followed the start of trail building at Jaycee Park in Medford.

Jorgen Hamann of the recently formed Taylor County Cycling Association (TCCA) presented to the committee. He has been involved with trail construction since 2016 and is helping create the Jaycee Park trail.

“It’s a great way to introduce kids to a healthy lifestyle,” Hamann said.

The TCCA is interested in making mountain bike trails in two main locations- the Campus Trails in Medford and Perkinstown Winter Sports Area. They also are looking at creating trails in Rib Lake and Gilman eventually.

The committee responded favorably to Hamann’s presentation, but no action was taken on to give Hamann and the TCCA permission to begin construction.

Buildings, Grounds & Park Maintenance Director Joe Svejda said he would like to walk the Campus Trail with Hamann to see what he has planned. Svejda also noted some individuals have strong feelings about the Campus Trails, so he thought it would be a good idea to include those people in the discussion about building mountain bike trails there.

As far as potential trails at Perkinsontown, Svejda explained much of the trail-suitable area is on federal land. He said he would investigate whether bike trails could be added to the agreement the county has with the federal government about land usage.

The committee typically meets every two months, but they scheduled their next meeting at 11:00 a.m. on September 16 to follow up about granting permission to build the trails.

In other business, the committee approved moving forward with HVAC company Complete Control (or taking bids on the project if required by law) to replace the water tank that provides

See COUNTY on page 4 all of the hot water to the 'new” parts of the courthouse. The hot water tank would be replaced with three water heaters under the plan. Additionally, the hot and cold water mixing valve would be replaced. In total, the project would cost $119,524.

The current tank’s life expectancy is 10 to 15 years. It has been in the courthouse for 24 years. Svejda said failure of the tank could be “catastrophic.”

At Miller Dam, the handles on the water wells were taken off by the county due to water quality compliance issues. Svejda said his department is working with the DNR to make the wells meet state regulations on the public water supply. When they do, the handles will be put back on.

Also regarding Miller Dam, Svejda reported the boat launch project is going well. It is estimated to be completed by the first week of September.