State funding made available through the Bicentennial Nature Trust will help two Grant County towns purchase land to expand the Sweetser Switch Trail.
The trust was created to honor the state’s 200th anniversary in 2016. In 1916, Indiana authorized the creation of a state park system during the state’s centennial, according to the Indiana Bicentennial Commission’s website.
The trust will provide a 1:1 match of land or dollars, and the property acquired will become part of the public trust to ensure it is protected for future generations to use.
Terry Renbarger, president of the Sweetser Park Board, said the town received $19,980, and Converse received additional funds.
Sweetser officials were notified of the award in July, and they must purchase the land first and then be reimbursed.
About seven acres of land adjacent to the Kokomo Rail will be purchased with the money, and the land will be cleared for a 10-foot asphalt trail that will run from 700 West to 800 West, Renbarger said.
“This is part of a coast-to-coast trail called the American Heritage Trail,” he said. “We are getting close to connecting Richmond to Rochester. That will then be the longest trail in the state of Indiana.”
The corridor, which is about a mile long, will extend from the western terminus of the Sweetser Switch Trail at 700 West to Wabash Street in Mier. About five acres of the seven acres will be vacant crop fields adjacent to rural single-family residences.
“The corridor provides a critical wildlife travel lane between streams and intermittent waterways that crisscross the trail corridor, along with access to several trailside woodlots,” he said.
The plan is to purchase the land this fall, with construction beginning in the spring.
Renbarger said the overall cost of the project is $227,460. The town’s local match is $45,492, which will be paid for by donations and in-kind labor. Indiana Heritage Trust is paying $19,980, and the Recreational Trails Program is putting forth $187,500 for the project.
Karen Niverson, director of the Grant County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the Bicentennial program has four pillars – history and celebration, youth and education, community involvement and nature preservation, which is the only pillar that offers communities funding. The money is through the Department of Natural Resources.
Grant County plans to participate in the festivities in 2016, though.
The state is asking communities to submit their projects to the state.
“It doesn’t come with any funding, but it allows you to use the Bicentennial seal, and it places you on the state’s Bicentennial website. Then you’re part of the overall state celebration,” Niverson said.
On Nov. 17, Rene Stanley, director of community resources on the Bicentennial Commission, met with local officials to discuss the program.
Niverson said local officials have started a Facebook page and will soon start contacting local event coordinators to encourage them to submit their projects for state endorsement.
“It’s just an opportunity for us to connect with the communities across the state to celebrate the Bicentennial,” she said.
The state is also having a Torch Relay, which will travel through all 92 counties in the state, including Grant. The event will be in September and October 2016, and Niverson said she’s waiting to get additional details from the state about when the torch will be in Grant County.
“We don’t have any details yet, but the Commission has put together the route,” she said. “They will tell us when they’re coming through Grant County and then we can decide what kind of celebration we want to put together.”