/usr/web/www.marshallindependent.com/wp-content/themes/coreV2/single.php
×

ATV trail proposal moves forward with snowmobile club’s help

Photo by Deb Gau Doug Anderson of the Southwest Ridgerunners snowmobile club and Lyon County Environmental Administrator Roger Schroeder talked to the Lyon County Board on Tuesday.

MARSHALL — A proposal to open a system of all-terrain-vehicle trails near Russell for public use got approval from Lyon County commissioners on Tuesday — with some changes to the plan, and a new partner in the Southwest Ridgerunners snowmobile club.

At the commissioners’ meeting, Doug Anderson of the Southwest Ridgerunners said the club was interested in partnering with landowner Gary Thooft to open the trails.

“Our club voted to accept the ATV end of it, on top of the snowmobiles,” Anderson said. The Ridgerunners would try the arrangement for a year, as well as maintaining its existing snowmobile trails in Lyon County.

Anderson described the arrangement as a “win-win” situation, since the trails are already built.

Lyon County Administrator Loren Stomberg said the new partnership would mean more of a “pass-through” arrangement for the county. Instead of being a sponsor for the trails, Lyon County would just be a fiscal agent.

Thooft had approached the county board last year with a proposal to open ATV trails he built just outside the city of Russell for public use. With the support of the county and an ATV club, the trail system could be eligible for a grant-in-aid program run by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Thooft said.

The proposal went through a comment period, and a public hearing in July. However, at a December meeting, county commissioners put the proposal on hold so they could get more information about potential liabilities and costs for the county in the partnership.

But with the snowmobile club as a partner, county officials said, the county wouldn’t have to take on as much responsibility. The Ridgerunners club would apply for the grant-in-aid program. Lyon County Environmental Administrator Roger Schroeder said the Ridgerunners had the financial capacity to help open up the ATV trails to the public.

“We’ve already checked on insurance,” Anderson told commissioners. “We’ve got that lined up if we approve (the sponsorship).”

Commissioner Rick Anderson moved that the county agree to be the fiscal host for the grant-in-aid application. The motion passed.

Doug Anderson said the Southwest Ridgerunners hoped partnering with Thooft on the ATV trail system would be good for both snowmobilers and ATV enthusiasts.

“We’re hoping that it will bring new members to the club,” he said. It would also mean new opportunities for recreation in the area.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.38/week.

Subscribe Today