Only eight of the Raccoon River Valley Trail’s crossings of gravel roads in west central Iowa remain to be paved before all the trail’s road crossings have a concrete surface. And in order to make that happen quicker, the RRVT Association – the non-profit organization that markets and promotes the trail – is putting up $10,000 to match donations totaling that same amount.
The offer extends from right now through the start of the 10th annual RRVT Association banquet, which is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 18, at the West Des Moines Marriott Hotel. The hope is that the successful conclusion of this fund drive can be announced at that banquet.
The $20,000 that the association hopes to raise with this offer will be pooled with funds already in the coffers of the Dallas and Guthrie County Conservation Boards, and the total would be enough to complete the paving. All of the trail’s gravel road crossings in Greene County have been paved, with the work completed this past fall.
“We know there is intense interest among trail users to get all the RRVT’s crossings of the gravel roads paved,” said Cooper Riley, president of the association. “Every time there’s been a story about more progress on this project, there is tremendous reaction from people on our Facebook page and website. The association has the money available right now to do the matching funds, so the board of directors decided to make the offer.”
Riley said the board members had a good discussion about whether matching donations for the paving project fits the association’s mission of “marketing and promoting the trail and its communities.” But he said their conclusion was that there is so much public interest in enhancing the RRVT that using marketing & promotion money makes sense.
He said that the sooner that all the trail’s gravel road crossings are paved and the sooner the “connector” trail is completed between the RRVT and the High Trestle Trail, “the more people will be using these trails, and that’ll be good for the trail and for our communities.”
Secure online donations with credit cards can be made by clicking here.
There is also information on that page about how to make larger donations by writing a check and sending it via the U.S. Mail or by contacting RRVT Association officials. You can also join the “Friends of the Raccoon River Valley Trail” with a donation of $25 or more, and with that comes your 2017 RRVT trail pass.
