Costs may outweigh the benefits
Tri Cities, November 27, 2007
BRISTOL, Va. – Despite a recent favorable court ruling, city leaders may opt to abandon the controversial Mendota Trail project.
The proposed hiking and biking trail from the city limits to the Scott County, Va., line has already cost the city more than $600,000, City Manager Bill Dennison said. The council is expected discuss the stalled project at its next meeting.
"An item is on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting," Dennison said. "It’s a terribly convoluted, complicated, very expensive proposition. Continuing a project, with no end to the expenses in sight, doesn’t seem very prudent to me."
In the nearly seven years since, the city has invested about $635,000 to acquire the land and in legal and engineering fees, amid a six-year legal battle with property owners along the proposed route.
After a number of landowners tried to claim ownership in 2001, the city sued all 180 people with potential claims. Less than 20 are still engaged in the lawsuit, which has not yet gone to trial.
One solution could involve asking the Washington County Board of Supervisors to condemn the property, Mayor Jim Rector said, adding he didn’t know if county leaders would cooperate.
Any decision also needs to include an estimate of the cost of completing the trail, Rector said.
"A half-million dollars will not touch what needs to be done to that trail and that doesn’t include annual maintenance," Dennison said.
The city previously estimated trail construction could cost up to $1 million.
Establishing a trail would involve clearing the land, removing buildings, fences and other obstructions, building bridges, replacing at least one trestle damaged by fire and pouring the base material, Dennison said.
-Sometimes, communities realize in time that they should withdraw from projects rather than obstinately pressing forward without a full analysis of the costs and benefits. Substantial title problems on ownership of property and uncertain expenses can lead to unanticipated obstacles.
