MONROE - Monroe Plan Commission members on Wednesday recommended the Common Council approve a 1-mile nature trail proposed by Mayor Louis Armstrong.
The trail would be located on more than 10 acres between the Green County Family YMCA and the neighboring Park Place subdivision. Armstrong, who has a background in prairie restoration, first introduced the idea to Director of Public Works Al Gerber and Zoning Administrator Ryan Lindsey. Neither raised any issue with the plan. The Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners unanimously supported the proposal in January.
Commission member Charles Koch pointed to the project's source of funding as the only potential problem.
"I like the idea. It's just a matter of finding the money to do it," Koch said.
Armstrong said an application will be submitted to receive roughly $4,000 in grant money from the Monroe Fund. Costs would include herbicide, plantings and additional labor for Parks and Recreation employees.
Plan Commission members expressed hesitation with a trail near the retention pond on the wetlands. The grass trail would potentially run along it, Armstrong said, but some concerns have been raised previously about the safety of the open pond. Armstrong disagreed with the need for a fence surrounding the body of water, citing Honey Creek in Twining Park as an example.
Vice chairman Nate Klassy, formerly the city's director of public works, recalled a time when he asked the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources about the pond's safety.
"If the pond is built the way it's supposed to be built," Klassy said, "theoretically, if someone is walking around there and slides in, they'd end up in water about 2 feet deep."
Armstrong wants to place the mown grass path on high ground, so it will not be wet ground. In the future, Armstrong said, small footbridges could be put in place to deal with the watery areas. More vegetation and possibly even a nature center could be added in the future.
Armstrong currently has more modest plans. He said he hopes to have non-native and invasive plant species removed and possibly planting done in the fall. If the project takes longer than anticipated, he added that brush could be removed in winter when city workers are less busy and more development could be fleshed out in spring of 2018 if aldermen approve of the plans.
The trail would be located on more than 10 acres between the Green County Family YMCA and the neighboring Park Place subdivision. Armstrong, who has a background in prairie restoration, first introduced the idea to Director of Public Works Al Gerber and Zoning Administrator Ryan Lindsey. Neither raised any issue with the plan. The Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners unanimously supported the proposal in January.
Commission member Charles Koch pointed to the project's source of funding as the only potential problem.
"I like the idea. It's just a matter of finding the money to do it," Koch said.
Armstrong said an application will be submitted to receive roughly $4,000 in grant money from the Monroe Fund. Costs would include herbicide, plantings and additional labor for Parks and Recreation employees.
Plan Commission members expressed hesitation with a trail near the retention pond on the wetlands. The grass trail would potentially run along it, Armstrong said, but some concerns have been raised previously about the safety of the open pond. Armstrong disagreed with the need for a fence surrounding the body of water, citing Honey Creek in Twining Park as an example.
Vice chairman Nate Klassy, formerly the city's director of public works, recalled a time when he asked the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources about the pond's safety.
"If the pond is built the way it's supposed to be built," Klassy said, "theoretically, if someone is walking around there and slides in, they'd end up in water about 2 feet deep."
Armstrong wants to place the mown grass path on high ground, so it will not be wet ground. In the future, Armstrong said, small footbridges could be put in place to deal with the watery areas. More vegetation and possibly even a nature center could be added in the future.
Armstrong currently has more modest plans. He said he hopes to have non-native and invasive plant species removed and possibly planting done in the fall. If the project takes longer than anticipated, he added that brush could be removed in winter when city workers are less busy and more development could be fleshed out in spring of 2018 if aldermen approve of the plans.