HUMBOLDT ? Beth Barlow shared her vision with Humboldt City Council members about a project A Bolder Humboldt, a local development group, intends for the trailhead at the northeast edge of town.
The plan will include additional pedestrian and bicycle trails, a 1.5-acre lake with cabins and a boat dock, ample parking and a bike barn. The Southwind Trail connects Humboldt to Iola over the old Santa Fe Railroad bed.
?We want to have the bike barn, three cabins and some trails open by spring,? said Barlow, marketing director of B&W Trailer Hitches.
The 20-plus acre development sits between B&W and Mount Hope Cemetery and includes a relatively new home, which, Barlow said, ?will be vacant in a month. In my mind it would be a great place for a caretaker to live.?
Joe and Janie Works own the discussed home and the surrounding 21 acres, which will be sold to Humboldt Trailhead Inc., which is in the works of being formed, said Barlow.
The site will also include four campsites and perhaps vending machines to beckon bikers, hikers and other visitors.
Barlow?s pitch to the council included a request to annex the property to Humboldt proper.
City Administrator Cole Herder said moving the city?s eastern limit would be easy especially now that a new industrial park is only about 100 yards away.
?The utilities are a plus? for what A Bolder Humboldt wants to do, Barlow added. A sewer line to the industrial tract has been completed. Gas and water lines will be installed soon by city crews.
She also noted a grant application would be made to the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Recreation, that would require support of the city.
That support, as well as for annexation, came unanimously from council members.
Barlow gave no specific starting date for the 21 acre complex, but said, in not so few words, A Bolder Humboldt was eager to get started.
The above maps show a site at the northeast edge of Humboldt under consideration for enhanced recreation opportunities.
