Staff recommends that Council approve the submittal of the Recreational Trails Program and Trail Stewardship Grant Program grant applications to Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, and approve acceptance of the grants should they be awarded.

The City of Billings is seeking grant funding from both the Recreational Trails Program (RTP) and Trail Stewardship Grant Program (TSGP) for a trail through Rose Park. The trail is included in both the City Council adopted 2017 Billings Area Bikeway and Trails Master Plan and in the City Council adopted 2022 Safe Routes to School Plan Update. Both plans went through the public engagement process and allowed opportunities for comment both online and at public meetings and/or hearings. At the western end, the trail will start at the western-most parking lot in Rose Park. The trail will travel, mostly paralleling the BBWA Canal, until it reaches Rose Park Elementary School. In total, the trail will be approximately 2,477 feet long. The Parks Department, Planning Division, and Public Works Department are supportive of this trail project and application for funding. 

While trails already exist in the park, this trail will create a more direct route for students from the apartment complexes on Ave. C to reach Rose Park School while keeping the students away from traffic. Based on student address heat maps created as part of the 2022 Safe Routes to School Plan, a large percentage of Rose Park Students live in the apartment complexes on Ave. C. According to data compiled from the Census Bureau, these apartments are located in a Census Block Group that has above average rates of households experiencing poverty. The forthcoming Long Range Transportation Plan in development by the Billings-Yellowstone County Metropolitan Planning Organization also shows this area as a “medium transportation disadvantaged” neighborhood in Billings.

The trail will also open up the underutilized northeastern part of the park for more residents to enjoy. Because there are no facilities in the northeastern part of the park, there is less activity there. Having a paved trail will get more residents to this part of the park and make it more accessible for people with disabilities. The trail will connect via the bridge over the BBWA Canal to the trail segment just constructed in the summer of 2022 north of the Canal. Residents will be able to travel from Woody Dr. to 19th St. W without ever having to cross a street, creating a continuous recreational trail of over half a mile. The trail will also create a more direct route for residents living north of the BBWA Canal and east of 19th St. W to access Rose Park. 

The RTP grant offers up to $100,000 for recreational trails. 20% of the total project cost must come from local match funds. The TSGP provides up to $75,000 for trails. 10% of the total project cost must come from local match funds. The City will apply for up to $100,000 of funding from the RTP grant and up to $75,000 of the TSGP grant. Total required match could be up to $33,333. Of that funding, $16,640 will be provided by the Parks and Recreation Matching Grant Program. The rest of the match will be provided by local non-profit Billings TrailNet. 

City Council may:

• Approve the submittal and acceptance of RTP and TSGP grants should the grants be awarded; or,
• Not Approve the submittal of RTP and TSGP grants

There is no disadvantage to the City in submitting these grant applications. If the grant is not awarded, staff will continue to look for other options to fund the trails in this area. This effort to utilize two grant programs as well as both City and non-profit funding sources in the community is a great example of being creative in how we leverage funds to try and build trail projects in Billings.

The RTP and TSGP grant applications are being written to provide up to $175,000 for the construction of a trail in Rose Park. $16,640 of the match will come from the Parks and Recreation Matching Grant Program. The Parks and Recreation Matching Grant Program was allocated $100,000 to match outside funds; as a result, these funds have already been set aside for efforts like these grant applications. Non-profit Billings TrailNet will provide the rest of the cash match.