By MARGIE TRAX PAGE - Staff Writer - mtrax@starbeacon.com
All along the Western Reserve Greenway Trail, clumps of scraggly weeds reach for the sun, their perennial roots setting a foundation for summer frustration.
But a new kind of frustration has settled on the trustees of the Greenway, as high gas prices and low funds have weed-pulling volunteers concerned about a flora takeover.
“High gas prices certainly have us feeling the pinch,” Ashtabula County Metroparks board president Charlie Koli said. “Nothing about this year has been easy financially.”
Koli said the landscaping machinery used to keep the 43-mile paved trail weed and brush free drinks a lot of gasoline and oil, which translates into a lot of money.
“We spend about $7,000 a year to maintain the trail, including gas costs and maintenance of the machinery,” Koli said. “This year, of course, that figure will be more.”
The WRGT board usually holds a fundraiser in January to cover costs over the year, but with poor ticket sales, the event was canceled. With no funding for 2008, the board dipped into its only cash reserve, Koli said.
“We might make it through 2008, but if we don’t work to raise funds absolutely no financial resources will be available for 2009,” he said. “We always need donations to maintain the Greenway, but this year is an entirely different situation.”
The trail will be completed this year, including a tunnel under Route 84 in Saybrook Township. The board is also working on the North Shore Trail, a 4-mile extension to the Greenway that will lead bikers and walkers through Ashtabula to Walnut Beach, Koli said.
With the Greenway’s emergency piggy bank broken, Koli said there is no financial safety net for 2009.
“We have been very frugal over the years, which is what saved us this year,” he said.
Koli said the trail’s saving grace has been a troop of volunteers who spend countless hours tugging the weeds and mowing the grass along the trail from Warren County to Ashtabula.
“Without our volunteers — and the volunteers on the bike patrol — there really would be no Greenway,” Koli said. “We need financial assistance, but we also need some dedicated volunteers to help the Greenway through this time.”
Koli said he can empathize with other charities that are also struggling under the weight of Big Oil.
“I don’t think any of us saw this coming and I have to say that something has got to give. Of all the issues (the board) works through, I don’t think any of us thought that mowing grass might be cost prohibitive in 2009,” Koli said. “But I guess the whole country is dealing with the same reality.”
To donate to the Western Reserve Greenway Trail, or to volunteer with the maintenance crew or bike patrol, call Terry Berkey or Chris Martello at (440) 294-2555.
