VERMILLION Bike and Pedestrian Path Moves Ahead

I no longer have to disguise my posts about the Vermillion Bike Path as all info is definitely out in the open after last nights City Council meeting. Many members of the bike path committee and members of the Lane Hogs were there in support of extending the bike path. The map above shows (very) roughly where the bike path would extend in the next phase. It was the best I could do by freehand with a mouse in MS Paint. As you can see, it's a good distance from most dwellings.

Many people stood up and talked in front of the city council in favor of the proposed bike path. The only two who stood up against was one land owner and his daughter. The council voted unanimously to do a "quick take" on the land to start the path. There are further options for the land owner, but I hope that his battle ended last night with the vote of the council and the will of the people.

If Vermillion hopes to continue on the path to a more "progressive" community status, things like the bike path just HAS to happen. It's a draw for people who already live here, people thinking of moving here, people visiting, and people looking for a place to visit. It's just an overall good idea and I'm glad to see so many people pushing FORWARD to make this happen. Congratulations to all who have fought to make this a reality.

Bike Path Meeting

If you remember in an earlier POST ,there was discussion on the PORTLAND bike path that had hit a snag with two landowners. I still have to be careful what I post here, so this will be a pretty vanilla scenario of what's going on.

Things really haven't progressed much since the last meeting except that all offers have been refused by the one party by our hired negotiator. The other party has not picked up their phone once in several attempts to contact and didn't answer his door at repeated attempts to stop by their house.

I think that many are feeling frustrated and the discussion has now centered around asking the PORTLAND City Council to approve a Quick Take on the land. Unfamiliar with the term? Me too. I just looked it up and found the following:

Quick take: In many states, there is a specific procedure that allows the government to deposit with the court the amount it thinks the property is worth and then take possession of it very quickly. Sometimes there is no opportunity for a hearing before the government takes possession. For residences, there is usually a somewhat longer period before the person must leave, but businesses in some states can be evicted very quickly. Once the government takes possession of a property through quick take, it can (and often does) demolish the buildings in question.

While we are not looking to demolish any buildings or kick anybody out of their homes, we need to get rolling on this stretch of bike path. We have federal funds to be considered and the clock is ticking. For those of you in the PORTLAND area, be prepared for more details. When the time comes, we need to show our support at the PORTLAND city council meeting and send an email barrage of support to the council before the meeting.

That's probably more details that I should divulge at this point, but things are about to happen pretty fast anyway, and most of the council are ready for it to happen anyway. Maybe I'll live to see this through!