MEDICINE PARK – The Medicine Park Economic Development Authority will donate $500 to the Mountain Bike Club of the Wichita for the month of March, which will help the club maintain the local trail system.
After hearing a presentation from club President Shawn Geib, the authority voted 3-0 to make a one-time contribution to the club. Board Chairman John Branch and authority member Patty Clark were absent.
The authority will consider a long-term contract with the club in April, after the board has a chance to review its finances.
The club, a nonprofit organization focused on connecting people to the outdoors by building and improving the local trail system, had asked the authority for a monthly contribution of $500 to help cover the cost of making local trails safer and more enjoyable.
If approved, the grant would be one part of a larger plan to improve the trails, Geib said. He said other elements of the plan include securing grants, raising funds from other sources and placing artwork along the trails.
“One of the things that we’ve already started in motion is working with local artists to put trail art out on them (the trails), so it will nest very well with what you’re talking about with the faces and all that stuff,” Geib said.
Geib was referring to an earlier discussion where the board talked about installing plywood photo props, large boards printed with images and one or more holes cut out where a person’s face should be, around town as a tourist attraction. People can stick their face through the board for a humorous effect.
The authority delayed its decision on the photo props until April.