There is a new mountain bike-hiking trail coming to Great Bend, the City Council learned Monday night. 

It is the brainchild of a group of local cyclists who also developed the trail at Lake Barton. The nearly two-mile loop will encircle Rotary Lake (formerly known as MacAurthur Lake) at Seventh Street and MacArthur Road in the southwest part of town.

Golden Belt Bicycle Company owner Todd Van Skyke and fellow cyclist Jake Morris addressed the council about the project. Using a slide presentation, they took those present on virtual ride around the lake, up and down embankments and weaved through the trees.

“Great Bend would be one of only a very few towns in Kansas that would have a single-track mountain bike-hiking trail in city limits,” Van Skyke said. “This trail will be accessible to people of all ages, all skill levels, children to adults.”

The cost to the city would be nothing, he said.

“We would take care of any maintenance and any cost to build the trail,” he said. “Trail maintenance after we build it is going to be extremely minimal. It will consist of basically of mowing and other care that is already being done.

“It’s a great use of land that’s not being utilized currently,” he said. “And it’s a free quality-of-life improvement for Great Bend.”

It has also been a draw for FFA students from Great Bend High School looking for volunteer projects, Van Skyke said. They have helped clean up the site.

Furthermore, Morris said “if any other volunteer groups want to come in and do that, they would be welcomed.” 

“I’m all about quality of life free of charge to the city,” said Mayor Cody Schmidt.  

The item required no action by the council.

Concerned homeowners

The only issue has been three homes that sit just south of the lake, across MacArthur Road. The road runs east and west on the south side of the property is the city limit boundary. 

“The residents have mowed into the city property for years, undisturbed, and they are upset with the change,” Ward 3 Councilman Cory Urban said.

All indications show the ground is city property and in the city limits, and that the city should have been mowing it, he said. A substantial amount of the trail has been cut onto this area already. 

“(The homeowners) would like the trail moved north of the trees, even though it is on city property,” he said. “In my opinion, while I appreciate the homeowners in the area mowing the property for such a long time, it is not their responsibility to do so.”

Further, “I feel the trail is a great addition to the immediate area and for the community at large,” Urban said.

“I was contacted by residents who live in that area upset about the fact of the trail was being built into the tree line,” City Administrator Kendal Francis said. “They requested that we would try to move it to the north. But I’m absolutely in agreement that is city property, and we can do as the council wishes to do.

“I think their concern was people being close to their property,” Francis said. “I think they’re unsure of the types of activities that will be taking place there.

“I think we have some undesirable type activities that take place there now and I tried to assure them that I thought this would probably help deter some of that,” Francis said. “They spoke multiple times about property damage and vandalism. And I think that’s probably at the forefront  of their thoughts about trying to protect their property.”

But, Van Skyke, Morris and their volunteers have already improved the appearance of the area, he said.

“There’s a quite a ways between the lake itself and the properties,” said Ward 4 Councilwoman Natalie Towns. “So I don’t see that having bikers on those paths would cause any extra problems for those people. I didn’t see anything wrong with what they’ve done.”

“Maybe increasing the utilization is going to drive some activity away too,” Urban said.

Van Skyke said the trail would have no impact on those living in the area. “They won’t have to change anything, just keep doing what they’re doing.”

Project origins

Urban was approached by Van Skyke regarding the potential of a trail in the area a few months ago. They met with Public Lands Director Scott Keeler and City Administrator Kendal Francis at the site, and the plan emerged.

“They were willing to create and maintain a trail at zero cost to the city,” Urban said. “This land is heavily under-used and needs some attention in general. 

Upon hearing no negative feedback from the city administration, and having zero appropriation of city dollars, the trail developers left the meeting with the understanding that they could start work immediately, he said.

However, “in retrospect, I should have told them to wait for the presentation so we could present it to council and then go ahead and build it. I’ll take responsibility for that oversight.”

Some background

In February 2018, the Great Bend Rotary Club sort of adopted the lake in hopes of making it a more popular attraction and an integral part of the city’s park system.

The council also approved changing the lake’s name to Rotary Lake.

Improvements so far have included a concrete slab with picnic tables and a grill.

The late Bob Parrish, who served on the City Council and was the mayor of Great Bend from 1969 to 1975, was a Rotarian and was instrumental in the city’s acquisition of the lake in the 1960s.