Lights for the Bell Town Walking Trail at Riverfront Park on Fort Scott’s north entrance will soon be installed.

“They are LED downlights to light the trail at dusk for more safety,” Jerry Witt, chairman of the Fort Scott Bourbon County Riverfront Authority, said.

The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team is providing funds for the lighting.

The City of Fort Scott Streets Department is pouring concrete for the pedestals for the 27 pole lights which will stand about 12 feet high, similar to the poles in the historic downtown district. The streets crew has also done the trenching for the electrical pipe for the poles.

“Max Fanning is doing the electrical work labor,” Witt said. “We are paying for that.”

Also slated for a 2019 completion date is paving and striping of the parking area, west of the park pavilion at the entrance. Also, a handicapped accessible wheelchair ramp will be built to the pavilion.

Last week, the Fort Scott Area Community Foundation granted the Riverfront Authority a $2,317 award to purchase metal picnic tables and benches for the pavilion, Witt said.

New Trails

Witt said the Riverfront Authority has applied for a Kansas Department of Transportation Grant to create additional trails on the south side of the Marmaton River, along the River Front Road.

“When we built the road in 2015, the grant was for road and trails,” Witt said. “But the cost of the road construction was higher than expected, so the trails were put on hold.”

Agricultural Engineering, Uniontown, is working with the Riverfront Authority in designing the 2, 953 feet of trails, which will be eight-foot-wide and have an asphalt surface, Witt said.

Overlook Moving

Flooding this past spring moved the recently built wooden overlook off its’ foundation and the Riverfront Authority is planning to move the structure to higher ground, Witt said.

Members

Members of the Fort Scott Bourbon County Riverfront Authority are Witt,  Allen Warren, Jeff Sweetser, Bob Love, Betty Boyko, Danny Magee, Arnold Schofield, Penny Barnes and Dean Mann.

The organization was created in 2007.