Brevard/Transylvania County Ecusta Trail Advisory Board  Date: March27,2024 Members:  Location: City Hall Council Chambers  Maureen Copelof, Mayor Aaron Baker, Council Member (absent) Larry Chapman, County Commissioner Addison Bradley, NC Cooperative Extension Dir (absent) Mark7 Tooley, Conserving Carolina John Ditillo, Friends of Ecusta Trail (absent) Wilson Hooper, City Manager, Ex Officio (left at 3:45pm) Paul Ray, Planning Director, Ex Officio (absent) Meredith Carli, At-Large Member Clark Lovelace, Tourism Development Authority Madeline Hanley, At-Large Member Katherine Buzby, City Planner  Chris Burns, Chair Henderson County Ecusta Trail Advisory Board Ex Officio  Staff:  Guests:  Tad Fogel, Friends of Ecusta Trail (Zoom) Kristen Cozza, Conserving Carolina (Zoom) Lonnie Watkins, Volkert Inc. Billy Parrish, Heart of Brevard Steve Williams, NCDOT (Zoom) Nicole Bentley, Heart of Brevard Luis Hemmer, NCDOTE EIT  A. Welcome & Call to Order B. Certification of Quorum C. Approval of Agenda carried unanimously.  Committee Chair Maureen Copelof welcomed everyone and called the meeting to order at 3:31 pm.  Quorum was certified by Chair Maureen Copelof.  Maureen Copelofa asked to modify the agenda to have City manager present first due to needing to leave early. Motion by Mr. Chapman, seconded by Mr. Lovelace to approve the modified agenda. The motion    Brevard/Transyvania County Ecusta Trail Advisory Board  D. Approval of Minutes from February 28, 2024 Meeting  Motion by Mr. Tooley, seconded by Mr. Chapman to approve the meeting minutes. The motion carried  unanimously. EUpdates/Discusions  1. City of Brevard-Trailhead discussions have been referred to the Parks & Trails Committee by City Council to discuss and recommend locations. Discussion about the Henderson Co Ecusta Trail Board and this Board need to hold aj joint meeting. City Council and management will be discussing trail maintenance. Friends of Ecusta Trails has authorized release of state grants up to $750,000 to go towards the preliminary engineering on the Transylvania County portion oft the Ecusta Trail. The City manager will be asking the TDA tomorrow for their FY 2024 contribution goes to close the financial gap of the estimated additional million dollars to complete engineering. (FLAP grant covers up to 30% design, these funds will cover the rest to get final design). City management and the planning dept has met with TPD and' Vicki  Eastland to discuss trail terminus options.  F.P Presentation: Trail Partners by Henderson County Planning  Program designed by Henderson County Planning to partner with adjoining property owners/Dusinesses to offer amenities to trail users in exchange for advertising on the County's Ecusta Trail website.  G. Updates/Discussions (Continued)  1. Conserving Carolina- Some donations are continuing to come in and they are being pushed 2. Planning Department- The newsletter was mailed out to adjoining property owners. Discussions are ongoing about how to cross the new NCDOT roundabouts with the Estatoe  over to Friends of Ecusta Trail.  Trail safely for all types of trail users. 3. Transylvania County- Not hearing much.  4. Tourism Development Authority (TDA)- $250,000 isi in this year's budget and City manager Henderson County- Construction is progressing, some old trestles have been removed. The 6. NCDOT- On schedule with the design and was notified there is a potential archeological site that is confidential. They still need the City "approved amenities" list so TPD can put whati is 7. Friends of Ecusta Trail- Board did approve the release of funds and are working on a new website for the trail. They also are discussing a trail 'governing' body and how that would work. They are still waiting on the Economic Impact Study so they can have al baseline for business impacts before and after the trail opens. The new logo will be rolled out with the  will be presenting at the TDA board meeting tomorrow morning.  first 61 miles should be completed by December.  needed in the designs.  new website once all completed, date to be determined.    Brevard/Transylvania County Ecusta Trail Advisory Board  8. Public or Citizen Input- Questions were answered about how the Ecusta Trail and Estatoe Trail will connect (the connection is still being considered). Heart of Brevard stated they  favor a trailhead at the Depot.  H. Next Steps  Planning Dept to look at how City of Brevard is going to partner with the adjoining property owners/Dusinesses. Planning and the City will provide Lonnie the approved amenities list.  .Set Datet for Next Meeting  The next meeting of the Brevard/Transyvania County Ecusta Trail Advisory Board is scheduled for April  24, 2024 at 3:30 pm. (last Wednesday of the month at 3:30 pm)  J.Adjourn  There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:58 pm.  hkh Aaron Baker, Co-Chair xghatk Byec Katherine Buzby, City Planner  Minutes Approved- 4lzyky