By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson City Council will not be pursuing the trail behind homes on Kisiwa Village Road on the north side of the ditch.
"We did ask our in house engineering crew to verify where the property line is from the GVI ditch to the property to the north," said Justin Combs with the city. "Essentially, the fence line, if you've been up in that area, is very close to the property line. There's a couple of spots where it's over a foot or under a foot, but generically speaking, that fence line is the property line."
Since that's the case, the only way to have enough land for the trail is to obtain it from the landowners. They're not interested. Evelyn Henricks, one of the owners, spoke before the council.
"That is purely agricultural property," Henricks said. "There is not one structure on that land, there is not even an agricultural entrance to that land. It is native grass on the east end of it and on the west end is under cultivation. The man that farms it for us usually has wheat in that land, sometimes soybeans, occasionally milo, but most of the time, wheat. This land has been in our family for many, many, many years and we want to do the right thing for it. We do not want to cut it up in little pieces, we do not want to sell a lot on Plum Street, we do not want to sell a strip on one side or the other. As long as we own it, we want to preserve it as it is."
The city is going to see if there is any other project the state will let them use the grant funds for.