Untitled - Town of Windham

WINDHAM RAIL TRAIL ALLIANCEFounded in 2004, the Windham Rail Trail Alliance is dedicated to the development andmanagement of this section of abandoned rail bed as a paved rail trail which is part of theGranite State Rail Trail (formerly the Salem to Concord Rail Trail.)With the connection with Derry, the 2 trails offer 8 miles of paved trail; at this writing thelongest stretch along an abandoned rail bed in New Hampshire! The vision we brought toWindham has now expanded to Salem, and Londonderry is bringing a funding request totheir 2013 Town Meeting for starting 1.5 miles of development. The WRTA isrepresented on 2 state and regional rail trail organizations. The New Hampshire Rail TrailCoalition meets quarterly and hosts an Annual meeting in November attended by typically15 – 20 rail trail organizations. Mr. Samsel serves as Vice President and Mr. Morris is aDirector. On the Regional Trails Council that represents trails along the Manchester andLawrence corridor, Mr. Samsel serves as Treasurer. The committee is hosted by SouthernNH Regional Planning.Our 5th annual “Flat n’ Fast” 5k road race was held on Sunday June 12, with a record of 317 participants.The certified USATF race was won by Connor Habib of Methuen with a time of 17:06, and the women’swinner was Mary Garrity of Manchester at 19:01. Mary also established the new women’s record with herperformance.Approximately 432 hours were spent on maintenance by the WRTA and several trail supporters on brushcutting, trash removal, cutting downed trees, and the critical chore of clearing the trail and drainage lines ofleaves, as well organizational activities. Our general trail clean-up day was in May, which we will repeat in2013. We also recognize and thank those users who contribute in their own way, picking up and keeping thetrail clean.We had 3 generous bench donations this year, one by Dave and Deb Mallon and two by Stephern Paquette.The granite bench donation program has offered an opportunity for a heartfelt remembrance that directlysupports the trail. We are honored that folks look at the picturesque trail in this manner and to see the manythat take advantage of a break at one of the bench sites. Please contact any of the WRTA board members foradditional information.The development of our final half mile starting at Roulston Road is still planned, however has not progressedto the point we anticipated. We strive to blend the development cost in a Public (Transportation Grant)/Privateapproach. The longest timeline that section of trail would complete is in the summer of 2014.At the conclusion of the year, the Freight Wagon that was donated by George Frick of Durham is the focus ofan Eagle project anticipated to complete in 2013. As well, another Eagle Project will start that will tidy upand showcase the Stickney General Store cellar hole behind the C-16. These represent Eagle projects 9 and 10along the trail.As always, the Windham Rail Trail Alliance is thankful for the support from town officials and accoladesfrom our users. Windham should take pride in that the success of the Windham Rail Trail has spread toneighboring towns, and along with the Derry section puts us on the “national scene”; we are happy to remainthe exclamation point for rail trail recreation in Windham and New Hampshire!Respectfully submitted for the Alliance,Mark Samsel, President2012 ANNUAL REPORTS 162 TOWN OF WINDHAM, NH