A tentative agreement to allow the West Michigan Mountain Bike Alliance to construct a mountain bike trail on city property on Hammond Road Recreation Area in exchange for maintaining the trial was approved Monday by the Hastings City Council.

Councilwoman Brenda McNabb Stange was the only dissenting vote, objecting to a provision that the WMMBA would recover a prorated part of its investment should the city sell or put the property to another use in the future. McNabb Stange said that obligates the city but there was no mention what would happen if the bike organization terminated the contract.

If the bikers didn’t maintain the trail or cancelled the contract, as it stands now, the city would still have to pay the group, she said. She also objected to not having the budget figures in the agreement.

Ben LaDuke, head trail coordinator for WMMBA, said that was a fair complaint and said they would insert into the agreement that if the group terminates it, there would be no money paid back.  LaDuke noted they were not asking the city to pay for the trail. City Manager Jeff Mansfield said the city does have commitments for funds from some private donors who support the biking trail. He said they were still working on the final budget for the project and he expects it to be ready for review by the next council meeting. //

In the works since last year, the mountain bike trail would be about seven miles long and include bridges, direction signs and maps and a kiosk. A professionally built trail would cost about $80,000 and could be build in one construction season. Construction by professionals would result in a more enjoyable and sustainable trail, LaDuke said in December 2015.

The track would be 18 to 24 inches wide, with four to six feet of clearance on the sides and could be used for biking, running, hiking, walking, cross country skiing, snowshoeing and dog walking with the focus to keep the trail in wooded areas as much as possible.