The Austin City Council’s coffers are a little safer, now that it appears the city will still receive its anticipated share of local government aid from the state.

Wednesday, March 06, 2002

The Austin City Council’s coffers are a little safer, now that it appears the city will still receive its anticipated share of local government aid from the state.

City officials should still keep a keen eye on expenditures. However, there’s a small expenditure council members recently approved that is a wise investment.

The council gave the nod for $5,000 toward the start-up costs of the Blazing Star Trail.

There’s two reasons why this was a good move.

The first is that the city of Albert Lea has ponied up a similar dollar amount for the same study, as the trail would connect the two county seats.

Albert Lea showed that it’s committed to this project through dollars, and it was time that Austin did the same thing.

More importantly, this seed money goes toward a study on the trail. There’s no doubt that it could be beneficial for both towns. However, you just can’t plop down crushed gravel and a few railroad ties and expect folks to walk or ride their bike on this.

Austin and Albert Lea must continue to explore different opportunities to help better each other’s economy. This trail could provide tourism dollars and continued exposure to both towns.

That’s why this money is well spent and we’ll be anxious to see the results.