Columbia Parks and Recreation is considering taking control of a 4-mile portion of the MKT trail that connects Columbia with Katy Trail.
Parks Planning and Development Superintendent Mike Snyder said the transfer of control from Boone County wouldn’t cost Columbia residents anything, and it would improve the overall quality of the park.
“The county doesn’t have a Parks and Recreation department, so they’ve been maintaining it with their public works department, and I think they’ve done a good job," Snyder said. "However, you know our parks and recreation department is one of our main focuses and that’s maintaining trails, and so I think that we’ll do a good job with it just like we try to do a good job with all of our existing trails.”
Boone County officials say maintenance was the biggest problem with the dual ownership and that the expense is a burden.
Columbia Park Services Manager Gabe Huffington said city ownership would clear up a lot of problems.
“People would know who to contact," Huffington said. "And I think a lot of times that is the issue, is sometimes they’ll call the city when it’s on the county or call the university when it’s on the city. It's a lot of the ownership and trying to figure out who’s maintaining it because that’s not really clear to a lot of people.”
City Council officials plan to resume talks next week.
