GATE CITY – The Southwest Regional Recreation Authority will have to wait until next year for a contribution from the Scott County Board of Supervisors.
SRRA – Spearhead Trails – Executive Director Steve Pike and Marketing Director Molly Land pitched the authority’s request for a contribution at Wednesday’s supervisors meeting, but a motion by District 3 Supervisor Eddie Skeen to contribute $5,000 failed on a 5-2 vote.
Pike said Spearhead’s permit sales for users in the system’s 425-mile trail network has climbed 46% from the previous reporting year, with an associated economic impact for businesses, restaurants and lodging along the system.
Spearhead has also modified its permit sales to allow purchase for one year regardless of the purchase date, Land said. Residents in the authority’s service area also can get a $30 discount on those permits.
In Scott County, Spearhead’s system includes the Thunderstruck horse trail in the High Knob area but no ATV trails. Thunderstruck does not connect with the Scott County Horse Park in Dungannon, he added, because of an inability to get the needed property easements for a connection.
“We’d love to have riders and ridership in Scott County,” Pike said, adding that Spearhead wants to work with property owners willing to allow trail routing.
Assistant County Administrator Bill Dingus asked Pike if Spearhead was still working with an earlier county effort to market ATV routes along some of the county’s dirt roads. Pike said the authority was not doing that, adding that he would look into it.
Spearhead is working on improving trailhead access for ATV users through improved signage and parking points for vehicle trailers, Land said.
Scott County has provided annual contributions to Spearhead since 2020, ranging from $15,000 to $5,000. Other Southwest Virginia counties have paid annual amounts ranging from $25,000 to $35,000, he added, while the General Assembly had allocated $2 million in its most recent budget to help cover salaries and equipment.
Supervisors Chair Chris Maness – who later voted against the allocation request – said the county had already received several requests from other entities “that tried to circumvent the regular budget process.”
County Administrator Josh Wilson said Spearhead funding had been in the budget in recent years.
“As far as Spearhead trails goes, I would love to have trails in Scott County,” said Wilson, “because what they bring to the table, you can definitely see it impacting positively communities in the other counties.”
“We need to be a partner with Spearhead trails, not a bystander,” Skeen said before moving to allocate $5,000.
“Just because we don’t have trails now in Scott County doesn’t mean that those riders aren’t stopping in Scott County and spending money at our businesses.” said Wilson, “or checking out some of the attractions we have.”
Wilson said the supervisors could consider using contingency funds for a Spearhead allocation. Maness said the contingency fund is for emergencies and said he would “love” to have Spearhead submit a request during the county’s annual budget process.