Altoona Water Authority, motorcycle group draft deal

Association would develop trail network off Sugar Run Road

The West Central Pennsylvania Off-Highway Motorcycle Association and the Altoona Water Authority have drafted an agreement that would govern the association's development of a trail network on 600 acres of authority property off Sugar Run Road.

At next month's authority meeting, members of the group may speak to board members about the network proposal, after which board members may visit the Sugar Run site, which extends up to the mainline railroad tracks and across to the vicinity of Lake Altoona and the Impounding Dam reservoir.

The association approached the authority about the trail network a year and a half ago, and it has developed a preliminary network design, but there's been no work "on the ground," nothing's been signed and the network isn't likely to be ready for use until at least fall 2026, according to authority land manager Katie Semelsberger.

The draft agreement calls for the 501(c)(3) nonprofit to build and maintain the network, with all construction or alterations requiring prior authorization from the authority, and with either side able to back out for any reason with 60 days notice, according to Semelsberger and authority solicitor David Gaines.

The trails would be single-track, like deer paths, with vehicles of only two wheels permitted, including mountain bikes, according to authority general manager Mark Perry.

"No ATVs," he said.

Because of the narrowness of the trails, it wouldn't be attractive for four-wheeler operators anyway, Perry said.

In creating the trails, the association wouldn't use any equipment beyond hand tools like pruning shears or rakes, according to Perry.

"Very little disturbance," he said.

The trail would be open to anyone -- not just association members.

The authority expects to make an arrangement with the state Game Commission to monitor the area.

It might make sense to use trail cameras to deal with any problem behavior, said board member Barb Kooman.

The association is "a good group," Semelsberger said.

"They have their ducks in a row," she said.

The agreement doesn't call for the association to pay for using the ground.

The association will need to construct a trailhead parking lot, probably near where a power line runs more or less parallel with Sugar Run Road, according to Semelsberger.

The association will also need to arrange with Norfolk Southern for access through the current pulloff from the road, which is owned by the company, she said.

If that doesn't happen, the association could get access from the road at another location, where authority property borders it, she said.

There have been some "grumblings" from neighbors about the proposal, according to board Chairman Bill Neugebauer.

"(But) they have no say in it," Neugebauer said.

Reportedly, some of those neighbors have "been using our land without asking," Neugebauer said.

It might make sense "to do some engagement" with those neighbors, said board member Jesse Ickes.

The nearest homes to any of the proposed trails is between a quarter and a half-mile away, according to Semelsberger.

"This is a remote area," Perry said.

The authority chose it when asked by the association because it is where the network would have "the least impact," and because it doesn't connect to other sensitive authority properties, Perry said.

"We'll see how it works," he said.