- April 19, 2024
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Though “mala compra” means "bad bargain" in Spanish, mountain-bike enthusiasts will likely view the County Commission’s memorandum of understanding for the Malacompra Greenway Trail as a great deal.
The Flagler County Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved the memorandum Monday, March 21, one week after commissioners agreed at a March 14 workshop to move to the next step of regulating use of the trails, which are located on county-owned property.
The newly formed Flagler County chapter of the Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association will help the county to monitor the trail and conserve environmentally sensitive lands. For the past 30 years, the property has been scattered with homeless people, dirt bikes and man-made structures for thrill-seeking bicyclists.
Members of the commission were openly dissatisfied that man-made modifications were done to the trails throughout the years, and it was something Commissioner Milissa Holland called “bothersome.”
“I know we’ll never get to the bottom of this,” Holland said Monday night. “But I don’t want to give the impression to the public that this was OK, because it wasn’t.”
Eric Epley, president of the local chapter of the
Southeast Off-Road Bicycle Organization, said the group wants to be “an effective resource for the county to help police” the trail.
“Everyone has talked about how beautiful (the trail) is,” Epley told the commissioners Monday night. “We’re not going out there to damage it. I want to make it clear that we will cooperate with you in every way.”
Frank Carelli, of the Hammock Conservation Coalition, said Monday night that no one in the Hammock is against the trails; however, they are upset they weren’t included in the conversations.
“We just don’t want our trails destroyed,” Carelli said. “ ...Nobody admits that they did any improvements to these trails so apparently it had to be the Martians came in and did it.”
Also at the meeting, commissioners questioned liability issues because of the trails' dangers. Epley confirmed the county was added to the
Southeast Off-Road Bicycle Organizatio's insurance policy.
Additionally, County Administrator Craig Coffey said signs will be posted throughout the trail, which will be called the Malacompra Greenway Off-Road Bicycle Trail, to warn users of risk.
