The month of August offered an intermission for the East Jefferson Trails Connection, but Merrily Mount invited the group’s members and “friends” to the resumption of their monthly meetings in September, featuring a presentation by the Peninsula Trails Coalition.

Jeff Bohman, president of the Peninsula Trails Coalition, will join the East Jefferson Trails Connection’s regularly scheduled meeting at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 12, at the Finnriver Farm and Cidery in Chimacum.

Bohman plans to present a historical timeline and update on the Hall Baetz Viewpoint, a future trailhead being built at the end of Discovery Bay, adjacent to the intersection of State Route 20 and U.S. Highway 101.

Mount noted that those visiting or living in the area might have noticed “some earth being moved, and a parking lot being built,” in preparation for the assembly of “a log structure” and “many more amenities” set to be supported at this site, “as it develops to connect our trails at this juncture.”

“The work underway is the visible expression of hundreds of hours of planning, design, permitting and extensive collaboration and coordination among 15-20 different jurisdictions, agencies, property owners, donors and organizations over the past three years,” Mount said.

After the concrete work is completed, Mount anticipates the tribally inspired log structure could be completed before the end of October.

Mount elaborated that several elements originally planned for the project — including asphalt paving, a permanent restroom and “interpretative components” — face deferment, pending additional funding.

Part of Bohman’s presentation is expected to delve into further detail about what Mount deemed the “narrowed” Phase 1 work, stemming from a funding deficit of roughly $100,000, that the Peninsula Trails Coalition and other project partners “are seeking to address.”

On the bright side, Mount said that as co-recipients of the Puget Sound to Pacific 2023 RAISE (Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity) grant, they were hosted by the Rails to Trails Conservancy in Washington, D.C.

“RTC’s Trail Nation Collaborative covered all expenses” for the trip, Mount said, adding it also arranged discussions with funding experts from the Federal Highway Administration, the American Hiking Society, Philadelphia’s Circuit Trail network and the District of Columbia’s Capital Crescent Trail.

The group met with U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer and Sen. Patty Murray’s staff, and were represented by Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe Transportation Planner Wendy Clark-Getzen, Puget Sound to Pacific Project Director Steve Durrant, Jefferson County Assistant Public Works Director Eric Kuzma, Clallam County Assistant Public Works Director Steve Gray, and Hannah Botcher of the City of Bainbridge Island’s Sustainable Transportation Program.

Just prior to the East Jefferson Trails Connection’s Sept. 12 meeting, the Peninsula Trails Coalition’s in-person meeting of its board of directors at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 11, will be immediately preceded by a 5:30 p.m. open house for community input at the Tri-Area Community Center in Chimacum.

John Fleming, project manager engineer for Jefferson County Public Works, plans to update attendees of the Sept. 11 meeting on new trail planning and construction, which is set to start early next year.