St. Paul seeks state trail grant to replace stairs and regrade Sledding Hill

The City of St. Paul is seeking state trail money to replace wooden staircases and improve gravel approaches on community trails above the store, according to a city public notice. The same application would grade and resurface Trail B, known locally as the Sledding Hill, with gravel.

Residents have until October 23 to submit comments or statements of opposition to City Manager Phillip Zavadil, and the city's application is due October 30. The notice says the Sledding Hill work is meant "to improve safety and access for community members," and describes the staircase and approach work as improving routes "that connect to the community."

The funding source is the Multi-Use Trails Program, a federally funded grant pool that the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities administers statewide; the city's notice names the Alaska Recreational Trails Program as the possible funding agency. The application period runs from August 19 through October 30, 2026. Eligible uses include trail maintenance and restoration, trailhead and facility improvements, equipment purchases, environmental protection, and safety and education programs, though the city's notice identifies only the staircase, approach and Sledding Hill work as its proposed uses.

Administration of the program moved from the Department of Natural Resources to DOT&PF on October 1, 2025. The department's announcement of the prior cycle's awards put the fiscal 2026 total at more than $2.2 million across 15 projects, with recipients required to supply at least a 10 percent non-federal match. The current round offers up to $100,000 per project. The city's notice gives no cost estimate and does not say how St. Paul would cover its share.