Campground with bar & grill coming to High Trestle Trail?

Sat November 05 2011
Posted Nov 5, 2011
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Three longtime Woodward residents are capitalizing on the popularity of the new High Trestle Trail by making plans to open a bar and grill and six-acre campground. Cousins Rick Bice and Steve Bice and friend Lon Seemann bought the foreclosed land on the north side of town where a trailer park is now located. The three will appear before the Woodward City Council on Nov. 14 to ask that the tract be rezoned to allow them to move forward with their plans. Mayor Ron Chock said a bar and grill on the westernmost edge of the 25-mile trail — which includes a 1/2-mile-long river bridge between Woodward and the eastern end of the trail in Ankeny — would be a welcome addition. “It’s not just about the bottom line for them, it’s about them being part of a way the city can grow,” Chock said of the developers. “They actually had a vision for making something good happen because they have a vested interest in making sure the city prospers.” But the project is not without its downside. Nine trailers in the park are occupied, and residents have until next spring to move. Rick Bice said he helped some residents by calling other trailer parks on their behalf. “It was hard for us to tell them to leave, but it was just a matter of time before somebody did,” said Rick Bice, who along with Chock described the trailer park as “an eyesore.” One park resident, DiAnn German, said the eviction notice was not a big surprise and was handled by Bice with respect. “Rick fought to give us until May to leave,” German said. “We aren’t angry. ... The city has been trying to take the trailer park out for 20 years.” Bice said the bar and grill would open in July and the campground possibly sooner. Bice already had plans to build a bar and grill elsewhere in Woodward. Those plans were easily transferred to the High Trestle Trail site once its potential for hungry and thirsty biker traffic became evident.