Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64remaining flexible to adjust with challenges as they arise. We are working with the Friends of the LVRT to build a network of new volunteers to do basic maintenance during the summer months. For each section we have one or more Trail Chiefs who serve as organizers and a main point of contact forVAST.TheTrail Chiefs direct the volunteers to maintenance issues and receive reports from trail users who come across issues. Our volunteer network has been growing as more and more summertime users pitch in. In addition to the new volunteers, many members of the local clubs are clearing blowdowns and doing other work on the trail. While this is not expected, it is greatly appreciated and a testament to generosity of the membership that makes this organization great. There have been a few washouts that have formed on the trail that required repair. A plugged culvert in Hyde Park caused the trail to slump but has been fixed with a new culvert. A small washout has formed in Danville from heavy rains but is only a minor repair. The largest washout opened up in Morrisville by the Lost Nation Brewery. The water coming off the pavement from the building above grade was washing under the trail and caused the trail to slump. VAST worked with the owners to get them to address the underlying cause and was able to stabilize the trail. Vegetation management will be a continued challenge for summer time maintenance. Our growing volunteer network has been able to address blowdowns as they appear and we receive additional support from town crews as their schedule allows. We have asked the communitiesalongthetrailtocontributeatwiceannual mowing to the sections of trail in their town borders. The communities have been supportive of our requests and they have each mown their sections of trail. We will continue to ask for this support as we figure out when and how much mowing each section of trail needs. Lease VAST has a 30-year lease with VTrans to use the LVRT Right-of-Way (ROW) to build, maintain, and operate the year-round trail. This lease is to be resigned in 10-year installments and the first one ended June 31st, 2016. VAST is renegotiating the lease with VTrans amidst ongoing discussion on the future of the project. It was decided by all parties that more time was needed to continue the discussions and a lease extension was signed pushing the date to the end of October. VTrans The relationship between VAST and VTrans has become more important. VTrans has acknowledge the importance of this trail to the State and wants to see the project succeed by partnering with VAST more. In addition to helping secure the failing Bridge 68, they supported legislation in the Transportation Bill to match the fundraising efforts of VAST $400,000 in 2016 and $1,000,000 in 2017. This relationship is ongoing and we are looking to the State to help us complete and maintain this project. Capital Campaign The capital campaign has begun and we have just hired a campaign manager. The fundraising is boosted by the match from the State ofVermont up to $1.4 million over the year and a half timeline. The funds that we raise have less restriction than the match funds from the State and can be applied to the ongoing maintenance or other necessary expenses. Our fundraising efforts will be broadly focused on generating small donations from everyday trail users as well as businesses and other large donors. In addition to the capital campaign, we will be pursuing grants for future trail construction. VTrans has offered their assistance in identifying and pursuing these different funding sources and our raised funds could be used for the necessary match. LVRT CONTINUED 22