Meeting Materials

Ecusta Trail Partners Meeting Materials 

Were you unable to attend the previous Trail Partners meeting? Watch the meeting recordings below for trail and program updates, as well as hear from a variety of guest speakers! All meeting materials including informational exhibits, maps, and more can also be found at the bottom of this page in PDF format.

For more information, please call the Planning Department at 828.697.4819. 

Ecusta Trail Partners Meeting Recording - March 11, 2024 

Swamp Rabbit Trail Business & Property Owners Panel Discussion 

Featuring: 

• Wendy Lyman, Topsoil Restaurant 
• Andy O'mara, Sidewall Pizza 
• Mary Walsh, Swamp Rabbit Cafe & Grocery
• David Arnold, Travelers Rest United Methodist Church 

Ecusta Trail Partners Meeting Recording - June 6, 2024 

Trail Orientation, Tourism, & Encroachment Policy 

Featuring: 

• Marcus Jones, County Engineer 
• Michelle Owens, Tourism Development Authority 
• Bob Williford, Henderson County Chamber of Commerce 

Marcus Jones, County Engineer Trail Encroachment Policy Presentation

Michelle Owens, Tourism Development Authority Presentation 

Q&A Session

Ecusta Trail Partners Meeting Recording - October 3, 2023 

Trail History, Trail Partners & Supporters, & Attendee Q&A

Ecusta Trail Partners: Third Meeting

Thursday, June 6, 2024

Henderson County Staff hosted the third Ecusta Trail Partners meeting for the Ecusta Trail Partners Program on Thursday, June 6th in the King Street Meeting Room at 100 N. King Street. Invitees were also able to join the meeting virtually via Microsoft Teams. The meeting began at 10:00 AM with a brief presentation from County Staff regarding trail-oriented development. For more information on making your business or establishment trail-oriented, please visit this page. Following the Staff presentation, Marcus Jones, County Engineer, spoke on the Ecusta Trail Encroachment Policy. The Encroachment Policy can be viewed at the bottom of this web page. Following Mr. Jones' presentation, Michelle Owens from the Henderson County Tourism Development Authority (TDA) gave an overview of what the TDA does and how it functions. 

Also present to answer questions from attendees were: 

• Andrew Griffin, County Facility Services Director 
• Matt Manley, Hendersonville Community Development Division - Strategist Projects Coordinator 

Ecusta Trail Partners: Second Meeting 

Monday, March 11, 2024

Henderson County Staff hosted the second Ecusta Trail Business Group meeting for the Ecusta Trail Partners Program on Monday, March 11th in the King Street Meeting Room at 100 N. King Street. The meeting kicked off at 9:30 AM with a brief presentation from County Staff regarding Ecusta Trail updates and a recap of the first meeting held in October 2023. The main event of the meeting was a panel of business and property owners located along the Swamp Rabbit Trail in Travelers Rest and Greenville, SC. Panelists included; The Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery, Sidewall Pizza Company, Topsoil Restaurant & The Swamp Rabbit Inn, and the Travelers Rest United Methodist Church. Panelists were asked questions related to their business and experiences being located adjacent to a trail. Meeting attendees were invited to ask the panelists questions following the panel discussion. 

Future meeting topics will include how to make your business or entity more "trail-oriented". For more information on becoming a trail-oriented business, visit this page. 

Ecusta Trail Partners: First Meeting
Tuesday October 3rd, 2023

The first Ecusta Trail Business Stakeholders meeting was held on Tuesday, October 3rd at the Blue Ridge Community College's Conference Hall. The County held a morning meeting at 10am and an afternoon version of the same meeting at 3pm. Property owners and businesses directly adjacent to the Ecusta Trail corridor were invited to attend to learn more about the trail, where we are in the process, and about the Trail Partners Program where businesses can share amenities with trail users for free marketing on trail maps and materials. The rest of the meeting was dedicated to a listening session where county staff and Friends of the Ecusta Trail members learned from attendees what their business needs were related to the upcoming trail.