In response, the Commission directed City Attorney Dan Baldwin to help write a lease agreement with the Central Kansas Conservancy for use of the rail areas.

Case said after contact with CKC, he is satisfied that the group still holds all rights to the trail.

As the city's insurance agent, Case assured commissioners he finds few liability concerns in opening it.

Case, along with Mickey Lundy and Harry Bennett, re-investigated opening the trail on the old rail bed after personal considerations sidelined their efforts for several years.

Case said they may start brush clearing, and perhaps later rail-bed trail surfacing on some of the area soon. The trail on the dike would be established by close mowing, he said.

The commissioners assured Case that the trail could begin at the east side of the library, and continue on along a right-of-way retained where a business has been built on old rail bed.

Commissioner Max Hayen said he is familiar with a trail built on Corps of Engineers dike in the City of Salina, and he foresees little difficulty in securing Corps agreement to the trail, if needed, under a maintenance agreement with the City of Marion.

Case said city involvement was necessary to have a public entity to deal with CKC.

Peggy Blackman, Natural Resources and Conservation Service representative, reviewed efforts to keep grant money and funding to keep water-purification efforts going for Marion Reservoir in farm conservation efforts on the upper Neosho Basin.

She said tighter funding and less than ideal economic conditions are making financing projects more difficult.

The commissioners said they probably will have to reject approval of county zoning plans because allowance of three-acre housing lots within a mile of the city could establish a block to building city subdivisions.

Mayor Martin Tice said it could leave the city "land locked."

City Administrator David Mayfield said the committee to select an economic development director has selected two candidates to proceed to the next step which is the assessment center to be conducted Nov. 17.

The commissioners set a hearing at 4 p.m. Dec. 5 in the city commission room to consider if a structure in violation of ordinance at 110 Lincoln St. would be demolished or repaired.