It was he who drove the project, and the one of the other founders on hand was Sue Page, who Arnott credits for the groundbreaking step of getting each of the local clubs of global service organisation Rotary International to put forward someone to be on the trust.
The other survivors are Bob Morrison (secretary), Brien Mahoney, and Jude O'Connor, the quintet after telling councillors the last $600,000 had been forwarded for the completion of the Ōtātara Pa to Dolbel Reserve Walkway trotted-out of the meeting in the War Memorial Centre for a nostalgic but brief look at some of the fruits of their labour.
The other founding member was the late Alan Watton, a Rotary member in Taradale who was also a roading engineer with the Hastings District Council.
The trust's objective was to see an off-road pathway network that circumnavigated the city, and for the most part this has been achieved, said a report to the Council.
Notable sectors of the pathway include Westshore to Bayview Pathway (completed in 2003), Marine Parade Pathway (2004), Tūtaekurī River Track (2006-2008), Breakwater Road Pathway (2008), Ahuriri Pathway (2009), and Maggies Way Walkway – Taradale Hills (2015-2022).
In addition to the leisure and recreational use, obvious on all fine days and still common on other days, has been Napier successfully hosting national events such as the Air New Zealand Marathon and Iron Māori.
Arnott said the trust and its supporters had donated over $1,520,000 and countless hours to achieve this vision over the past 20 years, while there had also been a significant bequest, from Basil McCoward and recognised in the name Maggie's Way, after his wife, Margaret.
Arnott said it wasn't a "meeting" trust, but a "working" trust driven to get things done.
"We went out and planted trees, because we were in touch with the community," she said.
"We walked the walk and talked the talk. We made decisions where we wanted the paths to go, and if the people didn't want it somewhere we would change."