Spa City director seeks support for soccer fields
District 4 Director Dudley Webb told the Hot Springs Board of Directors the city has given short shrift to soccer facilities at Kimery Park.
His motion to table the resolution authorizing a $452,012 contract that included softball field improvements failed 5-2 at the board’s Oct. 3 business meeting. District 2 Director Phyllis Beard cast the other vote in support of bringing the resolution back when it included new lights for the soccer fields.
Webb said a popular league with more than 200 youth and adult players uses the soccer fields, as do students from nearby Hot Springs World Class High School. He said the level of use the fields’ support warrants more investment than the $15,000 he said has been allocated in recent years.
“I want our city to invest in what our residents, taxpayers, community and schools love,” he told the board. “They love playing soccer at Kimery Park. Give soccer at Kimery the same respect we give the other three amenities. Bring it back when it includes funding for lights.”
Webb, Beard and District 3 Director Marcia Dobbs-Smith were part of the 4-3 minority that opposed the resolution authorizing the contract with Golden Standard Construction of Traskwood. The contract was on the consent agenda before Webb requested it be moved to new business.
Most of the contract, $291,086, covered concession stand renovations. The improvements are part of the $990,000 in capital expenses the $34.95 million 2023 general fund budget allocated for Kimery Park. High performance LED lights for the softball fields were also included in the park’s capital budget, with the board awarding a $169,000 bid to GeoSport Lighting Systems of Louisiana in April.
New fencing budgeted for 2023 has yet to be contracted. The city said $160,000 is its most recent estimate. The improvements budgeted for 2023 followed the re-turfing of all four softball fields last year. The board awarded the $389,200 contract to Sprinturf of South Carolina.
Webb asked if the board supported using the remaining funds in the park’s 2023 capital budget on soccer field improvements. About $200,000 would be left after the fencing contract is awarded, but Beard was the lone director to support his motion.
City Manager Bill Burrough noted budgeted funds not spent at the end of the year are returned to the general fund.
“Not always do we spend everything that’s in the budget,” he told the board.
He said unspent funds could be used on the list of unfunded capital needs the board prioritized this summer. New lights and turf for the soccer fields made the list but ranked near the bottom of the board’s composite rankings.
Addressing the top items, such as a new fire station and armored recovery vehicle for the police department, will account for a large portion of the city’s remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds, leaving little if any pandemic relief money for lower-rated items. The city said more than $6 million remains in its unrestricted ARPA account.
Burrough said softball fields at Kimery draw more players and spectators than the city’s other sports amenities. Information provided to the board showed T-ball and youth and adult softball leagues the fields support draw more than 4,000 people a year. The city said its general fund-supported sports recreation budget projected $65,000 in softball fee revenue.
“Kimery is our highest used park of the 22 we have in our system,” he told the board. “It’s our premier sports park. Softball is our premier sport.”
The city said Golden Standard was the lone company among the 400 it solicited to submit a bid. The invitation went out to all the companies that signed up to receive bid information through the Arkansas Bid Online Procurement System the city uses. Burrough said not all of them are construction companies.
“It’s going to go to anyone who’s signed up to receive bids from the city,” he told the board. “When we say it went to 400, I think we need to clarify that more in the future.”