Game and Fish Commission nature center plans draw questions

Members of the El Dorado Airport Commission had plenty of questions this week about state plans to build a conservation education center on the grounds of South Arkansas Regional Airport at Goodwin Field.

Commissioners directed their questions Monday to Eric Maynard, assistant chief of education for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, who is proposing the project.

Conservation education centers extend from the AGFC’s education division, which uses each site to offer hands-on experience and education about the natural elements and ecosystems that are specific to local areas.

There are four AFGC nature centers and four conservation centers in Arkansas.

A fifth nature center is under construction in Springdale as part of an $18 million project.

Maynard said the Springdale project has “taken up a lot of time and resources,” but the AGFC plans to move forward with the center in El Dorado.

Preliminary plans call for a 3,200 - 3,400 square-foot facility that will be built on the west side of Airport Drive across from the old Babe Ruth baseball field and just past the U.S. 82 entrance to SARA.

The site would roughly take up 12 acres. Conceptual designs for the “South Arkansas Conservation Education Center” include a fishing pier; covered, 3D, pop-up archery range; nature trail with interactive panels; and more amenities.

Inside the center, visitors would have access to display areas, including an aquarium display, an activity area, a classroom, office space, hunter/boater safety testing areas, a gift shop, where hunting and fishing licenses would be sold, and restrooms.

Maynard said the center would be open to the general public and available for school visits, adding that all AFGC programming that is offered at the centers is free to the public.

The facility would also be staffed with two part-time employees.

Costs have been projected in the $750,000 range, but Maynard noted that construction costs have risen since discussions first began about the project in 2016.

“We’re going to have to get new numbers,” Maynard said, adding that the start of the project is still two years out.

Mayor Frank Hash asked if there has been talk of removing El Dorado from contention as the site of the AFGC’s next conservation education center because of the cost issues.

“(AGFC director Pat Fitts) contacted me Friday to see where we stood, and I came down here to bring you up to speed and to see if we can move forward,” Maynard said.

Eman Mahony, former chairman of the AFGC who got the ball rolling on the idea to bring an education conservation center to El Dorado and South Arkansas, said the facility fits in with a long-term master plan that was drafted for the airport a few years ago.

Included in the master plan was a fishing pier and walking/nature trails on the property.

Blake Roberson of Garver Engineers, the airport commission’s engineer of record, suggested that commissioners speak again with Federal Aviation Administration officials to make sure the details of the project fit FAA standards and regulations.

Commissioner Scott Cowling agreed.

“We need to get with the FAA right off the bat so they can tell us what to do before we do all this legwork,” Cowling said.

Commission chairman Mickey Murfee has said final plans will be presented to the FAA for approval.

Commissioner Aubra Anthony inquired about the land the AGFC intends to use, saying that he wanted to make sure the airport receives fair market value in a lease or purchase agreement.

Anthony and SARA manager Johnathan Estes explained that FAA requires such assurances. Commissioners referred to the former Babe Ruth baseball field, and Estes said he would check the amount of the lease agreement for the property.

He previously said the FAA recommends a 35-year lease.

Hash asked how the AFGC handles property arrangements with its other nature and education centers, and Maynard said the deals run the gamut.

He explained that land is purchased on occasion, some is donated, some is leased for a nominal amount, such as a long-term lease for $1 per year, and some is leased at market rate.

Maynard also said that some of the projects are done in partnership with local organizations, municipalities and individuals.

For the El Dorado project, the state will be taking on all the costs.

Mahony favored an annual leasing agreement, saying, “… the (AFGC) is not trying to acquire land but they’re trying to provide a service to the community.”

Estes said the airport plan specifies aviation use, and Maynard said the AFGC could partner with SARA on aviation exhibits.

Commissioners also asked if adjustments could be made for possible long-range, commercial plans for the property, such as adding more hangars in the future.

Maynard said the conceptual design could be revised to accommodate any future plans at the airport.

For instance, he said the space that is marked for the archery area could be moved.

Anthony asked if the project would affect a timber management lease with Potlatch Deltic (formerly Deltic Timber), noting that timber-cutting one of the revenue streams for the airport.

“We know we’ll just have to cut this amount of land out of the calculations. It’ll be for … the greater good, and we’ll no longer be cutting there,” Cowling said.

Murfee asked if the AGFC would be responsible for maintaining and landscaping the property and Maynard said yes.

Murfee has said the AGFC agreed to commissioners’ preference that native building materials be used in the construction of the building.

Estes and Hash said the group should make sure the project doesn’t “fall through.”

“A lot of these things can be negotiated,” Hash said. “It’s a major thing for El Dorado and South Arkansas. We need to do everything we can. If it’s a $1 a year lease, I think that’s the way we need to go."