Complex open full-time; tourney next weekend

The decision to reopen the El Dorado-Union County Recreation Complex is welcome news to many city and county residents who have clamored for the facility to open back since the dead period for team sports was lifted June 1 by the Arkansas Activities Association.

With a unanimous vote of 7 - 0, El Dorado City Council members agreed Thursday reopen the complex.

Council Member Billy Blann, who had called for the facility to open back up, was unable to attend the meeting.

Council Member Vance Williamson, chairman of the Finance Committee, clarified that the complex is fully open and not

operating only for weekend tournaments, as had previously been reported to the NewsTimes.

Activities at the complex had been suspended since March because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and a decision by the city council to place a moratorium on spending for non-essential services in the 2020 budget.

Council members said they were awaiting an updated financial report to gauge how COVID-19 was affecting revenues before deciding if the budget could support operations at the complex.

Accurate year-to-date numbers were presented last week by City Treasurer Trena Dean, who had spent weeks sorting out financial documents and records since being hired as treasurer in mid-June.

Dean was appointed treasurer after her predecessor was terminated May 13.

While revenues fell below projections, council members said they were relieved to learn that revenues had not dropped as drastically as anticipated in the wake of business closings, temporary or permanent, and/ or scaling back operations due COVID-19.

“This past month was down 6%. The previous month was just under 10% and for year-todate, and I’m using that 1-cent sales tax, we’re down just under 1%,” Williamson said, referring to the El Dorado Works tax.

“The good thing is we had an excellent February this year, which is unusual, and we had a really good April,” he added.

Williamson and Council Member Willie McGhee attributed the trend to “bulk- and panic-buying”, particularly for essential items, such as toilet paper, that was done by consumers in response to the public health crisis

“They cleared the shelves and bought a lot of stuff so revenues were lower but not as low as we thought they really would be,” McGhee said.

Williamson also noted that, like Americans across the country, many local residents were also spending stimulus checks that were issued by the federal government as part of an overall package to assist U.S. citizens, businesses and municipalities with financial hardships they may be facing because of COVID-19.

Additionally, Williamson credited city department heads for tracking their respective budgets in light of the spending moratorium, saying that most departments are “at or where they should be for this time of year.”

Budget

One of the budget line items that was frozen was a contract for services with the Boys and Girls Club of El Dorado to manage and operate the complex.

McGhee said freezing such expenditures was a smart move for the city to make due to uncertainties that were posed by the virus and other factors.

Council members held steadfast to that decision during a meeting in late June, in which Blann joined a chorus of other voices throughout the community — including the Complex Board of Directors and the Union County Quorum Court, who contributes to the annual operating budget for the complex — who called for city officials to reopen the complex.

A motion by Blann died due to the lack of a second.

“We were without a treasurer for several weeks and we wanted to make sure we had the right numbers before we made any decisions and that’s just being good stewards of taxpayers’ money,” McGhee said. “I think that’s the right thing to do. We’re just being cautious because we’re in unknown territory with this COVID.”

Council members also expressed concern about reports of a spike in COVID-19 cases and potential safety and liability issues at the complex.

The city owns the land on which the complex sits and handles administrative duties for the facility, per an operating agreement with Union County.

Council Member Dianne Hammond, who formerly served as vice-chairman of the Complex Board, said she also heard from several area residents who were eager for the Complex to open back up and who pointed out that such facilities were up and running in other cities and towns.

“I had been doing some research and checking with other towns to see how they’ve gone about reopening their fields and I didn’t see any reason for our Complex not to be open,” Hammond said.

“We’ve turned management back over to the Boys and Girls Club,” she continued. “One of our wishes is to go ahead and get tournament play so residents here can go out there and play ball. They’ve been having to go out of town, so now they can return and play ball on the fields here.”

Hammond said she heard from David Lee, executive director of the BGCE, that young athletes are excited to play on new and renovated fields at the complex.

The facility is undergoing a major renovation and expansion that includes the completion of two existing youth baseball and softball fields and the construction of two new youth fields on the south end of the complex and the installation of turf, lighting and fencing on four older fields on the north end of the facility.

Two new youth soccer fields and a new concessions plaza are also part of phase one of the project, which is largely being covered by a $2.6 million contribution from the El Dorado Forward tax.

Complex board members are working to raise additional funding to complete the soccer fields and concessions plaza.

Williamson said he had spoken with Robert Edmonds, director of public works, about ways to reopen the Complex and lower costs.

The city has been performing some maintenance work, including mowing the grass, at the Complex since its closure and Edmonds said the city can continue performing the service as a cost-cutting measure after the reopening.

Edmonds recommended that the city resume its contract with the BGCE and several council members said Lee reported that the club had already lined up tournaments.

For instance, a youth tournament which had been scheduled for play at the BGCE’s fields at its North West Avenue headquarters has now been moved to the Complex for next weekend.

Per Edmonds’ recommendation, the council also agreed to prorate the service contract with the BGCE for the remainder of the year and reassess the situation in January.

McGhee said the evaluation will focus on finances and how COVID-19 precautionary measures and safety guidelines are working at the complex.

“Me, personally, I don’t want to take a a chance with young people’s lives just because we’re not making money but I told Vance that with stuff reopening, like the Complex, it should help stabilize the economy,” McGhee said.

Williamson agreed but said the city should needs to remain cautious with its spending.

“The (budget) trajectory continues to look like it’s going to be down. It’s just something we have to continue to monitor and continue to see what we can do,” he said.