Residents’ input sought at parks plan meeting

Open-house format slated today

BENTONVILLE — Residents will have one last opportunity to provide feedback for the Parks and Recreation Department plan at a public meeting today.

LaQuatra Bonci Associates of Pittsburgh has been creating the plan since September. It used several focus groups, held an initial public brainstorming meeting and used two rounds of surveys to obtain community input.

“We want this to be a plan that really represents the citizens of Bentonville and where they would like to see our parks system go,” said David Wright, parks and recreation director. “The best way for us to do that is for them to be there and have their input.”

The plan will guide the Parks and Recreation Department growth for the next decade.

Today’s meeting will be an open-house format with stations highlighting the plan’s development process, the plan’s overall vision and recommendations for different quadrants of the city.

“One of the goals is to get a balanced park system in all the quadrants,” said Frank Bonci, principal of the consulting firm.

Attendees will have the opportunity to provide feedback on what they see as well ask questions to consulting officials.

Wright said the idea is to create a plan meeting the community’s recreational needs while being smart with taxpayer money.

About 60 people attended the public meeting in September, a turnout Bonci said he was pleased with.

Jason Holyfield, vice president of the Bentonville Youth Softball League, attended the meeting and participated in a focus group.

“I think those have been incredibly helpful to get our voices across to the city,” he said of all the meetings.

Being a softball coach, Holyfield said he hopes to see the plan include more field space for the city’s sport programs.

The two scheduled softball games a night leave little time for teams to practice on the city’s four fields, he said.

“It hurts the development of the girls,” he said.

Bonci said there’s a lot of interest from the community to make Bentonville the “new park city of the United States” and that the city’s potential growth, young demographic, natural setting and accomplishments already made in the parks system help make the plan unique.

“We’re not seeing normal wants or needs,” he said. “We’re seeing more unique, adventuresome, exciting kinds of things. That really makes it different for us.”

The last Parks and Recreation plan was adopted in 2007, and it’s an industry standard to have one done every 10 years.

It outlined $3.5 million of improvements to the parks system. The bond issue of 2007, which gave the Parks Department $15 million, and community partnerships allowed the city to spend closer to $40 million on amenities over the past decade.

Parks and recreation play a huge role in an area’s quality of life, Mayor Bob McCaslin said last summer. Quality of life teamed with a great school system and availability of jobs are the three characteristics of a successful area, he said.

A parks plan is crucial in identifying and prioritizing needs, he said.

The plan will identify options for Lake Bella Vista, but not make recommendations on what should be done with the dam and surrounding park, Wright said.

The failed dam has been a point of controversy for years. The Federal Emergency Management Agency had committed $2.7 million to replace the dam, but the Friends of Little Sugar Creek have advocated for its removal and sued the federal agency.

The federal money recently expired. The lawsuit has since been dismissed. City officials continue to mull options.

“We are saying we recognize that there is a bigger discussion that is currently taking place with Bella Vista Lake,” Wright said of the plan’s stance on the issue, adding there’ll be a park-specific plan created just for that area.

The plan will go before the Parks Advisory Board and City Council for approval in June.