Family helps city buy land for park

Two tracts part of upgrade plan

SPRINGDALE — The C.L. George and Sons family made it possible for Springdale officials to purchase land that would add to the area of the city’s downtown park bearing a family member’s name.

Under a “charitable donation agreement,” the trust will provide the city with shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Co. stock worth $300,000. In turn, the city will use the proceeds from the sale of the stock to purchase two tracts of land from the Jones Family Trust.

The adjacent tracts — totaling just more than 2 acres — lie to the south and east of the current park boundaries, but will be included in the footprint of the park as it undergoes redevelopment as part of the city’s revitalization efforts of its downtown area.

Two empty buildings on the site will come down, said Mayor Doug Sprouse, while another will stay in place until needs are determined.

The timeline for the upgraded park would see construction start in late spring 2019 and end in the fall of 2020, said Kelly Syer, executive director of the Downtown Springdale Alliance.

“We are very appreciative of this gift,” Sprouse said. “It’s a real benefit to the city.”

Luther George was one of C.L. George’s two sons, with whom he started the poultry company in the 1920s.

In other business, the City Council approved:

■ Hiring of a school resource officer for Shiloh Christian School by the Police Department. The school will pay the salary and benefits of the officer for the 10 months of the school year, as does the Springdale Public Schools for the 18 officers that work in district schools.

■ A $169,900 contract with Emery Sapp and Sons of Missouri for construction of Phase 1 of Dean’s Trail. The first phase of the multi-purpose trail will run east of Old Missouri Road from the Jones Center south to East Robinson Avenue.

■ Paying $36,748 to the Arkansas Department of Transportation for survey work to build a bridge over Spring Creek on North Pump Station Road. The bridge will become a street improvement project of the 2018 bond program, and 80 percent of the amount will be reimbursed to the city when the state receives the federal money designated for the repair. The bridge washed away during the record-setting storms and floods last spring.

■ Overturning a Planning Commission’s decision not to grant a conditional use of property for the construction of a cellphone tower by Ec0 Site behind Harps Food Stores, 2894 W. Sunset Ave. ■ Changing the company it contracts for uniforms and shop material for the Public Works Department. Council members approved a oneyear, $11,687 contract with Aramark Co., which operates an office in Springdale.

“We are very appreciative of this gift. It’s a real benefit to the city.”

— Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse