Quilt of Parks plan gets council OK

BENTONVILLE — The downtown Quilt of Parks plan received City Council approval Tuesday night.

David Wright, parks and recreation director, detailed the plan June 8 at the Committee of the Whole meeting.

The plan features converting A Street from Southeast Second Street to Northeast Third Street into the A Street Promenade, according to information Wright provided to the council.

A portion of A Street crosses in front of the Benton

County Courthouse. County Judge Barry Moehring said he was in favor of the plan.

“I think the Quilt of Parks will be a terrific amenity for Bentonville and Benton County,” Moehring said. “Transforming A Street in front of the historic Benton County Courthouse into more of a pedestrian-oriented plaza will increase safety and security, as well as provide better continuity between the courthouse and Bentonville square.“

The cost of the promenade is estimated at between $10 million and $13 million, according to the information presented at the Committee of the Whole meeting.

The plan also features two additional downtown park spaces. The City Hall Green will be on Southwest A Street next to the future City Hall and the Downtown Activity Center. The cost is estimated at $2.75 million, according to Wright’s presentation.

The Commons will be a multi-use plaza on a current parking lot on Southeast Second Street. The cost is estimated at $3 million, according to city documents.

The Commons, which will have a permanent stage along with green and hard space areas, will help take some of the event load off of the downtown square, Wright said. About one-third of the activities now held on the square could move to The Commons.

There also are planned improvements for Dave Peel Park ($2.5 million), Town Branch Park ($1.25 million), Lawrence Plaza ($500,000) and the downtown square ($3.5 million), according to Wright. All costs are estimates.

There were 21 public meetings about the plan, and the public reveal in February drew more than 300 residents, Wright said.

The projects could be paid for in a variety of ways including private-sector money, city money and money from the city tourism tax, Wright said. There is no time table for when any of the improvements could begin.

“It may take 10 years to do this and that’s OK. That’s normal,” Wright said.

The council unanimously approved the plan.

The council also approved submitting a FAA Airport Improvement Program Grant application for the southeast taxiway B construction project at the municipal airport. The grant is $1,632,487 from the FAA program and $181,387 from the FAA Cares act. The cost of the project is $1,818,874. The remaining $5,000 will be paid for by airport general funds, according to council documents.

Hadi Dudley, the public library director, also presented the library’s annual 2019 report to the council. She also gave an update to the library’s response to covid-19.