City approves sale price for rodeo grounds
■ Memorandum is approved for kayak park site.
City board members approved a sale price of $382,695.50 for an 11-acre tract of land where the current rodeo grounds are located during their Oct. 16 meeting.
The resolution passed last week authorizes the mayor and city clerk to execute the sale of the property to the Siloam Springs School District, subject to the recommended conditions, which include the sale price and several other stipulations.
The city entered a 99-year lease with the Siloam Springs Riding Club for the land currently used for the rodeo grounds in 1964, according to City Administrator Phillip Patterson. In 2013, the city purchased 20 acres of land off of Lincoln Street, to the southeast of the Lake Francis Drive intersection, for $298,000 with the intention of relocating the rodeo grounds to the new property.
The school is interested in using the land where the current rodeo ground facilities are located to expand its athletic fields. The purchase of the land would be subject to school board approval.
The 11 acres is only a part of the current rodeo ground property. The remaining five acres of land along Cheri Whitlock Drive, which is estimated to have a higher value because of its potential to be used for commercial purposes, would be sold separately.
Developing a fair market property value for the land has been a challenge as over the past five years appraisals have ranged from $25,000 an acre to $81,656 an acre, Patterson said. The
city settled on a price that falls between the two most recent appraisals — the school district’s appraisal of $20,036 per acre and the city’s appraisal of $49,545 per acre.
The 2018 budget includes $800,000 to relocate the rodeo ground facilities to the new property and the city has been working with an architect to draw up plans for the new facility, Patterson said. However, current estimates show the new facilities could cost as much as $1.2 million, he said. Patterson said the city’s contractor recommended allowing him to work with smaller subcontractors to lower the price.
The project may not go to bid until the end of the year, but if it does come back at $1.2 million the city does not have to move forward with the sale of the land, Patterson said.
Proposed kayak park
In other business, board members approved a memorandum of understanding between the city, the Siloam Springs Water Resource Company, the Walton Family Foundation and the Grand River Dam Authority for the proposed kayak park at the old Lake Francis dam site.
The memorandum of understanding outlines the roles and responsibilities of each of the entities in the proposed project, Patterson said.
The Walton Family Foundation has proposed funding the $15 million project with a grant to the GRDA, according to Patterson. In order for the GRDA to receive the grant, it will be responsible for owning the property, constructing the project and operating the park. The dam and the spillway will remain in the ownership of the Siloam Springs Water Resource Company.
The city has committed to reimburse the Walton Family Foundation up to $700,000 for the project and the GRDA has committed to contribute $700,000 in in-kind services.
Under the agreement, the property will be returned to the city if the project is abandoned or construction is not completed within three years of transfer, if the property is used for another purpose or if the GRDA ceases to operate the park. The GRDA can also return the property if it determines operating the park is no longer in its best interest or the best interest of its customers.
Another stipulation of the memorandum is that at no time, in the construction or operation of the park, shall the water level fall below 909.4 feet above sea level, which is 2.5 feet above the elevation of the top of the city’s water intake pipe. The entrance gate to the park will be controlled by a gauge that monitors the water level, and the gauge will provide an alarm to alert both GRDA and the city if the water drops below the minimum elevations.
Land use proposal
The city board also reviewed a proposal for land use for the 27 city-owned acres north of the Siloam Springs Regional Hospital from the development team of Commercial Realty NWA and Paine & Associates.
Patterson said the city provided a number of notifications that it was accepting proposals for land use for the property and received inquiries from as far away as Seattle, Wash., and North Carolina. However, the city only received one formal proposal, which was from the local development team.
The team proposes building garden style, multi-family apartments with between 165 and 225 units. The apartments would be built in two phases and rented at market rates. The development would include a full-service clubhouse, resort-style pool, available garage unites, miniature dog park, work-out facilities and meeting rooms. It would also be heavily landscaped with “expansive” courtyards and green spaces between dwellings, the proposal states.
Rent prices would range from $850 per month for a one-bedroom apartment to $1,275 for a threebedroom apartment. The proposed project would be built in three phases, with the total cost of phase one estimated to be between $14 million and $16 million. The total time to complete for phase one, after the property is sold, is estimated to be 30 to 36 months.
The development team has completed similar projects in Tulsa, Okla., and Oklahoma City, and is currently working on similar projects in Rogers and Pleasant Grove. The architect in charge of the project has designed more than 20,000 family units during his career, Patterson said.
The city board took the following additional actions:
• Board members approved a contract with Kimery Painting to paint the exterior of the north water tower for a low bid of $99,747.
• Board members approved the third reading of Ordinance 17-25 and Ordinance 17-26 for building and zoning regulations for manufactured housing.
• Board members waived the competitive bidding process for the legal defense program with Arkansas Municipal League.