City eyes allowing kayaks on Sager Creek by third quarter of 2019

Just over two months ago, the city board adopted a list of six goals they hope to bring to fruition between now and 2020.

The list addresses six broad aspects of the public sector that are common to most communities: planning and code enforcement, economic growth and development, infrastructure, finance, communication and parks. Assigned along with each of these areas are an initial goal statement and one or more objective(s), which are followed by an analysis describing how those objectives will be carried out.

Having taken into consideration the vague nature of each goal statement, some of their accompanying objectives and analyses, in recent weeks, the

Herald-Leader has made an effort to delve into further detail on each one. Thus far, economic growth and development, planning and code enforcement, finance and infrastructure have been addressed; today, the focal point will be the city’s parks.

Similarly to most on the list, city officials integral in the oversight of this goal are Community Development Director Don Clark and City Administrator Phillip Patterson. The board identified a single objective for this goal, which is listed below along with its goal statement and further details provided by Clark and Patterson.

Goal statement

• Determine ways to increase public use of downtown’s parks.

Objective

• Research potential options and draft policy proposals that would allow stand-up paddle boards and kayaks on Sager Creek in downtown.

The timeline for completion of this goal is slated for the 3rd quarter of 2019, for that reason, Patterson and Clark said that few concrete decisions have been made and that further research is still underway. The notion of whether to allow kayaks on Sager Creek is one that has been circulating for quite some time and has been received favorably in some city board meetings in recent months. During last year’s Homegrown Festival, a vendor was even granted a onetime permit to rent kayaks to attendees and use them in Sager Creek, Patterson said.

From a practical standpoint, however, permitting

this on a long-term basis will require overcoming a number of obstacles. Some of these include determining the guidelines that pertain to where vessels would be allowed while in the creek, the water levels of the creek on any given day, where vessels could be launched into and exit the creek safely, how many could be in the creek at any given time or how large the vessels can be, Clark said.

There are also some safety concerns, such as whether to only allow it for those who are issued permits, or to simply allow anyone at anytime to do it, Patterson said. The spillway and dam also present a particularly significant safety concern, as city staff does not want there to be a possibility of anyone going over it, he said. Despite all of these things, Patterson said that efforts to make this a reality stem in-part from a desire to revive a piece of the

city’s past.

“Historically, I do not know the exact timing, but historically there were paddle-wheel boats on the water (at Sager Creek), like the ones that you operate like a bicycle” Patterson said. “So, there has always been a little bit of dreaming of bringing that back in some form or fashion because it was a unique part of the history of the community. It is just the question of how do we make it work.”

Although the goal’s oversight is officially assigned to Clark and the director of the city’s parks and recreation department, Jon Boles, the city will be reaching out for consultation from internal departments such as the fire department, since they would be the first responders in the event of a water rescue, Clark said. External entities will be contacted as well, including the United States Geological Survey (USGS)

and the Arkansas Canoe Club, he said.

As for other information relating to the goal statement, Clark said that the parks referred to in the phrase “downtown parks” are Twin Springs Park and City Park. Clark said that due to the timeline of the goal, he could not comment on the specific nature of any possible improvements the city is considering making on either of these parks. He did however echo a sentiment

similar to Patterson’s, noting benefits that could potentially result from taking into account what has worked best in years prior.

“We have already started going back and seeing what has been proposed in the past, and maybe we need to bring some of that back,” Clark said. “Looking at the historic nature of these parks and what they have been known for in the past could help to bring some new life back into those uses.”