Bentonville resolution backs removal of dam

The anticipated cost for dam removal and stream bank repairs ranges from $300,000 to $500,000, plus design fees and permitting.

BENTONVILLE — The City Council on Tuesday, Sept. 28, approved a resolution in favor of removing the Lake Bella Vista dam and allowing Little Sugar Creek to become a free-flowing stream.

The vote was 7-1. The Committee of the Whole voted 6-1 the night before to send the resolution to the council. Council Member Bill Burckart was the lone vote against both times. Council Member Cindy Acree did not attend Monday’s meeting.

The city Parks and Recreation Advisory Board in June 2018 voted to remove the dam, which is located at the park’s north end, and let Little Sugar Creek be restored without a side-channel lake.

Floodwaters washed out a new area of the dam on April 28. The dam was first damaged during flooding in 2008, and it was topped by flooding in 2011, 2013 and 2015. The dam is part of the 135-acre Lake Bella Vista Park.

A lawsuit regarding the dam is pending before the Arkansas Court of Appeals. City Attorney George Spence has said he doesn’t expect the court to render a decision this year. The dam cannot be removed until the case is decided, Spence said.

The Committee of the Whole considered three options: removing the dam, reconstructing it or doing nothing until the court case is decided.

Several residents on Tuesday said they favored a free-flowing stream. No resident spoke in favor of rebuilding the dam.

It could take at least 90 days to find the right qualified firm to do the project, said David Wright, parks and recreation director. Design work would include any necessary stream bank restoration.

An agreement with a qualified firm would involve work done in two area phases. Area one would be the footprint of the dam and any required stream restoration within the lake area. Area two would be relocation of the current stream farther south, Wright said.

The anticipated cost for dam removal and stream bank repairs ranges from $300,000 to $500,000, plus design fees and permitting, according to Wright.

The city can begin to work on amenities outside the footprint of the dam, which include a parking lot, restrooms, a playground and trail enhancements. Much of that

design work is 90% complete, according to Wright.

In other action, the council decided to hold off on a decision for Dave Peel Park and the Bentonville Commons to gather more input from businesses and people who live in that part of the downtown area. Wright said he would visit the area for the next two weeks and report back to the council.

Under the original master plan, Dave Peel Park would remain in its present location and the commons would go across the street from the park, where a 140spot parking lot is now. The sites would switch under the alternative master plan.

The Parks and Recreation Department set up a website about a month ago to gather feedback on what option residents preferred. Sixty percent of the 1,105 votes favored the alternative location, Wright said. The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on Monday voted 6-3 to send the alternative plan to the City Council for consideration.

Voters in April backed the city’s $266 million bond plan for capital projects and bond refinancing by approving all nine questions on a special election ballot.