Searcy looking to expand Riverside Park
SEARCY — For the city of Searcy and its parks department, the hard part is over.
“Almost a year ago, this land became available for purchase for expansion of [Riverside Park],” Searcy mayor Kyle Osborne said. “But it has taken that long to apply and receive grant money, negotiate the price and get things to where we could afford it.
“Now that everything is in place for the purchase, the rest of it is simple.”
Earlier this month, the Searcy Advertising and Tourism Promotions Commission allocated $50,000 in tax revenue to help the city purchase 49 acres adjacent to Riverside Park.
“So the expense for the city will only be $50,000 and would make the park 150 acres,” Osborne said, “which is wonderful, because it would run all along the river and open up room for bike trails, walking trails, basketball courts and pavilions.”
He said if the city cleaned up the lake that’s on the property, Searcy could open up “a big public fishing lake with piers on it.”
“There is so much we can do out there,” Osborne said. “Our first option was to make the purchase, and now that we are there, if all goes through, our next move is to apply for grant money and start the development out there.”
About a year ago, the Searcy Regional Economic Development Corp. purchased property near the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post that connects to the park. The SREDC then sold the property to the city for $300,000.
Thanks to Arkansas State Parks, the city was able to get half of the funds needed for the additional 49 acres.
“The SERDC and the A&P Commission was generous enough to help us out,” Osborne said. “It will just make that park bigger so we can get more use out of it. … I
was hearing from the public, asking if we were ever going to do anything with Riverside Park, and this opportunity came along to expand it, and now we are going to upgrade the park and expand it all the way down to the new bypass.”
He said the state was generous enough to give the city grant money to help purchase the property.
“They liked our plans for the outdoor activities that we will be installing out there,” Osborne said.
Mike Parsons, Searcy Parks and Recreation director, said the park is currently about 100 acres but is very untapped.
“And what I mean by that, there is not a lot of development,” he said. “It’s mostly a wooded area, but it does have a playground and a pavilion in one little corner.”
He said there is a vision or a dream plan for the additional 50 acres, but right now, the first step is the land acquisition. He said once the additional acres are acquired, they will provide a new and easier entry into the park.
“It has been something the city and leadership have wanted to do for a long time, but we didn’t have the funds,” Parsons said. “We have been working with Arkansas Parks and Tourism and the White River Planning District, and we were able to apply for a grant and move forward in the process of acquiring the land.”
He said one reason the city moved forward with the acquisition was because the city of Searcy “doesn’t really have anything in the range of outdoor mountain biking or hiking, and [that] is something people have wanted for a long time.”
“The possibilities for outdoor recreation are pretty much endless,” Parsons said.
“As far as getting more playground equipment, or any other new additions, that stuff will take time,” Osborne said. “It will take a few years to get everything exactly the way we want it.
“I’m hoping two or three years at the most, but it will be phenomenal out there.”