Commission solidifying pool plans
Posted on Thursday, October 2, 2008
ROGERS — It will be at least two years until residents vote on the city’s 2010 bond issue, but the Parks and Recreation Commission started Wednesday to finalize its plans for an aquatic center that would be funded through that bond.
It will be at least two years until the 2010 bond vote because Mayor Steve Womack, who attended the parks long-range planning meeting, said the vote could be held off until spring 2011. He said the city has to wait until it can better predict future sales-tax revenue and see when the current debt will be repaid.
Whenever the bond vote is taken, the parks commission wants to be prepared with detailed plans and drawings to show the voting public what would be done with the anticipated $ 25 million that will be on the ballot. The aquatic center, proposed for Doc Wheeler Park, is one of three major projects the commission would tackle with that bond money.
The commission met with Crafton Tull Sparks officials for a conference call with Darren Bevard, an engineer for the pool-building firm Counsilman-Hunsaker. Bevard showed a number of the amenities he said would draw people to the Rogers pool, but the amenities do not come cheap. A water feature for a zero-depth play area would cost $ 75, 000 to $ 1 million. A water slide could cost between $ 100, 000 and “ millions, ” he said. And wave technology — equipment that could simulate surfing for one person or a wave pool large enough for many — starts at $ 750, 000.
The rough draft of the pool, which Crafton Tull Sparks created before any official commission decisions were made, includes lap lanes, water slides, a lazy river, a zero-depth play area and a whirlpool-like “ vortex river feature. ”
Bevard provided a list of possible amenities to the commission, asking the members to rate the importance of each piece. Parks and Recreation Director Rick Stocker asked commissioners to return their ratings today so the planners and engineers can rank the importance of each feature and begin fine-tuning the plans.
Womack warned the commissioners not to get too swept up by the pool plans, as the $ 25 million currently earmarked for parks has to cover three projects. The parks bond, if approved by voters, would also fund the Highway 62 Sports Complex and the restoration work at Lake Atalanta.
“ You’re going to have forces tugging at you, internal or external, asking you to do certain things, ” Womack said in asking the commission to balance all the needs. “ We’ve never spent $ 25 million on parks in the history of the city, but now it’s not enough. ”
But Womack cannot guarantee the final amount for the bond will not change before 2010.
“ We’ve thrown $ 25 million around, ” Womack said. “ We don’t know if that’s high or low. ”
Womack said that, like the commission’s need to fund multiple projects, he needs to balance the bond funds between multiple departments. The majority of the money is earmarked for roadwork, but Womack said he also expects requests for funding for public safety, the Rogers Historical Museum, the Adult Wellness Center and the city trail project.
But Womack warned that the amount of the bond would not matter if voters did not approve it.
“ The real goal here for the next two years is perfecting these plans because we’ll never get another chance like this, ” he said.
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