Rogers Aldermen Approve $2.1 Million For Trail Projects

— The design and construction of the first of several Lake Atalanta trails was approved Tuesday by aldermen.

The trail will stretch from the northeast side of the bike park on the east side of downtown to Frisco Springs, said David Hook, city facilities development manager.

At A Glance

Council Action

Rogers’ City Council met Tuesday and approved:

• An $209,302 agreement for emergency medical services with Benton County.

• A $49,500 contract with RJR Enterprises for playground equipment at Olive Street Park.

• A $152,606 contract with Stribling Equipment for a 2014 John Deere 544K wheel loader for the Street Department.

• Declaring land on Fourth Street surplus so it can be sold.

• Spending $200,000 to buy the Bruce and Karen Armstrong land on the west side of Lake Atalanta. The city now owns all the land around the lake.

• A $197,473 contract with LJB Construction for the Mercy trailhead project.

Source: Staff Report

"It's going to be a beautiful trail, but it's going to be difficult to build," Hook said.

The route will be through some rough ground and a wooded section, Hook said.

"Because of the terrain we haven't designed the trail. The company doing work will have to design the trail as they go because there are likely to be spots where the trail will have to shift left or right depending on the terrain," he added.

Boulder Construction was awarded the $1.69 million contract to design and build the trail that will include four bridges on the Fleming property and two on the trail to Frisco Springs, Hook added.

"The bridges will all be of similar construction. We decided to build the bridges on the Fleming property while building the trail to Frisco Springs. We will build the trail connecting the bridges on the Fleming property at a later time," Hook said.

The Frisco Springs trail is one of four trail projects approved by aldermen. There's a $60,000 contract with Sand Creek Engineering and Landscape to design the Farm trail connecting Promenade Boulevard to Oak Street; a $120,000 contract with Crafton Tull and Associates for a trail between Promenade Boulevard and Cambridge trail; and a $235,000 contract with Alta Planning for the design of a realignment and a bridge on the Razorback Regional Greenway at New Hope Road. The four contracts total $2.1 million.

"These trails will be designed with city, federal and Walton Family Foundation money," said Nathan Becknell, city engineer, "at least that's the plan."

The Walton Foundation has been a partner with the city on the majority of trails.

"We have applied for a 50/50 grant from the foundation and we will get $225,000 from the federal Transportation Alternative Program. We can use the federal money as part of the city's matching money," Becknell said. "We think we have a good chance of getting foundation grants for the trail projects."

Gary Townzen, alderman, said after the council meeting the money spent on trails is important to the community.

"People that have moved to Rogers often tell me they checked out the parks, trails, streets and education system before deciding to move to Rogers. Businesses we want to attract to the city are also interested in the quality of our infrastructure to include trails. It's true we approved a lot of money for trail projects tonight, but it's worth it," Townzen said Tuesday.

NW News on 04/09/2014

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