Fayetteville Officials Agree To Gulley Park Expansion

FAYETTEVILLE -- City officials are moving forward with expanding Gulley Park.

Mayor Lioneld Jordan and Mary Lou Dunn signed a land sale agreement this week where the city would pay $1.1 million for the 11-acre Dunn property on the northeast side of Gulley Park.

At A Glance

Gulley Park

The Fayetteville Parks and Recreation Department in 1988 bought about 20 acres of farmland at Township Street and Old Wire Road from Floy Gulley for $110,000. Gulley Park is now home to a 0.85-mile multiuse trail, two playgrounds, a gazebo, pavilion, picnic areas and several acres of unprogrammed green space. Allen “Sonny” Dunn and his wife, Mary Lou, bought 11 acres next to the Gulley farm in 1960. Dunn provided the labor for the gazebo where Gulley Park summer concerts are held.

Source: Staff Report

City Council members must approve the purchase before the transaction is complete. Connie Edmonston, Parks and Recreation director, said Wednesday she expects aldermen to take up the issue Sept. 2.

"We're excited," Edmonston said. "This is something I think in the future will definitely ... enhance our parks system and provide more valued green space. It's kind of a dream come true."

According to the agreement, the city will put $970,000 in hotel, motel and restaurant tax proceeds toward the purchase -- the same amount the property was valued at last month in an appraisal by Fayetteville-based Reed & Associates.

That means $700,000 in Gulley Park improvement, including a new hard-surface trail and trail lights, that had been scheduled next year, will be postponed. Plans to remodel the historic rock house and restrooms and replace the basketball court and playground in Wilson Park in 2016 may have to be scaled back as well, Edmonston said.

She said city officials plan to sell at least one of two houses on the Dunn property to help defray city expenses.

The remaining $130,000 for the purchase will be raised by the Fayetteville Natural Heritage Association and Cow Paddy Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 2010 by residents Max Mahler and Ben Roberts.

More than $7,200 was raised through an online campaign. Mahler said several families also have made sizable donations and a larger matching grant is in place.

"We hope to have most or all of the money raised in the next month," Mahler said. "We are very close but not quite there."

Longtime resident Wade Colwell has been key in convincing city administrators to buy the Dunn property. He said all contributions above $130,000 will go toward Mount Kessler acquisition. The Natural Heritage Association in February committed to raising $300,000 to help the city purchase 328 acres of rugged hillside property in southwest Fayetteville.

It's unclear what park amenities will be added on the Dunn property.

Several ideas, including bocce ball courts, a dog park and kids' splash pad, have been mentioned. Colwell said he'd like to keep the property as mostly pasture and mow a strip of soft-surface trail around the perimeter for walking and running.

Edmonston said public meetings will be held before anything is decided.

If the City Council approves the purchase, Mary Lou Dunn and her daughter, Sherry, will have 120 days to make the deal final.

David Mix, listing agent with Bassett Mix and Associates, wouldn't disclose details about other offers the Dunns have received from private developers. "They are making a concession to work with the city, because they want the city to have it," he said.

Mary Lou Dunn and her late husband, Allen "Sonny" Dunn, bought the property from Fred and Floy Gulley in 1960.

"My husband and I always wanted it to go to the city when we were through with it," she said Wednesday. "It makes me very happy that it's going to be a park, so a lot of people can enjoy it."

NW News on 08/07/2014

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