ROGERS -- The median and roundabout of Pauline Whitaker Parkway -- the primary entrance to Pinnacle Country Club -- are getting a complete facelift before the Ladies Professional Golf Association's Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.
The median and roundabout are weedy and unattractive, said Mayor Greg Hines.
"We've been told by LPGA officials that the (tournament) is one of the favorite stops on the LPGA tour. We want to make the entrance to the country club look as good as possible, not only for the golfers and visitors, but for our residents as well," Hines said.
"The players on the tour do enjoy the Rogers tournament," said Harry Hardy, director of events for Octagon, which oversees the tournament.
"They say Northwest Arkansas residents make them feel very welcome, and everything they need is close by. The Embassy Suites is close, and many of the players stay there, and of course the Promenade is just across the road and there is a large selection of restaurants nearby," Hardy said.
Another reason the players like the championship is the purse, Hardy said.
"The $2 million purse is in the top five purses on the tour," he said.
The tournament is scheduled for June 23-29. Golfers will play practice rounds early in the week. A pro-am tournament is set for June 25-26 and the championship tournament is scheduled for June 27-29.
Work has already started, and will be done by tournament time.
"We've killed all the grass, weeds and anything else in the median and roundabout," said Lance Jobe, the city engineer in charge of the facelift.
"A layer of topsoil has been added and grass, trees, rose bushes and shrubbery are scheduled to be planted within the next few days," Jobe said last week.
Some of the work is being done in-house by Parks Department workers, Jobe said, but the city has contracts with two landscape companies for the landscape design, grass and tree planting.
The project is expected to cost about $50,000, Jobe said.
"The money for the landscaping project was included in the 2014 budget, so this isn't coming from general fund reserves," Jobe said.
Com-Scapes won the contract to provide trees and other plants, said Chad Walters, a landscape designer with the company.
"We need the rain to slow down so we can plant," Walters said. "We are hoping to have all the plants in by Wednesday or Thursday," he said.
"The mayor told us he wanted something different and attractive. I think we came up with a design he will like," Walters said.
The plants in the design include several varieties.
"We'll be planting Japanese zelkova trees, which are very hardy, and are good for use near streets. They can take the heat," Walters said.
Other varieties include: elm, honey locust, Yoshino cherry trees and a 16-foot-tall southern magnolia tree which will be the centerpiece in the roundabout, he said.
"We will also plant knockout roses, yellow drift roses, Hamlin grass, creeping phlox and boxwood evergreen shrubs. The cherry trees are the same variety that line the reflecting pool at the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. I think people are going to find the design very attractive. At least I hope they do," Walters said.
Two State Sod from Oklahoma will lay the sod on the median and the traffic circle next week, said Danny Upchurch, a company spokesman.
"We will be placing 6-foot rolls of Bermuda grass in media and traffic circle sometime next week," Upchurch said Friday.
The Parks Department will likely be given the task of mowing the grass and caring for the plants, said Barney Hayes, park director.
"I haven't heard for sure if we will be in charge of the grass and plants, but we'll do what we are asked to do," Hayes said.
There's a built-in sprinkler system in the median and traffic circle, he said.
"I've never used it, but I suspect once the planting is complete, we will set the timers to water quite a bit until the new plants have a chance to adapt," he said.
NW News on 06/02/2014