Organization decides against project in Springdale

Ozark Natural Science Center was studying a possible education program at Rabbit Foot Lodge

FILE PHOTO ANTHONY REYES Rabbit Foot Lodge is off Silent Grove Road in Springdale. The lodge was home to Sen. J. William Fulbright and his family from 1934 to 1946.
FILE PHOTO ANTHONY REYES Rabbit Foot Lodge is off Silent Grove Road in Springdale. The lodge was home to Sen. J. William Fulbright and his family from 1934 to 1946.

SPRINGDALE -- Ozark Natural Science Center recently told Springdale that it's no longer interested in using the city-owned Rabbit Foot Lodge.

Mayor Doug Sprouse said the center sent a letter a few weeks ago stating the center's board had determined the center wouldn't move forward with the project.

WEB WATCH

To see the National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form for Rabbit Foot Lodge, go to arkansaspreservatio…, hover over “PROPERTIES” in the upper bar, click on “National Register of Historic Places” in the menu that appears, click on “Search the National Register Listings in Arkansas” near the top of the page. Then click on “Washington” in the county section of the search form, click the “Search” button and scroll down to “RABBITS FOOT LODGE” section. Click the “View PDF” button, and the document should appear.

The center finished a study regarding possible use of the lodge in February, and the center's board decided against it in April, said Matthew Miller, executive director of the center. The center is in Madison County and offers outdoor science education for students in first through 12th grade.

The lodge sits south of Hunt Elementary School and north of J.B. Hunt Park. It was built between 1908 and 1909 and was home to U.S. Sen. J. William Fulbright and his family from 1934 to 1946. It's listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

City officials purchased the Rabbit Foot Lodge and the more than 40 acres around it April 28, paying $1,050,000. The property was appraised at $1.1 million. Johnelle Hunt donated $500,000 toward the purchase, and the rest came out of the city's park fund. The land surrounding the lodge will expand J.B. Hunt Park.

Those who visit the site will find a two-story building of logs and stone. It has a wraparound porch on two levels and an attached garage. From the porch, visitors can see stone steps that lead down to a natural spring. Fulbright dammed it to create a pool for his children to swim in. On hot days, the spring helps the air around it remain cool.

Sprouse said the city bought the property because it will add to J.B. Hunt Park and closes a gap between the park, Lake Springdale and the Razorback Greenway. Officials also wanted to see the lodge preserved.

Aldermen forwarded a resolution to the City Council at a committee meeting Oct. 6 to authorize the mayor and city clerk to enter into a memorandum of understanding with Ozark Natural Science Center.

The memorandum was in effect for 120 days and allowed the organization to study if the property was suitable for its needs, according to the memorandum. The document also states the organization, if still interested in the property after the study, would use the lodge for educational purposes.

Under the memorandum, the city would have had to notify the center if another group had a proposal for the lodge within those 120 days, Sprouse said. City officials let the center continue its work on the lodge study once the 120 days was over.

The project at the lodge would have been different from the one at the center's main site, Miller said. It would have had a different curriculum. The main site also offers an overnight option for students in grades four and up, but the lodge would only have had day programming.

Miller said there was no single deciding factor for not pursing the project at the lodge. The board considered six to eight factors, including finances, staffing and the city's needs. He said the decision was more about the project than the location.

"It was a really difficult decision for the board to make," he said.

Officials with the center won't, however, be looking at other locations for the project in the foreseeable future, Miller said.

The city is maintaining the property, Sprouse said. In the meantime, people can call the mayor's office or the Parks and Recreation Department if they are interested in using the lodge for photography, such as for graduation or wedding photos, or for small group meetings. This will be done on a case-by-case basis, and there is no charge at this time.

People can access the property surrounding the lodge by foot, Sprouse said. The greenway cuts across the northeast corner of the surrounding land.

People should stay off the porch and not enter the lodge because there's an alarm system that could be triggered, Sprouse said. There is also an old barn on the property with doors screwed shut and a sign instructing people to keep out.

"The barn could be dangerous," he said.

While there is no timeline, the barn will more than likely be taken down, Sprouse said. Two other outbuildings on the property will also probably have to be removed.

The city also needed to build an emergency access road to the lodge, because the bridge on the entry drive is small and the drive curves, Sprouse said.

A base of crushed rock and limestone was was put down Monday and Tuesday, said Terry Anderson, a street and general construction supervisor with the public works department. Emergency vehicles can now use it, and asphalt will be added.

Sprouse said he envisions leasing the lodge to a nonprofit organization, though he said he's open to options. He also said he envisions a lease with no rent, but the tenant would be responsible for utilities and maintenance of the lodge. He said he'd also want the area to be preserved and the lodge to be available to the public.

Leasing the structure to a group would take maintenance costs off taxpayers, Sprouse said.

"I think things just work better if they're occupied every day," he said.

NW News on 06/13/2015

Upcoming Events