BENTONVILLE -- The Bella Vista Lake task force agreed rebuilding the failed dam was the worst of three options presented Wednesday, but it struggled to make a unanimous recommendation on which plan would be best.
Martin Smith, principal of Ecological Design Group, presented conceptual plans of what it would look like to rebuild the dam, remove the dam or let the creek flow past a side channel lake.
The 15-member group includes representatives from city staff, the Planning Commission, the City Council, NWA Trailblazers and Friends of Little Sugar Creek.
The two-hour meeting was held in the Community Center. About 30 other people observed the meeting.
The task force eventually recommended the option with the creek flowing past the side channel lake after more than an hour-long discussion, which increased with intensity as the end of the meeting drew closer.
The group voted 7-2, with two Friends of Little Sugar Creek members voting in opposition. Several didn't vote as their roles were to give information.
Smith provided an overview then the pros and cons for each plan from recreation, environmental and budgetary standpoints.
Next step
The public is invited to see the three plans for the future of Bella Vista Lake Park at the Park Advisory Board. The meeting will be at 5 p.m. June 18 in the Bentonville Community Center at 1101 S.W. Citizens Circle.
Source: Staff report
All three provided recreational opportunities, according to Smith's presentation. A possible "Razorback Blueway" -- water trail connections -- could be an amenity in the two options with the creek, he said.
The two creek options also had environmental benefits -- such as re-establishing continuity of sediment transport downstream -- where as rebuilding the dam had none.
Smith explained there could be sediment buildup and occasional algae blooms in the side lake. Gradual sediment fill could eventually turn the lake into a wetland feature, he said.
The cost ranged from the least expensive $9.2 million option to restore the creek and build a side channel lake to the most expensive $9.7 million option to rebuild the dam. The creek-only plan was estimated to cost $9.6 million.
"We're not just looking at a dam. We're looking at a park," said David Wright, Parks and Recreation director.
He explained work done would encompass the 135-acre park when Bill Burckart asked if there was still an option to just rebuild the dam for less. The City Council would then hear from city staff about other issues at the park needing attention, Wright said.
The city initially planned to use federal and state money to just rebuild the failed dam until the construction permit expired in spring 2017, nullifying the $2.7 million promised by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The project was estimated to cost $3.5 million.
The Association of State Dam Safety Officials declared the dam failed in March 2008 after it was topped during a storm. It was topped several more times over the years. Its gates have been open since December 2015.
FEMA came back to the city in January and said the money could be used on an improvement project for the lake, according to Travis Matlock, city engineering director.
City officials said they saw that as an opportunity to look at the lake and surrounding park as one project as other amenities were desired and the ones there needed work.
The money from FEMA will be used for two parking lots, trails and a pedestrian bridge north of the dam, Matlock said in Wednesday's meeting.
The task force spent about an hour discussing the benefits and drawbacks of the two options with a creek.
Friends of Little Sugar Creek representatives believe stream restoration without a side lake would be best but were open to the option with the side lake if an independent group could prove it was the best plan environmentally, said Ron Miller, Friends member.
Adam Schaffer, Friends member, expressed concern about how much water would be used from the creek to connect the side lake at the south end. Too much would empty the creek while too little wouldn't be enough to prevent the same issues the current lake has.
"My concern is that it's broken, and it won't work," he said.
The amount isn't available since the plans are only conceptual, city and engineering officials said. That information would come as designs became more concrete.
The side lake would provide more recreational opportunities, said Joe Haynie, who also serves on the Planning Commission.
"The more choices that we have, the more people will end up using the facility," he said.
"More options are better only if they work," Schaffer said.
Burckart said he was concerned with the creek-only plan because sometimes it gets so low in the year's hottest months it would be hard to recreate on it.
"We have a tremendous amount of people who want a lake feature," he said. "We have to listen to that."
Miller said the Friends could be skeptical all day long and encouraged his peers to "trust the process" and experts to flesh out the details of the plan with the side lake.
"Otherwise, I think we're just being disagreeable," he said.
All three plans will be shown to the Parks Advisory Board during its June meeting. There will be chance for the public to review and comment on them during the meeting.
The Walton Family Foundation gave the city a $98,960 grant so Ecological Design Group and the Watershed Resource Conservation Center could study the three options and provide conceptual plans.
NW News on 05/31/2018
