SPRINGDALE -- The City Council members gave their OK on Thursday to buying two pieces of property to enhance two of its emerging parks.
The council met as a Committee of the Whole Thursday after its meeting Monday was postponed due to weather.
The full council will vote to approve the purchases during its meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
The city is interested in 2 acres on South Downum Road east of the new Shaw Family Park and the Quonset hut surrounded by Luther George Park.
The city would pay $139,900 for the property on Downum in the city's northwest quadrant, and $235,000 for 400 Park Street which is owned by the hospital auxiliary of Northwest Medical Center-Springdale.
Priscilla Beavers and James Beavers listed the Downum property for sale, when Mayor Doug Sprouse drove by and saw a real estate sign, Sprouse told the council.
The money would come out of the city's general fund reserve, which holds $11 million, said Colby Fulfer, assistant to the mayor.
The city through negotiation with the hospital and the auxiliary agreed to pay $235,000 for the Quonset hut and lot. The money will come out of the city's Community Development Block Grants allotment.
The city receives an annual allotment of about $800,000 from the Department of Housing and Urban that must be used for rehabilitation projects in low-income areas. Luther George Park fits that bill, said council member Mike Overton.
Sprouse said the Downum property sits on a tight S curve. He knows traffic will increase on Downum as Shaw Park opens and more people move into the area.
"I really believe that if somebody else buys that property and puts a house on it, we'll never get that road straightened out," Sprouse said. He also said the property might be big enough after the road is moved, the city could sell it for a large residence.
Overton said he hears many complaints from residents about those S curves.
Council member Kevin Flores agreed they're dangerous. "They're blind curves, and one time I think I veered off of it a bit," he said.
Brad Baldwin, the city's director of engineering and public works, said straightening those curves on Downum has long been a part of the city's Street Plan. He said the street probably would become a T intersection with Carrie Smith Road.
The city has paid for the design and construction of the Shaw Park from $19.5 million dedicated to parks in a $2 million bond issue Springdale voters a approved in February 2018.
The Park Street property for many years has housed a thrift store operated by the hospital auxiliary. The store has found a new home, but its location wasn't announced at the meeting.
Updating the park is a key piece to revitalizing downtown, Sprouse said.
Jill Dabbs, executive director of the Downtown Springdale Alliance, said she anticipates the $10 million park project to break ground before the end of the year.
The Walton Family Foundation gave the group $642,000 for the park design.
Dabbs said the alliance and the city have begun a capital campaign to raise the money for construction.
Laurinda Joenks can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWALaurinda.