FORT SMITH -- River Valley dogs could soon have new sights and smells to experience at Chaffee Crossing.
The Fort Smith Dog Park at the Louisville and South 83rd Street intersection closed to allow Fort Smith Regional Airport to expand its runway. As a result, the city is considering building a new $3.2 million dog park along Fort Chaffee Boulevard.
City directors heard a presentation for the proposed design during their study session Tuesday . The design project was entirely paid for by the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority, an economic developing agency looking to enhance the area.
Kirk Keller, the landscape architect for the project, said the previous dog park was about 30 acres with a lot of open space, a pond, obstacles and walking trails. He said the new park is planned to be 24 acres with similar amenities, in addition to a wading pool, separate spaces for small and large dogs to play, a dog wash room and public restrooms. The plans were developed from feedback from a survey and two community meetings.
Keller said the entrance is planned to be a feature the public can easily meet at, or local adoption centers could bring available animals for the public to walk and play with.
Keller noted part of the property will be in the flood way, so the park cannot be entirely fenced in due to Federal Emergency Management Agency requirements. He said that area will be trails that dogs can be off leash if they stay near their owners.
"We really feel like this gives dog owners as well as people visiting a park experience, very passive, but lots of different options that surpass what the previous Fort Smith dog park had as just another way to show the community that this park is going to be a great community feature," Keller said.
The project includes completing the entrance, entire fence line and small and large dog play areas in phase one, the dog wash station, wading pool, playground, agility course and restrooms in phase two, and the walking trail in phase three.
Keller said the project is estimated to cost $1.2 million to develop 4.8 acres in phase one, $1.9 million for 9.4 acres in phase two and $79,000 for 9.9 acres in phase three. He said the project is expected to take two to five years to complete, so the cost of inflation factored into the estimate already.
At-large Director Kevin Settle asked if the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority considered moving Taylor Avenue to allow the dog park space to be out of the flood way. He said he's concerned about the city spending money for the park just for it to flood and become unusable.
Daniel Mann, executive director and CEO of the authority, said he'd be open to considering that. He said the area had some flooding in early June because a culvert had debris and wasn't flowing properly. He said based on the historic flooding in 2019, he thinks the area should be usable, with the only area that could potentially flood being the wooded nature trails.
Mann said the land is owned by the authority and Sebastian County, with plans to convey the property to the city at no cost.
City Administrator Carl Geffken said the park would be up to the city to maintain, and will be paid for through grants, partnerships with area pet businesses and the recently renewed city sales tax allocated for parks.
"We'll work with the city to make sure that this project becomes a reality. We'll continue to work with them on a budgeting cycle, and look at special projects that we can take on and support the city of Fort Smith with," Mann added.
Several directors raised concerns about the timeline for the project, and whether it could be done sooner to allow dogs and their owners a space to use.
Mann said some owners are already taking their dogs to the space so they can get used to it.
Geffken reiterated this is just a conceptual design, and the next step for the city is to hire a contractor and engineering firm to break up the three phases into smaller projects that could be completed sooner.
"We've all listened to the dog lovers of this town, and getting 451 survey responses is unheard of," Geffken said. "So we know the dog lovers of this town and the future users of the dog park that we need to move quickly. That's what we will do."
A sign displays on Thursday, June 30, 2022, at the former site of the Fort Smith Dog Park in Fort Smith. The city’s Board of Directors this week heard a proposal to build a new dog park at Chaffee Crossing after the first one was closed to expand the runway at the Fort Smith Regional Airport. Visit nwaonline.com/220703Daily/ for today's photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)
Caution flags display on Thursday, June 30, 2022, at the former site of the Fort Smith Dog Park in Fort Smith. The city’s Board of Directors this week heard a proposal to build a new dog park at Chaffee Crossing after the first one was closed to expand the runway at the Fort Smith Regional Airport. Visit nwaonline.com/220703Daily/ for today's photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)