FAYETTEVILLE -- Several more miles of hiking and biking trails are coming to the 387-acre Kessler Mountain preserve in southwest Fayetteville following a City Council vote Tuesday.
The council voted unanimously to adopt a proposed Kessler Mountain trails plan to double the 7 miles of trail through the forest-covered land but keep the area's natural integrity and beauty largely intact. The work would cost about $900,000 and take less than a year, according to a report from plan developers Progressive Trail Design and Alta Planning + Design.
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To see the Kessler Mountain trails master plan and find more information about the park, go to fayetteville-ar.gov…
The council also discussed, but didn't vote on, a proposal extending the reach of "No soliciting" signs likely come up again in the next couple of meetings.
The trail plan's approval capped a nine-month process of stakeholder meetings, public input sessions and field work and came a little more than two years after Fayetteville bought the land for $3 million with the help of the Walton Family Foundation and the Fayetteville Natural Heritage Association.
"That was one of the best days for Fayetteville," City Attorney Kit Williams told the council Tuesday. "That was a very wise decision and something I think everyone on this council can be proud of."
The new trails would coil around the eastern flank of the Kessler plateau in loops of varying difficulty levels and length. They would fan out from the adjacent regional park, slated to open this fall near Cato Springs Road just to the west of Interstate 49.
Neighboring property owner Frank Sharp and many others have long considered the area a regional treasure and prodded the city to protect the area for years. Hundreds of plant and animal species live among the mountain's bluffs, streams and centuries-old oak trees, according to the trail plan report.
The trail plan sparked some tension between walkers and bikers, who would share the trails and sometimes want to avoid each other. Some residents suggested separate trails for each group at a Planning Commission meeting last month, though commissioners said that would mean too many trails in a sensitive place.
None of that tension came up Tuesday, when the audience broke into applause after the council's vote. The council approved the plan with little discussion -- only Ward 4 Alderman John La Tour spoke, urging the city to make sure drug activity doesn't move into the trails.
The council then moved on to a proposed ordinance to strengthen the city's rules against solicitors. People going door-to-door selling some kind of product are generally barred from going on properties with "No soliciting" signs posted prominently at the entrance. The proposal would add people seeking donations to the prohibition as well. Ignoring the sign can be charged as misdemeanor criminal trespass.
Williams said he wrote the proposal after being told Ouachita Hills Ministries, a group of Seventh-day Adventist Church members in Amity, planned to send students of its college to proselytize and request donations around Fayetteville.
Todd McFarland, associate general counsel for the church's world headquarters, said Tuesday evangelism has been an important part of the church's activity since its founding. The donations in part help pay for the college students' scholarships and programs, according to the Ouachita organization's website. People also value and read material about the church more after they've donated even a small amount of money for them, McFarland said.
The aldermen said constituents often call complaining about scams or other solicitors, and they generally supported the measure. They put off a final vote to give constituents time to look at it and give their thoughts.
NW News on 05/04/2016