Fayetteville parks officials look forward to next year

A jogger uses the trail at Gulley Park on Nov. 21.
A jogger uses the trail at Gulley Park on Nov. 21.

FAYETTEVILLE -- The city will add nearly five miles of trail and possibly a major music event among reasons to go outside next year.

Matt Mihalevich, trail coordinator, on Monday presented to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board an update to the trails plan. The city's capital improvements program allots $1.5 million each year for trail development and surface replacement.

Looking ahead

The 2018 parks and recreation expenses summary:

Operations (general and parks development) — $4,863,134

Capital fund projects — $1,042,000

Total expenses — $5,905,134

Source: Fayetteville Parks and Recreation Department

Crews will get to work on making a path from the intersection of Old Wire Road and Mission Boulevard through Gulley Park, connecting to the Razorback Regional Greenway.

The intersection has already received an overhaul with a new traffic signal and realignment. Construction is underway to add a 5-foot-wide sidewalk and 10-foot-wide trail from the intersection to Ash Street, set for completion by year's end. The city's transportation bond program paid for those projects.

From there, a cycle track will extend to Gulley Park on the east side of Old Wire Road. That project was made possible through a 50/50 matching grant with the Walton Family Foundation announced this summer. A cycle track has a sidewalk on one side for pedestrians with a path closer to the street for bicyclists.

The Niokaska Creek Trail will run from Gulley Park, as it does now, and past the Old Wire and Crossover intersection, looping back around through Sweetbriar Park and connecting to Mud Creek trail to the north, which hooks into the Razorback Regional Greenway.

The looped trail within Gulley Park also will be replaced. The park also will get two new wider bridges to replace the current ones in order to better accommodate bicyclists, Mihalevich said.

"Some of this Gulley Park work we're looking at starting just at the beginning of the year," he said. "So, it's coming fast."

Other planned trail projects next year include Rupple Road from Mount Comfort to Starry Night, Clabber Creek trail on Van Asche Drive from Gregg Avenue to the greenway and repairing the greenway from Maple Street to Frisco.

The board also heard from Jeremy Gunn with the Homegrown Music Festival. Gunn proposed bringing the sustainability-themed event to Kessler Mountain Regional Park from the Mulberry River in Ozark, where it has taken place the last two years.

Festival organizers have tentatively selected the weekend of June 22-24. The event promotes environmental protection through measures such as no single-use plastics, dishwashing stations, solar power to offset electricity use and an on-site recycling sorting station.

Local, regional and possibly national bands would play Americana, bluegrass, roots and folk music on a stage at Kessler. Sports and art also would be emphasized with organized mountain biking, trail running and disc golf, along with an art market.

The board unanimously voted to support bringing the festival to the city and to recommend the City Council temporarily waive the ordinance banning alcohol in parks for the event. Gunn said alcohol sales would serve as a revenue source since the festival would be free to get in.

The Parks Department would collect a fee to rent the space and a portion of vendor fees as well. The council will consider the item at a later meeting.

Board Member Dana Smith said the festival could open the door for other similar events to happen at the park.

"I think that is something to be thoughtful about, that this is setting a precedent," she said.

NW News on 12/05/2017

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