After five weeks of closure because of floodwaters and more than 400 canceled reservations, the Downtown Riverside RV Park in North Little Rock is scheduled to reopen Monday.
The city-owned RV park along the Arkansas River naturally was at high risk when the river began rising toward major flood stage the last week of May. The river crested at 29.71 feet June 5, well above its flood stage of 23 feet.
River water flooded the park, washing out the foundation beneath the 14 concrete pads that are along the river, said Bob Major, executive director of the North Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau that oversees the park. The park has 28 pads inland, plus gravel campsites.
The park normally offers 61 full hook-ups for water, sewer and electricity for RVs and has 10 more sites with power only. The park observed its 10th anniversary in October as a popular stopover for RVers, with 2,313 stays between Jan. 1 and May 21, according to park figures. Occupancy increased by 34% over the past five years. The park also received a 2018 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence for consistently positive reviews.
"We already have some people who have made reservations and are anxious to get back and visit," Major said.
When flooding was forecast, the park was vacated by Memorial Day, Major said. Much cleanup and other work was needed once the water receded at the park, which is inside the city's flood wall, he said.
"The water got all the way up to the sea wall, maybe about a foot or two up on the sea wall," Major said. "It didn't get into our offices or into the laundry room.
"All the pads were under water," he said. "It was just a lot of mess. We didn't have much physical damage. About three sections of our [wrought iron] fence was bent down. A tree hit it and knocked it down."
A tree wasn't the only thing the river washed into the park's fencing, said city Parks and Recreation Director Terry Hartwick, whose department helped to manage the recovery.
"All the way to the end of that fence, laid on top was a 70-pound buffalo fish," Hartwick said.
The flooding cost the RV park more than a month's worth of reservations, a loss of $33,641.46 in revenue, Major said, citing park figures. Another $942 from prepaid reservations was refunded, he said.
The park lost 409 reservations total during its closure, Major said. There were 63 canceled reservations in May, 243 for all of June and another 103 that had reservations for July, Major said.
The biggest part of the June losses was from the June 6 Jimmy Buffett concert, Major said.
"For the Buffett concert, we had about 100 RVs scheduled to cram into the park and in the outside asphalt area [used for overflow]," Major said. "We ended up with about half of them who still came."
The city closed down Riverfront Drive downtown and parked as many RVs along the four-lane city street as possible.
"I think we had 47 RVs that we parked on Riverfront Drive for Jimmy Buffett," Major said. "We were just able to give them a spot. No power or anything. We charged them like 25 bucks a night [usually $36]. Most of them came in on Wednesday [June 5] and most were here for two nights."
Besides cleanup of the park, including removing the debris, washing off mud and cutting back overgrown grass and weeds, all the utility services needed to be checked and certified that all are working properly, Hartwick said.
"We had to make sure the sewer system was working," Hartwick said. "We had Central Arkansas Water come in to make sure the water is clean. Bob [Major] has been making sure every pad we open up has working electricity. Our main concern was people being able to connect, that everything is working and it's cleaned up and ready for people."
"There was a lot of cleaning," Hartwick said. "The water got up to the [manager's] trailer, but did not get into it. Water was lapping at the doorstep."
Major said the Convention and Visitors Bureau will ask for bids to repair the damaged concrete pads and hook-ups. The cost is expected to exceed the $20,000 limit for city purchases, he said, and must be approved by the City Council.
"Some of this expense, [the Federal Emergency Management Agency] may pay a lot of it, or it may pay a little of it," Major said. "We don't know yet.
"Our plans are to have a bid awarded by mid-July and, hopefully, by mid-August we'll have the riverfront sites open as well. These are kind of moving targets."
Convention and Visitors Bureau workers pitched in Tuesday of last week, taking the day to help with cleanup, Major said.
"There were about seven of us down there," Major said, to help the park's on-site managers Sheila Bullerwell and Deb Crow prepare for the reopening. "They had been at it practically every day. We tried to help them out, picking up rocks so they could mow without shooting missiles around. The picnic tables had to be power-washed. The restrooms and showers were cleaned. We are ready for guests."
https://www.arkansasonline.com
Metro on 06/30/2019