SPRINGDALE -- The City Council on Monday, working as a committee of the whole, agreed to move forward for vote an architectural contract for renovations to the city's Recreation Center.
The city would contract with Hight Jackson Associates for $25,750, to be paid from the city's general fund.
Money for the construction work of the renovation would come from the $16.3 million parks and recreation bond residents approved May 9.
The proposed project would include a large dance studio, that also could be separated to make two studios, said Chad Wolf, the director of the city's Parks and Recreation Department.
"There are so many opportunities for classes, but we have no place for them," Wolf said. The current dance studio is too small and isn't outfitted as a dance studio, he said.
The city could offer classes in aerobics, yoga, spin, boot camps and more.
"We would do all we could with programming and then rent it out for others," he said.
The center also needs to upgrade its bathrooms to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act, Wolf said. Showers in the center's locker rooms would be eliminated to make room for bathroom updates, he said.
The project also would bring a new look to the front desk reception area.
Wolf said the bleachers around the sport courts would be updated to accommodate fans for junior high and high school volleyball tournaments.
"We want to update our weight equipment and add a game room," he continued.
The city's previous recreation center in Murphy Park included a game room. "The kids always want to know what happened to the bumper pool," he said.
The new game room would feature tables for pool, bumper pool and ping-pong and a television, Wolf said
The game room would be adjacent to the weight area and a place where kids can hang out while their parents exercise or attend a class -- and open so the children could be supervised, he said.
"It's not a huge project," said Colby Fulfer of this round of renovations. "We just want to finish it out, to put the icing on the cake."
Fulfer is the mayor's chief of staff, and he was speaking in advance of the bond vote.
The city in 2018 bought the Recreation Center on Cambridge Street for $4.1 million with funds from the 2018 bond.
The 120,000-square-foot center includes a fitness center, two indoor soccer fields and eight courts that can be used for basketball, volleyball and pickleball.
"Our amazing rec center was purchased with a portion of our 2018 bond issue," Sprouse said in his annual "state of the city" speech in February. "What a bargain that facility has been for the people of our city.
"When all renovations are complete, and including the purchase price, we'll have a total investment of less than $10 million for a building and parking that would easily cost $30 million to build today, and that doesn't include land costs."