Benton Parks looking to acquire Cherry-Gingles area around River; Several other items in November meeting minutes

The December meeting for Benton Parks and Recreation is cancelled due to lack of agenda items, but the November meeting minutes are interesting enough.

The City of Benton is looking to acquire the Cherry-Gingles area around the Saline River. That’s about 13 acres shown on the map below. Parks also announced in their annual report that a Bike Park is coming in 2023. There were several other items discussed and approved as noted, including discussion of changes in the construction plans at Lyle Park.

The Parks Committee met on Tuesday, November 15th, 2022, in the Council Chambers and
agreed to the following.
Chairman Hart moved on to the approval of the October 11th, 2022. Alderman Knight made a
motion to accept the minutes. Alderman Baptist seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Chairman Hart moved on to Striders Request – Chairman Hart stated that this is the same request that the Striders seek annually. There is an annual budget of $4,000 and the Striders are looking for approval for the remaining $2,000 for the year. Jones stated that this is for informational purposes only.
Chairman Hart moved to the next item on the agenda, Auction Items – Chairman Hart asked the Committee members to review the attachment in the packet which lists the items to be sold at auction. These items are either old or not used. Alderman Baptist made a motion to prepare a resolution for Council to auction items listed in the packet. Alderman Knight seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Chairman Hart moved on to Budget Surplus – Chairman Hart stated that there is a list in the
packet of items sold at the previous auction. There is a budget surplus in the amount of $6,602.50 which will need a budget amendment to accept the surplus. Alderman Knight made a motion to accept these funds. Alderman Brown seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Chairman Hart moved on to the Senior Center Lease Agreement – Jones stated that the Mayor, City Attorney and herself met with CADC a couple weeks ago to discuss the contract. Jonesreported that in paragraph 7, CADC requested to keep their term at 3 years instead of 5 years.
Also, the City Attorney changed section I, paragraph 1, of the agreement that spells out the dollar figure for maintenance which comes from Community Development not Parks Department budget. This section also notes that after the $5,000 budget is expended then BSAC is responsible for maintenance costs. Alderman Baptist made a motion to approve the agreement with the changes mentioned. Alderman Brown seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Chairman Hart moved to the next item on the agenda, Tournament Pricing – Chairman Hart
referred to the attachment in the packet. Jones stated that in our efforts to improve economic
impact we are trying to give incentive to tournament directors for the outdoor tournaments on the baseball and softball fields. We are proposing to lower the deposit rate from $250 to $150 for each complex which will be non-refundable. We are also looking to discount tournaments based on the number of teams on the final invoice. For 20-29 teams, there would be a 5% discount. For 30-39 teams, there would be a 10% discount. For 40+ teams, there would be a 15% discount. This is only for teams playing in Benton. It will not be applied to tournaments that are splitting the tournament between cities. There was a short discussion regarding the deposit being too low. Alderman Knight suggested that we have a two-cancellation policy in place for tournament directors to cancel and not be allowed to reserve field(s) again. Jones stated that since this will be an ordinance, it will go into effect 30 days after it passes City Council. Anyone who has already made a reservation with us for 2023 will stay at the previous rate(s). Alderman Knight made a motion to accept the new tournament pricing. Alderwoman Reed seconded the motion. Motion passed. Mayor Farmer asked if it would be a benefit to adjust the tournament directors that have already made a reservation by allowing them to have access to the new tournament pricing. Alderman Knight amended his motion to make this tournament pricing retroactive to those organizations and teams that have already booked our fields for use. Alderwoman Reed seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Chairman Hart moved on to the Property Donation Acceptance – Mayor Farmer said they have been working with the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission to acquire 19 acres. It is called Cherry Demuth. Mayor Farmer went over some of the ideas and plans that were proposed to Arkansas Game & Fish Commission. Jones mentioned that there are a few things to note in the contract. Game & Fish is requesting that we continue to utilize this area for sport and recreational fishing, and to be used for no monetary gain. It will continue to be a public access area. Alderman Brown asked responsibility of cost for lights under the bridge. Mayor Farmer stated that we would be responsible for the cost, and he has asked Street Department to work with ARDOT on this.
Alderman Knight made a motion to approve the donation. Alderman Brown seconded the
motion. Motion passed.
Chairman Hart moved on to Other – Jones reported that Junior Rodemeyer has been dealing with the engineers at Lyle Park and there are some change orders that we would like to be transparent about. Rodemeyer stated that we were presented with three change orders at Lyle Park. One is to increase the concrete density from 4 inches to 6 inches. This is due to heavy duty traffic. The change order is $48,898.88. McClelland believes this is an accurate number. The 6 inches wouldbe rebar reinforced. Jones stated that this could increase the longevity of the property.
Rodemeyer stated that the second change order is $7,629.60 for an 18-inch-wide concrete swell on the northern edge of the boat ramp. Due to natural debris, water is coming onto the boat ramp which is causing a slick surface and causing erosion to the north side of the boat ramp. The last change order is no monetary value but an extension of the completion date to a total of 33 days and that included 12 days to re-engineer the park and the remainder days due to rain. We are looking the original contract amount of $696,522.00 to a new total of approximately $753,000.00. The completion date is around Christmas which is including the extension. Jones reported that the original completion date was in November. Alderman Knight stated that if we extend the completion date then we would lose the liquidated damages. He suggested that we calculate the liquidated damages and weigh those against the projects they want to do. Alderman Knight said that these change orders should have been in the scope of work prior to the signing of the project because they are not a result of the work being done. Mayor Farmer stated that he has talked to the senior engineer on the project and explained that he is not happy about the change orders. He does think we should increase the density for the sake of longevity as well as the swell to keep people from falling. Mayor Farmer does have a problem with the extension.
Jones stated that they will do their homework on the liquidated damages and talk with the
engineers.
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned.