Amid a major renovation and expansion plan that has been under way for two years at the El Dorado-Union County Recreation Complex, the facility's board of directors is also taking on smaller improvement projects in an ongoing effort to make the complex one of the premier venues for youth athletics in the region.
Board members have said that though some of the work may seem minor in comparison to the $3 million-plus master improvement plan, the projects all work together for the betterment of the nearly 40-year-old facility.
With $2.7 million from the El Dorado Works tax and $257,000 from the El Dorado Advertising and Promotion Commission, the board has helped to oversee the implementation of the first phase of a two-pronged master plan for the complex.
Phase one includes two new soccer fields, two new baseball and softball fields and the completion of two existing baseball and softball fields, all on the south end of the complex; and the installation of turf, lighting and fencing on four older fields on the north end of the facility.
Adding to the mix is the donation of two kiosks from Murphy USA that will be used as concession stands to serve the south end of the complex.
The used kiosks will come with a couple of restrooms but board members have agreed that more restrooms are needed at the complex to accommodate the expansion and the increased activity that will come with it.
The group is exploring options for the restrooms, which will complete phase one of the master plan.
Phase two calls for a new baseball field to serve older teens and adults; repaving and expanding the parking lot; and a walking/bike path around the perimeter of the complex.
The complex board has agreed to stave off planning for phase two for a couple of years, allowing time to gauge how phase-one improvements will impact the complex.
In the meantime, board members are considering smaller improvement projects, which they discussed during a regular meeting July 30.
Some of the projects deal with signage.
Board chairman Greg Harrison said Clean Harbors has reached out with an offer to assist with an improvement project for the Dumas Pavilion, one of two pavilions at the complex.
The Dumas Pavilion is named after former El Dorado Mayor Mike Dumas, who now serves alongside Harrison on the Union County Quorum Court.
Clean Harbors has been a longtime supporter of the complex.
As a community service project, the company built the Dumas Pavilion about a year after the complex opened in the spring of 1985.
The company has also donated playground equipment and made other contributions to the complex over the years.
David Lee -- executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of El Dorado, who manages and operates the complex under a contract for services with the city of El Dorado -- said he has also spoken with Clean Harbors about plans for the Dumas Pavilion and he has an idea of what the company is looking to do.
"We have talked. It's been a few months ... I feel like we need a new sign that's not on top of the building," Lee said.
He explained that a sign denoting Clean Harbors as the sponsor of the pavilion sits on the roof of the structure, making it difficult for crews to maintain the sign.
"It's faded and everything. I think they want to put a new sign down below on the ground so that we can keep it clean. The one that's there now is hard to clean," Lee said.
He noted that crews recently freshened up the sign at the entrance of the facility. That sign is sponsored by Medical Center of South Arkansas.
The board is also working with the city of El Dorado to erect directional signs to identify and point visitors to fields, pavilions, RV sites, concession stands, restrooms and other amenities at the complex.
Harrison said the City Shop is making the signs.
He also inquired about the status of a delivery of Alabama topsoil.
The board voted in May to order three truckloads of the topsoil to resurface fields 5 and 6 -- softball and baseball, respectively -- on the south end of the complex.
Lee said he recently spoke with the supplier about the matter.
"He's supposed to be getting back to me on the price and arranging transportation. He's not going to come unless he has a load to take back," Lee told board members, referring a practice that is known as a dead run in trucking and other industries in which vehicles are used to generate revenue.