The El Dorado-Union County Recreation Complex board of directors has agreed to hold off on developing the second phase of a two-pronged plan to improve and expand the complex.
As a part of phase two, board members plan to use land that has been donated by PotLatch Deltic for future expansion, including a baseball field to accommodate older teens and adults.
Board members recently learned they'll have more acreage to work with when they begin hammering out the details of for phase two of the master improvement plan.
The first phase, which has been under way since late 2019, has largely been completed.
The $3-plus million project 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.
The soccer fields are expected to be ready for play by the spring of 2022.
Concession stands and additional restrooms to serve the south fields are the last remaining components of phase one, which is being covered by $2.7 million from the El Dorado Works tax -- a one-cent, city sales tax initiative that is geared toward economic development, infrastructure and quality-of-life projects -- and a $271,800 commitment from the El Dorado Advertising and Promotion Commission.
Thanks to a donation from Murphy USA, the city of El Dorado and Union County are coordinating efforts to install two, used kiosks that will be used as concession stands for the two new soccer fields and the four baseball and softball fields on the side of the facility.
The kiosks are used at MUSA convenience store/gas station locations across the country.
The city agreed to take care of the installation, while the county is making arrangements for and covering the costs of transporting the kiosks from Atlanta, Georgia.
Robert Edmonds, director of public works for the city, recently said the foundational, concrete pads are being built and the kiosks could be installed by the end of the year.
Complex board members have said the kiosks will come with a total of three restrooms that could possibly be open to the public, with at least one doubling as a first-aid station for players.
The board and members of the El Dorado City Council have also said an existing restroom facility that is adjacent to the Dumas Pavilion could be expanded to include more stalls.
The facility has four stalls each for men and women's units.
In addition to a new baseball field, phase two also entails parking lot improvements -- an issue that was raised during a regular Union County Quorum Court meeting in October -- and a recreational trail that encircles the complex.
To aid in the expansion, board members reached out to PotlatchDeltic to work out a deal to acquire property the timberland real-estate investment company owns just south of the complex.
Earlier this year, Potlatch offered to donate the property to the complex, having made two such donations in the past.
A land donation in the 1980s allowed for the initial construction of the complex with the north baseball and softball fields, 1 - 4, two pavilions, two playgrounds, eight RV sites and the center parking lot.
Another donation in the 00s made way for southward expansion with fields 5 - 8 and the two new soccer fields.
The latest donation was originally thought to be five acres but Greg Harrison, chairman of the complex board and a member of the Union County Quorum Court, said a recently-completed land survey showed there are nearly nine acres on the site.
In March, the city council agreed to cover the costs of the survey in response to a request by Potlatch for an easement to access other property it owns in the area.
The easement will run between fields 5 and 7 and behind the Dumas Pavilion on a new road that will extend to the parking lot of the new soccer fields.
During a complex board meeting on Nov. 5, board members said the additional acreage could make way for more ideas to be incorporated into phase two.
The new baseball field could host college games.
Complex board members entered into an agreement with South Arkansas Community College in March to use the Schoolboy Rowe field on the north side of the complex for games and practices for the newly launched SouthArk Stars baseball team.
Board members have said the new baseball field would be built to up to standards and regulations that would accommodate the college and older teens that play in youth leagues.
Additionally, board members could revisit an early conceptual design of the master plan that called for a splash pad/water feature in the playground area.
The design was presented years ago by ETC Engineers and Architects, Inc., who was asked to tweak the original master plan that was designed by local firm CADM Architecture in 2014.
ETC engineers called the water feature a "wish list item" that could be implemented in the future as money and space allowed.
Harrison said last month there is already space to expand the existing parking lot north of fields 7 and 8 and create 60 - 70 new parking spaces at the complex.
The county has agreed to repair the existing parking lot, which has long been one of the top complaints lodged by visitors to the complex.
During the October quorum court meeting, Union County Judge Mike Loftin said the county is waiting until the major construction projects in the master plan are completed before moving in to repair and overlay the parking lot.
In the meantime, the complex board has also agreed to wait a couple of years to assess how phase one projects impact complex operations -- in terms of revenue, expenditures and activity at the facility -- before trying to pursue funding and tweaking plans for phase two.