Revenue for Lions Club Municipal Golf Course is up more than $11,000 for the year and two new basketball courts just south of the pro shop have been busy since opening several weeks ago.
With a new public restroom expected to be completed soon near the courts and south side of the walking trail that encircles Lions Club, the El Dorado Parks and Playgrounds Commission is exploring ways to ensure that visitors and users of the three amenities continue to have an enjoyable and pleasant experience.
During a regular meeting earlier this week, commissioners noted that some preparatory work appeared to have begun sometime ago on the restroom but the project has since come to a standstill.
The public restroom will be the first to go up as part of a master plan to improve city parks.
The plan comes with several components that were included in three funding packages that were approved in 2021 by the El Dorado Works Board and the El Dorado City Council.
The EWB administers the El Dorado Works tax, a one-cent, city sales tax initiative that is dedicated to economic development, municipal infrastructure and quality-of-life projects.
Funding requests for proposed projects are presented to the EWB for vetting. If the projects are approved, the EWB forwards the proposals to the city council for a final vote.
The plan includes:
• A total of $186,740 to pave the recreational trail surrounding Lions Club Municipal Golf Course ($166,000); a powered lawn sweeper ($16,346) for LCMGC; five, park-style, charcoal BBQ grills for Neel, Mattocks, Mellor, Mosby and Old City parks ($2,417).
• A total of $89,052 for a used fairway mower ($38,380) and two utility carts ($9,262 apiece) for LCMGC; and $43,280 to build to two new basketball courts in Lions Club Park, which is located at the entrance of the golf course but has been shifted eastward.
• A total of $43,972 for a public restroom ($30,000) to serve the new Lions Club Park basketball courts and existing recreational trail; two new water fountains ($12,400), one of which will be installed on the north side of the recreational trail and the other, on the south end of the trail near the new basketball courts; and $1,572 for a new picnic table, which will also be placed near the basketball courts.
Work on the recreational trail was completed in February, the equipment has been purchased for the golf course, all of the BBQ grills have been installed and the new courts opened up a few weeks ago.
On May 24, Danny Carelock, manager of LCMGC, told commissioners that the golf course has also acquired a used sprayer for $8,000.
Commissioners discussed the matter last month. Carelock said then that the sprayer was up for sale by the Diamonte Country Club in Hot Springs Village and the machine had clocked 1,600 hours.
"It's got age on it. You can tell it's got age on it but everything functions fine and the guy had extra parts," Carelock told commissioners. "If I need something, I can call him and he'll send it to me and we can work it out with him."
Carelock said this week that golf course crews are awaiting drier weather to begin using the sprayer, which, commissioners have said, may also be used in other city parks.
The purchase was covered by funds from the 2022 city parks budget.
EPPC chairman Ken Goudy reported that as of April 30, revenue at the golf course is up by $11,240 over the same time period in 2021.
Monthly income jumped from $8,507 and $10,738 in January and February, respectively, to $20,544 and $30,729 in March and April.
By comparison, revenue was $3,463 in Feb. 2021, during which snow and ice storms significantly affected play at the golf course.
Revenue for January and March of 2021 was $8,911 and $23,427. Income for April far outpaced the $23,477 take for April 2021.
Restroom and other issues
Robert Edmonds, director of public works, told commissioners that the public restroom project is expected to be a 30- to 45-day build after work gets under way.
"Once they get the slab poured, it won't take long. It's just a concrete building," he said.
Last month, commissioners expressed concern about delays with the project, pointing out that a notice to proceed was issued in fall of 2021 to contractor Diversified Construction & Design.
Edmonds said a supply-chain snarl caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has affected construction projects nationwide.
Commissioners have agreed that the restroom will serve as a prototype to gauge how well it will work out and be maintained in the hopes of adding public restrooms to other city parks in the future.
City crews will handle daily maintenance, Edmonds has said, and the facility will come with timed locks to help prevent vandalism.
Parks and playgrounds commissioners and the city are looking to erect a fence around the new basketball courts as a safety measure to prevent loose balls from rolling into traffic.
The new courts are a part of Lions Club Park, which used to sit on the west side of the entrance into the golf course. The park had one basketball court and benches.
With two new, larger courts, the heavily-use park was shifted eastward and away from the LCMGC entrance, which is part of a four-way stop at the intersection of East 19th and Martin Luther King streets.
Edmonds said the city is planning more dirt work to smooth out a slope near the courts and while fencing was not a part of the original scope of work, it could be added upon the EPPC and council members' request.
Commissioners asked May 24 if the fence will extend to the restroom and Commissioner Glen Faust said the site of the restroom is too far away from the basketball courts to be included in the fencing.
The restroom will serve the courts and the recreational trail.
Commissioner Karen Hicks said the fence will also prevent people from driving on the courts.
The EPPC and golf course managers Carelock and Terri McCaskell noted similar issues with people driving motorized vehicles, including cars and ATVs, on the courts and recreational trail and playing loud music near the basketball courts, adding that the music is audible on the golf course and in the pro shop.
Commissioners discussed posting signs directing visitors to available parking spaces, no parking signs and signs prohibiting loud music.
"Why make a rule that we can't enforce?" Commissioner Karen Hicks asked.
"We might not be able to enforce it but at the same time, it's good to encourage a positive environment and it even gives other patrons there an opportunity to share the rules and say, 'Hey, this what the rules state,'" said Commissioner Greg Harrison.
Harrison also serves as chairman of the El Dorado-Union County Recreation Complex Commission and he said the group deals with similar issues at the complex.