THANK YOU!!!!! I don't know that there is a lot to say other than... WE WON. Bigtime. Official results are:

PARKS PROPOSAL - FOR 1140 AGAINST 390
TRAILS PROPOSAL- FOR 1141 AGAINST 395

That equals 74.5% to 25.5%

Seriously, great work to everyone that helped. The people of Conway stepped up and made the right decision. I really believe that years from now kids and parents playing on these fields will still be thanking the folks who voted for this bond issue.

Y'all are the best.

No such thing as bad publicity

So I hope. Here is our coverage from last night. Check them out. Pass them along.

http://www.todaysthv.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=46988

http://www.fox16.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoid=47402@video.fox16.com

http://arkansasmatters.com/content/fulltext/?cid=56557

KATV 7 did a story as well. Still looking for a link. I think they were all great stories. Hopefully the attention will motivate our positive voters.

Guest Starring

Tab Townsell as...The Mayor. I'm going to allow a rare guest author post on the RunandPlay blog. Mayor Townsell has written a comprehensive summary of the parks election. I think it wraps things up well. JG

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2007 Parks Bond Issue June 12 Election Day - Early Voting at Courthouse NOW

PARKS BOND ISSUE: The Basic Facts

• No New Taxes. The two cent prepared food tax already exists. Tax rate will not go up!


• One cent of the prepared food tax will be extended to 20 years from a scheduled sunset in November 2008. The other cent was already permanent and will not change.


• The bond issue will be $13.5 million; ALL dedicated to parks.


• The one cent to be extended will be dedicated to paying the debt service on the bond issue.


• Three quarters of the “permanent” one cent will be available for other park projects not included in the bond issue. This will generate about $800,000 annually before inflation and growth. This extra money is NOT included in the bond issue but available OVER and ABOVE the proceeds of the bond issue.


• This money can only be used for parks! By State law it can NOT be used for anything else.

The Bond Issue Work Program:

• Girl’s Softball Complex: $3.5 Million The turn-key cost of a four field complex is estimated at $2.5 million dollars. The city wishes to build four if not five fields as a home for the girl’s softball. Currently, the girl’s program has no home but “borrows” the UCA softball complex. The girl’s complex will be located in a newly purchased park land at Siebenmorgen Road and Bob Courtway Drive. This park will also have playgrounds and walking trails among other amenities.


• Boy’s Baseball Complex: $7.5 Million Complete remodeling of the YBMA Park to build nine boy’s baseball fields replacing the ancient and embarrassing fields currently in use. Other amenities will include playgrounds, spray parks, and a small lake. (Not all other amenities may be included in the initial construction depending on budget)


• Relocation of County Fairgrounds $1 Million Acquisition of land and development of new fairgrounds; removing the fair and fair buildings from the YBMA Park allowing full redevelopment of that park. Relocation was a condition of the city’s deeply discounted purchase of the YBMA Fairgrounds for $75,000 when its actual worth was arguably between $2 and $4 million dollars.


• New Trails Construction $1.5 Million Construction of new trails which will more than double the current length of bike/walking trails in the city. #1 Trail Priority: The Stone Dam Creek trail in south Conway from UCA along the creek across South Donaghey towards South German Lane. #2 Trail Priority: Continued extension of the Tucker Creek Trail up Tucker Creek north and east across Salem Road, across College Avenue, across Prince Street, through the new Pompe Park at the corner of Prince Street and Morningside Drive to Gatlin Park on Tyler Street.

THE BOND ISSUE HELPS ALL PARK PROJECTS GET DONE FASTER. THE MAIN QUESTIONS: You are already paying the tax . . . How long until you see benefits? Will your children benefit? The City Council CAN NOT issue bonds (borrow money) without the public’s approval. You can help get all these Park Improvements and ONLY Park Improvements much quicker by voting for the bond issue. How long do you want to wait?

...for early voting. These are just some of our friends and neighbors who took the time to go vote. Let's keep it up.

David A. Clark-Brad Lacy-Tom Courtway-Laura Grimes-David Grimes-Jerry Glover-Robert Leffert-Melanie Lenser-Pete Tanguay-Lindsey Davenport-Amy Shiew-Margaret Grimes-C. Rebecca Harris-David St.John-TJ Johnston-Amy Reed-Kathy Wyrick-Mary Margaret Satterfield-Chris Campolo-Thomas Mickel-Glenn Hogue-Mark Ledbetter-Mitzi Reynolds-Jennifer Allison-Whitney Allison-Johnny Allison- Ray Kordsmeier-J. Mark Ferguson-Michelle Talley-Daniel Allen-Debbie Plopper-Blake Browning Jr.-Joseph S. Smith-Lisa Cooley-Drew Gainer-Clay Parker-Blayne Sharpe-Greg Sanson-Darrell Walsh-Holli Caughern-Travis Mulhearn-Michael O. Garrett-John D. Vondran-jay B. Castleberry-Richard Ryerson-Joel Hawkins-Laura Hill-Deanna Wimberly

I can't say how these folks may have voted, but at least they have voted. Have you? Early voting is open. It's slow and steady. Which doesn't necessarily win the race in an election. If you haven't already voted, please do. You can early vote at the courthouse from 8:00am-4:30pm until election day, June 12th. Let's win this thing!!!

Thanks for early voting.

What is one vote worth?

$9,000.

Give or take a view bucks. You weren't expecting such a firm answer were you? I'll explain. I really think that given the time of year, the projects included and the source of money, this election will not have a big turnout. I think that 1,500 votes FOR the Parks Bond Issue will be enough to pass it. The bond issue will raise $13.5 million for parks improvements. Divide that money by 1,500 votes and you get... $9,000 per vote.

People say that one vote doesn't make a difference. That may be true when you are talking about the lesser of two evils in a political race. But this election isn't about choosing sides in an political argument. It's about real money, real projects and making a positive lasting change for Conway NOW.

It's worth your time to vote. One household could justifiably take credit for $18,000 worth of parks construction. Every person you get to go vote for the bond issue... that's another $9,000 in shared credit and benefit. Make a difference. Go vote. Vote FOR the Parks Bond Issue. It's probably the last time you will be able to contribute $9,000 towards our city's future with so little effort.

Early voting starts today (Tuesday). Please take advantage. Just go to the courthouse and vote on the bottom floor. It will literally take seconds. Early voting will last until the election on June 12.

When you come to a fork in the road...take it.

The bond issue is solid. After a joint meeting between the Parks Advisory Board and the City Council last night, we have clear direction on trails. For those of you who have been following the process, the bond election will include a proposal for $1.5 million worth of trails. The Council and Advisory Board set two priorities for this money.

Priority "A" is to begin work on a new southern trail along Stone Dam Creek. We have a loose plan/route. Now we will start retaining easements along the creek. The trail will be built to the same standards as the Tucker Creek Trail. Over time the trail could run from the UCA campus south to South German Lane.

Priority "B" is completion of the Tucker Creek Trail. We already have 90% of the easements retained. We are also a little farther along regarding engineering. This will take the trail from the Dave Ward WalMart on the west all the way to Gatling Park. (the one across of Brierwood Pool)

We are going to work on both of these projects at the same time. I think that the Parks Advisory Board and the City Council are committed to seeing a true trails system in place for Conway. This is the start. We are spreading the love. Please help.

Too Many Balls in the Air?

Have any of you ever felt this way? At first, something seems manageable then...it grows. It can be overwhelming. The parks bond discussion is growing. It's important to remember that this bond issue will guarantee parks funding from the prepared food tax for the next 20 years. Should it fail, parks funding from the prepared food tax will be cut by more than 50%. That is the wrong direction for our city to go. We have got to first play catch up and then start building for the future.

The four projects funded by the bond issue are only half of the story. The bond issue is funded by 1 cent of the 2 cent "burger tax." The other penny will help fund our other parks programs. We still have needs at the soccer park. We still need more playgrounds. We have existing parks that need a general overhaul. Trying to do those things with one penny rather than two isn't going to work. Voting yes on the bond issue isn't just voting yes to baseball, softball and trails. It's voting yes to secure funding for our entire parks program.

Everyone who has a strong opinion about our parks seem to be in agreement. We need more and better parks. That is the problem. The bond issue is part of the solution. Vote yes on June 12th.

It's official

The city council just voted to put the proposed parks bond issue on the ballot June 12th. I have a fully spelled out works program in a number of of posts below. To quickly review, the bond issue will do the following:

• Build a softball complex for our YSAC teams. This could be 4 or 5 fields depending on final budget and layout. The fields will be located on 2o acres recently purchased at Siebenmorgen and Bob Courtway.


• Build 9 youth baseball fields at the former YBMA fairgrounds. The former fairgrounds will also be the site for a proposed new Boys and Girls Club, playground/sprayground, pond and undesignated greenspace.


• Expand our trails system. The bond issue will allocate $1.5 million towards new trails. This is enough to more than double the length of the Tucker Creek trail. We are meeting with the parks advisory board this week to hammer out trail details.


• Relocate the fairgrounds.

I expect the blog to be busy in the coming days. We need your help forwarding this information to other parks advocates. Keep checking the blog for up-to-date info.

Sorry for the longish break between posts. That's a killer for all you loyal return visitors. I won't let it happen again. Like everyone else downtown, I was a Toad Suck Daze refugee/attendee. Great festival, great weather. We, at city hall, are almost fully recovered from serving as ToadHQ for three days. It's all about family fun and scholarships. We are happy to do whatever we can to help.

Now for a "ConwayRunandPlay Websclusive." (It's cheesy, but I've never had the opportunity to write stuff like that before and I don't know if I will again) The city council will address the proposed Parks Bond Issue in their regularly scheduled committee meeting tomorrow night at 5:30. It is my hope/expectation that they will vote during business meeting at 6:30 to put the issue before voters on June 12th. I will try to get a real time update on the blog.

On a separate topic, I really appreciate the emails I've been getting from many of you. Feel free to leave comments on the site. I still need emails from any of you want to be involved on any deeper level. I look forward to putting together a team to work on this. We are going to have to work together to get this thing done.

How old are you now? How old are you now?....

It's my birthday. I'm 29. I'm not sweating it. 29 is the new 26. It's true that time flies when you're having fun. I've had a lot of fun since I arrived in Conway full-time as a freshman at UCA in fall of 1996.

Enough about me. How old are you? How old do you want to be when we build out our parks the way they should be? If we do nothing, and just pay as we go with our prepared food tax, it will take 9 more years to finish the projects we've been reading about. The alternative is to pass a parks bond issue and build it now.

The last eleven years have flown by for me. But ask a 4 year old to wait 9 years for a new little league field. Ask a 6 year old to wait 9 years before learning to ride a bike on the trail. Maybe we should just wait 9 years to take up our own running/walking program. We can do these things now and with no increase in taxes. This proposal is the difference between an entire age group (if not generation) of kids having the parks facilities they deserve or not.

I'm sorry if today's post is a little preachy, but, "it's my birthday and I'll cry if I want to."

This land is your land, this land is my land...

I'm not sure that I have taken the time, in one post, to summarize all of the land the city has purchased recently for parks. So, here it goes:

• YBMA Fairgrounds - Robins St. - 40 acres. Across the street from Sallie Cone School. The plan is to build 9 youth baseball fields ( two 4plexes and one "signature field"), a large playground/sprayground area, a pond, a new site for Boys and Girls club and undesignated play/greenspace.


• "Pompe Park" - Prince and Morningside - 20 acres. This land is split in two by Tucker Creek. We want to reserve the park for greenspace and extend the Tucker Creek Trail through it. It's great natural property and can serve as a jumping in/off point for those using the trail system.


• Softball Park - Siebenmorgen and Bob Courtway - 25 acres. Adjoins the Bob Courtway school. Plans are to build a 4plex for recreational and competitive softball. There is room to grow here. The fields will also offer game and practice flexibility that YSAC has never had.
  

If you are keeping score at home, you already know that the total is 85 acres. That is 85 acres of land spread throughout the core of our town. Its not tucked away or far flung. These are smart, recognizable locations. Prince, Robins, Siebenmorgen. This is lasting change for our city.

*pic above is Woody Guthrie, singer/writer of "This land is your land"

Helloooo softball!

The mayor says hi. That's him, waving hello from the middle of the 25 acres recently purchased for youth softball. This land is at the corner of Siebenmorgen and Bob Courtway. I took this picture standing just off of Siebenmorgen (north end of the property). The property runs well into the far treeline and across the fence to the left all the way to Bob Courtway School. (Schools and parks adjoining each other? Now that's a neat idea.)

I spoke with the commish/president/czar/chief cheerleader of YSAC (softball group) today about the current landscape of youth softball. He informed me that we have 44 teams in Conway. Those teams play on three fields at UCA and their window for games is tight to say the least. UCA also isn't able to allow practice on those fields. Practice takes place in available open spaces or on three makeshift practice fields at YBMA. In no way are our facilities adequate.

The proposed 4 field complex at Bob Courtway may be only one field bigger than what we are using now, but it will allow flexibility for games and practice schedules. It will truly be a home for youth softball in Conway. Tournaments, practices and games could be scheduled on YSAC's terms. For YSAC, as a tenant at UCA, it's basically the difference between owning and renting.

I hope that all of you make use of the Tucker Creek trail between Salem and Hogan. It's a great asset for runners, walkers, shortcutters, bikers, dog walkers (we are currently working on putting clean-up stations along the trail), strollers, etc.

It's current running length is approximately 1.5 miles. After some help from our city engineers, I found out this morning that if we extend the trail along Tucker Creek all the way to Tyler, we would be able to add another 1.75 miles. We would also have multiple access points (parking/potty/etc) along the trail. We hope that a major "trailhead" would be at the new Pompe Park at Prince along with Gatlin Park on Tyler.

I, for one, think it would be great to be able to do a down and back 10k and never leave the trail. Not to mention (why do people always say this before they mention something) the healthy and safe transportation a comprehensive trail system offers. I think the trail system is our best chance, as a city, of adopting a "parks lifestyle." The more we get out, get active and get involved the better off we are all going to be.

Speaking of getting involved....please email me at jljgates@gmail.com if you want to exercise your civic muscles and help us with this cause.

"Long way to go and a short time to get there..."

Thought that it might be necessary to give a sequence of events / timeline if we are to do a bond issue in time to get any construction done this year. It is possible that we could meet the following timeline. However, we would need some help and things to fall into place.

1. Work with the council to establish a scope of work. This includes the total dollar amount ($13.5+m is what we've been kicking around), and the projects we would work on (Former Fairgrounds, Softball Complex, New Fairgrounds, Trails).


2. The council would adopt a bond election ordinance setting the ballot title and date of the election.


3. 30-45 days later - ELECTION DAY!
   

If we were to schedule a special council meeting some time next week, we could possibly adopt an election ordinance on May 8th and hold an election on June 19th. That would be an ambitious schedule, but I would be willing to go forward with a great plan now rather than a *perfect plan later. I've got to remind everyone, that this effort cannot go forward without a lot of help from Conway's citizens. Specifically, those who know how inadequate our parks infrastructure is and are ready to do something about it.

Editor's note *there ain't no perfect plan

Ask not what your parks can do for you...

I am looking for a few good men and women to enlist in the cause. Basically anyone who feels that Conway does need more and better parks and is willing to help with the parks bond campaign. Everyone is eligible to help. Please forward the link www.conwayrunandplay.blogspot.com to anyone you think might be interested. I've been brainstorming on some natural partner organizations:

• Women Can Run


• Conway Youth Baseball


• Conway Youth Softball


• Boys and Girls Club

If you are in these organizations or know someone who is please email me at jljgates@gmail.com.

I look forward to plotting and scheming for the good of all things park with you.

WHY-BMA?, Cause its gonna be great.

OK. I'm a little leary of putting images out on the web that aren't quite ready for public consumption. However, these are especially exciting to look at. This is not a finished product and we have some proposed changes. But, hopefully the new baseball/parks facility at the former YBMA fairgrounds will look something like this.

The changes.

1. Boys and Girls Club is shown getting 2 acres. That's more than they need (I am on the board) We should probably reduce that to 2/3 of an acre.
2. The Boys and Girls Club will most likely move to the NE corner and the "signature" field will go to the NW corner. This will allow for a Robins Street entrance and some more greenspace.
3. The mayor has kind of a laundry list of other tweaking. Permeable parking surfaces that serve as greenspace or playspace, drop-off locations, sidewalk surrounding the park and plans to recapture the land under and around the watertower should it be relocated. (that may be in the works)

This plan should address our current recreational and competitive baseball needs. It also serves as a perfect home for the Boys and Girls Club. The price tag should be around $7m. We could pass a bond issue and do it now or we could wait 10-12 years.

This is a park to be proud of as opposed to the blighted facilities we have now. This is the park people expect to see when they come to a town like Conway. Let's give it to them. Let's give it to ourselves.

The Land that Time Forgot (and WalMart almost bought)

Spent the afternoon surveying the 20 acres of park land the city is in the process of buying at Prince and Morningside. (WalMart wanted this rezoned commercial. They said they only needed to "move" the creek) It is an amazing piece of property. There is not a better looking section of Tucker Creek. I want to do some research on a low impact route for the trail that takes full advantage of the natural assets. If anyone knows a good conservation resource let me know. The property has some nice open space for play along with some great woods for a real preserve type setting. I'm excited. I can't wait to go back when its not so humid.

Excuse my layout skills. I told you I was new at this.

Why Burgers? Why Now?

I think bonding the A and P prepared food or "burger tax" is the best way to pay for these improvements for a number of reasons.

1. A big part of the prepared food tax is paid by people who don't live in Conway but the parks are mainly for the benefit of those who do. I know that I eat out a ton (it shows, that's why I should Run and Play more) but when you go to the restaurants surrounding Conway Commons or close to the interstate, they are filled with folks from out of town or out of state. I prefer to use other citizens money to pay for our parks.


2. We can raise the money without raising the tax. By extending the second cent for the life of the bonds (20 years) we can make our improvements now. If we don't pass the bonds and wait to pay as we go it would take ten years to build out these parks. With the bonds, we can complete these projects in 2 years and still use the first cent to do other parks projects.


3. By using bonds we get today's prices for construction, not the prices for construction 10 years from now. We also get to keep using our first cent of A and P taxes to improve existing parks and meet our other growing needs.

Its gonna take an election to do this. An election is gonna take work. We will always have anti's. We will always have nitpickers. I want more and better parks and I want them now.

*Editor's Note - The above image is not equating the prepared food tax to theft or encouraging the theft of hamburgers. I am only encouraging all of you to "Robble, Robble" as many burgers as possible to speed up paying for parks.

In a nutshell

The most recent estimates for the parks improvements listed above (youth baseball and softball, new fair site, and trail system) are somewhere around $13 million. I know that sounds like a lot, but trust me, its easy to get there in the public realm. The breakdown would look something like this:

• YBMA Fairgrounds (40 acres)-$7.5 million. This includes 9 ballfields, playground, sprayground, pond, walking trails, site for Boys and Girls Club and open space. This should be enough fields to handle current recreational and competetive play.
• Softball Fields (25 acres)- $3.5 million. Essentially the corner of Bob Courtway and Siebenmorgen. Park will include 4-5 fields, 2 creeks and other park amenities to be designed. This park hasn't gone to the master planners yet.
• Tucker Creek Trail (1-1.5 mile expansion)-$1.5 million. The highlight of this expansion will feature a 20 acre park at Morningside and Prince. (sale pending) We can extend the trail from the Salem Road access point all the way to Gatlin Park on Tyler.
• New site for the Fair - $1+million. In order to get the most bang for our buck out of the YBMA fairgrounds, we need a new site for the Fair. The site could also host other large community events.

I don't think anyone disagrees that Conway needs these things. For a city of our size, we don't have the quality or quantity of parks facilities we need. Typically, we don't disagree until we start talking about how to pay for it. Here's one way to do it. Conway currently has a 2 cent tax on prepared food. If we bond the second cent for 20 yrs it will raise $13.5+ million. This will take a vote of the people. Can we pass it? Yes. Will we? Not without help. More later....

Now what...

So...I've created my first blog. Judging from others I have read, my life was neither exciting nor boring enough to document daily. That's why this blog is dedicated to an issue I feel strongly about rather than personal comings and goings.

That issue is the future of Parks and Recreation within the city of Conway. Specifically, how we can pay for it. I hope that we, as voters, will have an opportunity this summer to vote on a $13 million bond issue to do the following:

• Renovate and finish the former YBMA Fairgrounds
• Build Youth Softball Complex at Siebenmorgen and Bob Courtway
• Purchase site for new Fairgrounds and other community wide events
• Expand Tucker Creek Trails System

We will flesh out plans for each of these later in the blog. Its doable. We can do it without raising taxes or fees. Its going to take a lot of work. Who's coming with us?