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....