The Eureka Springs Parks and Recreation Department has been busy in recent weeks.
At its monthly regular meeting Tuesday, Feb. 20, the parks commission heard an update from director Sam Dudley on the progress of various projects around the city.
“The last month we’ve got a lot of stuff done,” Dudley said.
Several improvements to the cabins at Lake Leatherwood have been completed, Dudley told commissioners, including renovations of cabins 1 through 4 and work on cabin 6.
“We got the cabins out at Leatherwood, 1 through 4, renovated, did some sheetrock work, new lighting, light fixtures, lots of painting,” Dudley said. “Cabin 1 and 6 both got new flooring installed. Cabin 1 looks amazing. I mean, the outside is still rough, but when you open the door, it’s like, oooh, it’s well-lit and doesn’t feel dingy and old.”
Other work has included a new entryway off Grand Avenue at Harmon Park that was funded by the city advertising and promotion commission, Dudley said.
“It’s the one next to the Bark Park,” he said. “…And [Feb. 22] we’re also installing water hydrants in the dog park site so we can get rid of the system of carrying gallon jugs in from the outside. It will look a lot nicer and people will appreciate it.”
Work that has garnered much attention continues at Basin Spring Park, Dudley said.
A new stairway at one of the park entrances has been completed, as has the removal of boxwood plants.
“I’m hoping by the end of probably next week we’ll be done with everything there,” he said.
One prototype bench got such positive reviews that Dee Bright with the Eureka Springs Preservation Society recently gave the department a check for $10,000 to redo more benches, Dudley told commissioners.
“The prototype bench that was built and put in the park, everyone loves it,” he said. “Everyone loved it so much that Dee Bright came in just immediately after and gave us a check to do the rest of them. So, we’ve got 12 more to go, I think.
“We’re in the process of ordering the lumber and hopefully it should be done for Memorial Day.”
Another project that was funded by the CAPC at Basin Spring is replacing the stairs that lead up to the bandshell, frequently used by bands and other groups that perform at the park, Dudley said.
“The stairs leading up to the bandshell on either side, they’re just rotten and worn out,” he said. “All this stuff is being funded by the CAPC, so a big thank you to the CAPC. Thank you for helping us with Basin.”
RATE INCREASES AT LAKE LEATHERWOOD
In other business, the commission voted 4-0 to approve new rate variances for the cabins and camp sites at Lake Leatherwood Park.
Commissioners approved lowest allowed rates and highest allowed rates depending on time of the year and demand.
New rate variances were approved of $125 to $275 per night for Cabin 1, which is the Family House. For Cabins 2 through 5, new rate variances will be $75 per night to $200 per night. For Cabin 6, the rates will be from $100 to $220 per night and for Cabins 7 through 9, the mini cabins, the rates will now be from $50 to $100 per night, according to the vote.
“It’s a change of mindset,” Dudley said of having minimum and maximum rental fees. “We may never charge that much [$275 for Cabin 1], but it’d be nice to have the authority to do so, especially as inflation increases.”
Commission chair Mark Ingram said most rentals are priced higher during high-demand times.
“As you think about a Memorial Day weekend or a Labor Day weekend or something where there’s a lot of demand, that might not seem that much to somebody on that weekend,” Ingram said.
“In the past we really had no flexibility. It’s been this amount, period.”
Commissioner Ruth Hager agreed.
“You’ll find with experience whether these [fees] work,” she said. “You may find that all of a sudden everyone in town is charging $500 a night and we’re too cheap at $200 or whatever and that’s why they’re coming here. We don’t want to be that kind of competition. We don’t want to bring the whole market down for everybody.”
Later in the meeting, Hager expounded on that topic.
“I want to make sure that we are always mindful of the fact that we’re not trying to charge less [for lodging] in order to steal business from other cabins and rentals in town,” she said. “We are different markets. We support each other. … It’s worth saying out loud that we’re aware of that and we’re not really in competition.
“There are no other Lake Leatherwoods in town that we’re actually in direct competition with. We are a unique thing. …” For Lake Leatherwood camping, RV sites will now rent for $38.50 per night, campsites with electricity at $30 per night, primitive campsites at $18 per night and group campsite at $66 per night.
Other new rates approved include rentals at Lake Leatherwood, with paddle boats now at $20 per hour, canoes at $20 per hour, kayaks at $15 per hour and paddle boards at $15 per hour.
