Parks and Rec hears Creekside, music venue updates

The Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee met on Tuesday, March 5, and heard a good report on the progress at the Creekside Community Center. “The construction companies are doing an excellent job," Parks and Rec director Chuck Eddington said. “The aquatic center will be completed sooner than the gyms, but we will have to wait and open everything at the same time because of the sprinkler system for the whole complex.” The sprinkler system's controls will be located in the gym area and cannot be operational until that building is nearly complete.

The committee members laughed about an entirely metal and concrete pool area having to have sprinklers for fire suppression. Eddington explained that they were even required initially to have sprinkler heads mounted on the roof over the swimming pool. “But we finally were able to get that requirement waived, and that saved us about $10,000.”

The Parks and Recreation team is still working on many details before Creekside opens. Plans are underway to participate in the Silver Sneakers program for senior citizens.

He also announced that the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) has set Sept. 14-15 dates for a bike race in Harrison.

Mayor Jerry Jackson spoke to the group about the music venue the Council approved at the February meeting. “We are having an informative community meeting before City Council Committees meet at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 14, at City Hall.”

“We are very excited about the possibilities of activities a venue like this could provide for our community – for music, other performances, even outdoor weddings and festivals.” Jackson noted that other music venues exist in Harrison. The Bill Baker Amphitheatre was built 24 years ago to hold small performances and events on campus. To bring the amphitheater up to today’s expectations for a professional concert venue would require significant funding as major improvements would be necessary. “This venue has the full support of North Arkansas College,” Jackson said.

The mayor wants to make sure any questions the neighbors around Creekside or people in the community may have are answered by experts who know the business. "We know this is a big deal for the neighbors, but we can assure them that the concerts will conclude by 10 p.m. We can control the direction of the sound and hopefully limit inconveniences to the neighbors. We invite everyone to learn more about our plans for Creekside Amp."