Pond work shaping up

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Work to turn the two ponds located on city-owned property along Flint Creek into a local fishing area is ongoing and plans to open a nature area where people can walk, fish or just observe nature is getting closer to reality every day.

Hub-Co and Associates, the firm contracted by the city, has diverted the spring-fed stream running though the area and removed years’ of silt accumulation in the two ponds. Currently, work is continuing to deepen the ponds to make them suitable for fi sh habitat and fi shing.

Once the work is complete and the ponds are full, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will stock the ponds.

The city received a grant for $83,000 from the Arkansas Department of Rural Services through its Wildlife Recreation Facilities Grant program to do work on the ponds as a part of turning the site into a nature area with fishing and trails. Approximately $10,000 of that money was spent on engineering and architectural services. The remainder is being spent on pond work.

To save money and get the project under way, the city decided to use silt from the ponds to build a berm to separate the area fromtraffic on Dawn Hill East Road and to haul away extra silt at a later date.

Trails, parking areas and other improvements are expected to be added as the city is able to complete the work, using volunteer labor and/or additional grant funding.

Related to the project, Jodye Pool recently completed a summer internship project funded by the Arkansas Department of Education to develop curriculum materials for students in grades K-12 to use the nature area for a variety of field trip studies. Copies of the curriculum are available at city hall and at the Gentry Chamber of Commerce.

News, Pages 3 on 10/02/2013