City staff received permission Thursday to solicit bids up to $25,000 from contractors for a dog park at 3rd Avenue and University Drive named after former Pine Bluff Alderwoman Irene Holcomb.
The city’s Economic and Community Development Department has set aside $10,000 for the park, but department director Larry Matthews said an additional $10,000 is needed to install fencing. Members of the Pine Bluff City Council’s Public Works Committee agreed to forward the request for extra funding of up to $15,000 to the council at a future meeting.
Matthews said he did not expect bids from contractors to exceed $20,000 for work on the park.
“We have reviewed a number of dog parks,” Matthews said. “We have a good model in place. We’ll put it out to bid, see what the cost is, and by the second council meeting [of September] we’ll have those bids back.”
Holcomb told Aldermen Steven Mays and Bruce Lockett, who sit on the Public Works Committee, that she thanked them for considering the funding request because she considers the park part of her legacy. The land for the park was previously owned by the General Waterworks Corporation, which donated it to the city, Holcomb said.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“It was really a blessing from General Waterworks,” Holcomb said. “I have a picture of [Simmons First Foundation Chairman] Tommy May and myself accepting that land for the city. I got out there myself and with my hands picked up bricks and sticks.”
Lockett asked Holcomb to reach out to the Jefferson County Humane Society for support for the project, and Holcomb said she would.
“When it comes to the council for the budget adjustment, we may need support from dog-loving folks to say this is a great idea,” Lockett said.