Residents view plans for Underwood Park during a public input session. (City of Fayetteville)FAYETTEVILLE — City officials are inviting residents to attend a public planning meeting to discuss and review some possible changes to the master plan for Underwood Park.
The meeting is scheduled from 6:15-8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 6 at Holcomb Elementary School’s cafeteria, located at 2900 N. Salem Road.
Underwood Park is in west Fayetteville on the site of the former Razorback Golf Course property on Dean Solomon Road. Preliminary plans show a basketball court, pickleball courts, a playground and a splash pad, green spaces, a boardwalk, trails, a dog park, a disc golf course and a performance space. Other amenities include ponds with kayak access and fishing piers, a bird-watching area, a hammock yard, a creek play area, pavilion, parking and restrooms.
The city developed a master plan for the area after gathering input from three public meetings and online questionnaires over the past 11 months.
Ted Jack, the city’s park planning superintendent, said input at the most recent meeting was generally favorable, but there were some requests that led to revisions.
At the most recent meeting on Sept. 27, Jack said residents asked city staff to study ways to reduce the impact of parking to nearby residents, as well as moving the pickleball courts further south and looking at ways to reposition the playground and splashpad to be closer to each other.
Printed copies of the plan will be on display alongside information boards and renderings. For those who cannot attend the meeting, the illustrations and a questionnaire will be available on Speak Up Fayetteville from Dec. 6-13.
Jack said once the plan is complete, it will be presented to the Parks, Natural Resources and Cultural Affairs Advisory Board for review. Once approved, consultants will be hired to prepare construction documents and put the project out for bid. If all goes well, construction could begin in fall 2024, he said.
