Fort Smith planners present three Acme Brick master-plan options; community favors park with water feature

Scott Crawford of RDG Planning & Design and Brian Trusty of Pros Consulting presented three master-plan alternatives for the city-owned Acme Brick property, emphasizing that flood mitigation is the project’s primary purpose. The consultants said the city bought the property in 2023 to support stormwater mitigation, reclamation and parks amenities and that all three concepts meet the 100‑year storm mitigation requirement, though they differ in recreational programming and potential private development.

Crawford described concept 1 as focused exclusively on flood control using dry detention basins sized to mitigate a 100‑year storm. Concept 2 pairs the same flood-control performance with a wet basin or small lake on the west side, integrated trails, an island with adventure-play features and possible kayak or canoe rentals. Concept 3 blends the recreation concept with 13–15 acres of potential private development at the south end of the site.

The consultants said outreach included stakeholder and technical committees, a December public open house and an online engagement platform. As of a Jan. 8 data export, the project website had nearly 1,000 visitors and 54 contributions; RDG reported that roughly 53% of contributors supported Concept 2, with smaller shares favoring Concept 3 and Concept 1. Consultants told the board that the public consistently said flood mitigation must remain the central focus while many respondents preferred additional park amenities built on top of flood measures.

Board members pressed for technical validation. Director Neil Martin asked to see the stormwater management report and supporting engineering data produced by Half Associates so the board can verify that the concepts deliver the promised mitigation benefits. Scott Crawford said RDG coordinated closely with city engineers and Half Associates through the design process and that a stormwater management report will be produced as designs are finalized.

Directors also questioned budget and phasing: staff and consultants said cost magnitudes and the delta between dry and wet basins have not yet been developed and would be addressed in the next phase of master planning (part B), which will refine a preferred concept and apply magnitude of cost and phasing. Directors raised access and traffic safety at Old Greenwood Road, possible concession or private‑operator models, and how to package the final master plan to compete for foundation and grant funding.

The next steps: RDG will present a Part A interim deliverable to the Parks and Recreation Department and conduct a similar session with the Parks and Recreation Commission. Part B planning will refine the preferred concept, produce operational and pro‑forma analyses and apply cost magnitudes to support grant and private‑fundraising efforts.