The Parks commission empowered Interim-Director Scott Miskiel to sell the two hog traps Parks owns to replace with new ones.
The topic of feral hogs in Lake Leatherwood City Park has come up through the years and came up once more at Parks’ regular meeting on June 15 with Miskiel saying that feral hogs are becoming an issue again.
Due to the terrain of where evidence of the hogs has been found, Miskiel said the current traps in Parks’ possession were inadequate due to their lack of portability. Citizen Pat Costner had gone to Miskiel to suggest speaking with Arkansas Game & Fish to get advice on how to proceed.
Costner spoke of her experience in Public Comments as well about having employees of AG&F come out to her property to exterminate feral hogs. She described it as highly organized and that they were not out on her property for more than a total of three hours in three days and their service had been provided with no cost.
Miskiel said he would speak with AG&F before selling the traps to get a better understanding on what to do next.
Commissioner Sue Hubbard asked if the new traps would function on the sloped ground prevalent in the Park. Miskiel said that the trap uses flexible netting but that he didn’t know anyone personally who has used the traps. The amended motion, which passed unanimously, also directed Miskiel to speak with AG&F before purchasing new ones.
Watershed Conservation contract is a go
During Public Comments, arborist Chris Fischer expressed support for the commission to enter into contract with Sandi Formica and the Watershed Conservation Resource Center to improve the water quality of Leatherwood Creek and Lake Leatherwood.
“What Ms. Formica brings… is a proven track record and is highly regarded in the conservation trade for her teamwork in fixing problematic stream banks and improving the riparian landscape for many communities in Northwest Arkansas,” Fischer said.
The contract was on the agenda and Chair Kevin Ruehle said that he couldn’t add much more after what Fischer had said. Ruehle said he was impressed with Ms. Formica’s knowledge and that her job would be to assess the health and quality of Lake Leatherwood and Leatherwood Creek and to advise on how to increase and maintain their quality in the future.
The motion to engage in the consulting agreement passed unanimously.
Other Items
- Commissioners voted to sell Parks’ dump truck and skid steer and to allow Miskiel to purchase a new truck and dump trailer with a cap of $35,000. Costs of selling the dump truck and skid steer are to be used to offset costs of the new assets.
- In Director’s Comments Miskiel said that core sampling would begin on June 16 in Basin Park and parts of the park would be blocked off. He also said that Wolf Tree Services would be removing the dead trees that Parks voted to remove previously this year from various parks.
- Michael Shah requested that Parks add walking only trails to the Miner’s Rock area.