Flake Atalanta

There is a breath of in the city's possible Lake Atalanta plans, mostly in that there is not a two-mile water feature running from downtown Rogers to the lake. CEI Engineering, for as long as it's been involved in the Lake Atalanta "restoration" has been stricken with sky's-the-limit disease, proposing a project that would cost more than the entire parks portion of the 2011 bond issue, let alone the portion the mayor is allocating to this specific park.
But that does not mean all the superfluous expenditures are gone.
Morning News reporter John Gore barely contains his snicker by going to Mayor Steve Womack early in the story for a quote about how the Lake Atalanta plan is low on his list of priorities.

"“We have been very transparent about our plans. Clearly our No. 1 goal, which has been no secret, is the building of a nice outdoor aquatic center,” Womack said.

But if a manmade stream running from the somewhere around the Frisco Stage to Lake Atalanta seems ludicrous, you'll love what CEI has included in this latest draft.

• A splash pad: More realistically, this is a wading pool, but it would be filled with actual, honest-to-god Lake Atalanta water. And who wouldn't want that. Oh, yeah, all the people who would rather use the soon-to-be-demolished pool than swim in the filthy lake water.
• Paddle boats: And who's going to man the paddle boats rental booth? Must be a city employee, because Lake Atalanta has been a death trap to the few businesses brave or stupid enough to locate there. So the 2011 bond issue, if it includes this plan, would increase the city payroll. And then there's the issue of protecting the paddle boats, which means either more police officers or the current number of cops stretched even thinner throughout the city.
• A waterfall: And that's there because? No, I can't think of a good reason either. From the Wouldn't-It-Be-Cool department, CEI throws in a new waterfall, that would either require pumping water to the top or from the bottom of the waterfall. But, of course, we're only trying to preserve the beauty of Lake Atalanta.

Much of this plan is still contingent on a partnership with Arkansas Game & Fish, but And such an arrangement could be mutually beneficial. Some supporters, particularly the kind the post YouTube videos, would encourage you to call Game & Fish in support of a joint Lake Atalanta project. I might call myself. But while you're doing that, call your local elected official — you councilman or the — and insist that your bond money isn't spent simply to inflate CEI's ego and resume. It's clear this is still not the mayor's plan. Make sure he knows it's not your plan either.