Chandler announced he had learned earlier in the day that Marked Tree would indeed receive the full $225,000 grant for the parks awarded by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Recreation. He told city council members last week that the award amount had been limited to only $132,000 because of lack of funds.

The purpose of the public meeting was to hear from interested Marked Tree residents about what they would like to see included in the next grant proposal for the park.

The city council approved a grant proposal at its meeting last Monday for $250,000, but Willoughby said has participated in discussions with the mayor about reducing the grant request to $200,000 by reducing the cost of the concession stand.

The original proposal calls for a $250,000 concession stand, $150,000 for a splash park and $100,000 for playground equipment.

Willoughby opened the floor and welcomed input from the public.

Alderman Waylon Dunn expressed concern regarding funding.

"What if we don't receive our full amount," Dunn asked. "How will we fund these projects then?"

Willoughby replied that if the city didn't receive the amount requested, they then would have to reformulate a plan that reduced the cost of construction which might include deleting certain structures.

Dixon commented that the Department of Parks and Recreation would host a workshop to help decide how to delegate costs and reformulate plans if necessary.

"What exactly counts as concessions," asked Pam Wright, city clerk and treasurer and member of the parks and recreations committee. "Is all the equipment within the concession stands counted as part of the project?" Willoughby responded that only the actual structure of the concessions stand and restrooms merited the description for the grant.

"Then maybe the potential extra money would cover the expenses to get it up and running," Willoughby Said.

Then Linda Odell asked if the park would have a community building. Dixon commented that they were leaning towards building an open structure like a pavilion, which Willoughby affirmed by mentioning it had to be an open structure because the park was deemed an outside park.

There was discussion about repositioning the soccer fields to create an indoor community center but Willoughby said there wasn't enough time to have such plans approved.

Controversy then arose over the lighting of the fields versus extra structures such as a water park.

"What if these grants don't follow through," asked Brad Daniels. "Will we wind up with half built fields?"

He then inquired about where maintenance costs would be supplied.

"Sales tax alone isn't going to cover it," Daniels said. "We need lit fields so that we can host major tournaments and bring in crucial revenue to fund this field. If not, this will all be a failure."

Daniels then proposed that a well built ball park could be a huge financial asset to Marked Tree.

"In order for the ball fields to run right, which was the goal, we can host more tournaments and bring in money," said Candi Daniels. "How can something like a water park bring in similar revenue?"

"Other people have interests in this besides the ball fields," Willoughby replied.

Bonnie Thompson engaged in the conversation by mentioning how much revenue the fields could bring the city.

"When ball tournaments come to Trumann, which is located beside our bank, we stock up our ATM's as full as we can and by the end of the weekend they're completely empty," she said. "These tournaments generate local business."

Thompson also pointed out that without a ballpark to generate revenue, none of the other extra items in the park could be supported.

After further discussions on the logistics of what the park would include, Michael Scott inserted that the meeting was moving away from its original intent.

"Whatever figure we put down [on the grant], we got to pay it," Scott said. "You cannot spend money on what you don't have written down."

"Who's going to provide maintenance for this park," Sherry Hendrix asked. "The city? It's already behind schedule."

Willoughby replied that the presumed revenue from concession stands would fund maintenance.

"Remember that we passed a sales tax for a bond," said Wright. An eighth of a cent could cover maintenance costs. That is if all of us will shop at home."

"The purpose of this meeting was for the public to come to a general agreement," said Zack Tucker. "Why don't we suggest that the city council approve new plans that would include the cost of lighting all of the fields and if we don't receive it, then we could decide to cut out the option of completely lighting the field?"

At the close of the meeting, Willoughby mentioned that hopefully a decision would be made concerning plans for the fields by December based on the amount of grant money the city receives.