WHAT'S THE LATEST ON THE MALVERN PLAY WAVE?

[CAPTAIN ALEVE]

Can anyone give us an update on the current status of the ACC’s man-made play wave project on the Ouachita River at Malvern?

Here's some drawings from the plans for a surfing play wave at the Tanner treet Bridge in Malvern:


Event Area Perspective sketch by CaptainAleve, alias Mike Coogan, on Flickr


Event Area Schematic by CaptainAleve, alias Mike Coogan, on Flickr


A brief timeline for the project is:

..............1998 - ACC initiates project to build a minimum release surfing/play wave
..............1999 – ACC requests Highway Dept. to build access at Tanner Street bridge
..........................and make new bridge piers wide to avoid wrapping boats, Hwy. Dept. agrees
..............2003 – ACC collects donations to pay ($1,800) for wave design company (REP) site
..........................visit; City of Malvern joins project, uses its name on 404 Permit Application
..............2004 – Malvern receives 404 Permit
..2005 thru 2007 – REP designs a combined low and high flow wave; ACC is instrumental in
..........................acquiring two large grants ($50,000 and $75,000) for Malvern for project; ACC
..........................raises money from its members and donates that to Malvern ($12,000); ACC receives
..........................a grant for the project from Entergy ($10,000)
.............2007 – Two bid letting attempts using REP plans fail, bids too high
.............2008 – Malvern, ACC, AGFC agree to seek new design
.............2009 – ACC pays for site visit ($2,000) by new design firm, MWDG; ACC President
..........................Burroughs appoints Walter Felton, Cowper Chadborn, Scott Hanshaw, Debbie Doss and Marcell
.........................Jones to represent the ACC for the project
.............2010 – Malvern hires MWDG to produce preliminary plans for fundraising use; 404 Permit expiration date
..........................extended
.............2011 – MWDG delivers the plans and cost estimate, more funds ($300,000) needed to build
.............2012 – Malvern representative Jeff Short says no grants have been applied for

2012 was the last time I received information on the project. I emailed several members of the Malvern committee working on the project, but have not received any replys yet. Anyone have more recent info?

The plans from MWDG are available online at

http://malvernwave.wordpress.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Mike Coogan, alias Captain Aleve

[CAPTAIN ALEVE]

I have heard back from Jeff Short and Ted Smethers who represent Malvern. Ted (a former ACC state president) said he is no longer active in the project. Jeff said they are still looking into the possibility of obtaining a grant from the Arkansas State Parks Department, as they were a year ago, so I'm not sure how long that process takes or what the chances of getting that grant are.

The 404 Permit was originally for 6 years and the extension was for another 5 years; it expires in 29 months. Over half of all whitewater parks have been built using private donations, usually from a single donor. Maybe advertising the project in some broadly ciruclated periodicals like the Malvern, Hot Springs, and Little Rock newspapers could help locate a "sugar daddy". Maybe the ACC newsletter could be used to seek benefactors.

Mike Coogan, alias Captain Aleve

[CAPTAIN ALEVE]

Further email from Malvern representatives indicates that they are doing nothing for the play wave project or the walking trail extension to the Tanner Street bridge. It appears that the Malvern committee for the wave project (which includes members of the ACC) has given up on the idea. An infusion of new blood is needed to move this project along. Or maybe a new approach to the concept would be the best path. Maybe rather than an expensive professional level rodeo hole, a fun play wave for ordinary folks could be built with the available funds. A fun surfing wave (or waves) similar to the waves found on the Little Missouri Tailwater would be something a lot of people could enjoy. I'm talking about making something more like what we have now at the Rockport ledge that is just upstream, which is great entertainment for a wide variety of folks. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has the heavy equipment and experience necessary to construct such waves. Heck, the wave below was built entirely by hand. It didn't last, but heavy equipment could solve that problem.


Surfing Kayaker by CaptainAleve, alias Mike Coogan, on Flickr




The real problem is finding people willing to work on the project, people willing to sit down with Malvern's Mayor and the AGFC and get this project moving forward on a lesser scale, one suitable for a wider range of river users.

Mike Coogan, alias Captain Aleve

[maggiepowell]

I think if we put some real effort into procuring funds for the professional built project, then we could reconstruct the model to appeal to a variety of boaters. Due to my lack of experience in this effort, I have very little knowledge about who to contact to ask for funds or grants. But it seems to me that there as been very little effort to market the project besides the commitee and those folks in Malvern. If the ACC is truly serious about proceeding on this project then we need to initiate a fundraising campaign to publicize the projoct and emphasize the benefits to the Malvern area.

Just my two cents.

Plus, we do need to talk with the BOD if this is something we want to pursue for the club as a whole...as part of our vision for the future of the club.

It may be time to review the goals and vision of the club so that we are not neglecting our members needs and desires. Every organization should have a vision and a list of quantifiable goals by which they can measure their progress.

Maggie

[turboturtle]

If I'm not mistaken, someone who's name might appear in these pages gave all moneys saved to the City of Malvern for their construction projects. That's all I'm going to say! If I'm wrong, so be it. I will be corrected on this link

aka doB