Alma Water Park offers lessons for Fort Smith, Sebastian County

story by Marla Cantrell
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Fort Smith and Sebastian County officials are looking at two plans for a proposed water park at Ben Geren, at a cost of $4.75 million for the smaller project and $7.5 million for the top-end model.

Alma Mayor John Ballentine is the only official in the area who knows what it’s like to operate a water park. His advice to Fort Smith? Expect the unexpected.

“First couple of years it’s just glorious,” Ballentine said. “And then things start breaking down. They’ll say, ‘They only have a pump in Kansas, and this slide’s down.’ Those things cost. There’s tremendous maintenance.”

Last year, Alma bought backups for every pump in the park. The city was tired of waiting for the inevitable crisis to hit.

And then there are the lounge chairs.

“They tear up chairs like crazy,” Ballentine said. “We have to replace them about every two years. The lounge chairs don’t last. You spend $5,000 or $10,000 on lounge chairs.”

And there are lots of chairs.

“When the family comes, you have a grandma and a mama and four kids, grandma’s sitting over there taking up a chair,” Ballentine said. “Mama’s sunbathing and she has a friend who’s sunbathing. It takes a big area. You think about it, you have 800 people swimming, you probably got another 400 sitting in the chairs.”

The initial renovations to Alma’s pool cost approximately $1 million. And last year Alma spent $250,000 to operate the park.

“It cleared maybe $30,000,” Ballentine said.

BALING HAY BRAINSTORM
It’s also an auditor’s nightmare. Cash flows as freely as water, and all that money must be accounted for. There are daily runs to the bank and books to be reconciled regularly. It’s a lot different than tracking checks, or credit and debit cards.

Still, it was the mayor’s idea. One summer day in 1999, the mayor started brainstorming.

“I was out baling one day, trying to figure out what we could do to bring people to town, because we don’t have a renovated downtown like Van Buren, we don’t have a riverfront like Fort Smith, we don’t have the alcohol sales like Garrison Avenue, so why would anyone want to come to Alma and spend a day?” Ballentine said. “I thought, well, water park.”

The mayor took the idea to the council. Then he spearheaded a move to organize an Advertising and Promotions commission in the town of 5,000 and get an A&P tax approved. Once that was accomplished, the project began. Alma’s pool was in much better shape than the pool at Ben Geren Regional Park in Sebastian County but it still needed a major overhaul.

Fort Smith is considering allocating $4 million for support of a water park at Ben Geren with an annual $130,000 budget to support park operations. The funds could come from a 10-year, 10% reallocation of the 1-cent street tax that generates around $20 million a year.

PARK SUCCESS, COSTS
If Alma is any indication, it should be popular. Last year more than 52,000 people came to the water park. That’s more than 10 times the city population. Local businesses can’t get enough of the crowds.

“You come to our park, you drive by 90% of our restaurants to get there,” Ballentine said. “Same thing when you leave. So, those people are happy. You stop and get a hamburger and then go by one of the stores to buy gas.”

The park will add a fifth set of slides when it opens on Memorial Day weekend. The slides are the newest improvement. In the past few years, the city has expanded the bath house, concession stand, and added another kiddie pool with zero-depth entry.

Expansion takes money: some comes from pool fees, and some from the county’s sales tax. Last year, tickets cost $5, but the city is considering an increase of $2 this year. One reason for a ticket increase is the 30 lifeguards. In 2009, 12 were scheduled to work each day but this summer there will be 15. Ballentine tries to hire lifeguards when they’re 16 and keep them until they’re out of college at about 22. To do that, he pays more than minimum wage, and that recently rose to $7.25 an hour.

The mayor’s office is also in charge of hiring and firing. In addition, Ballentine makes twice weekly runs to Sam’s Club in the summer to keep the concession stand stocked.  And in the beginning, he carried plumber’s tools in his truck so he could make repairs to the pool when other staff was not available.

Still, Ballentine accomplished what he set out to do. Alma has become a destination location for countless families struggling to find bargain entertainment in a dismal economy. He welcomes Fort Smith into the mix, saying there’s enough business for both sites.

“I saw where Fort Smith can handle 1,000,” Ballentine said. “We had 1,500 on a good day last year. If we lose a few it’s not going to hurt us. I heard they’re (Fort Smith, Sebastian County officials) talking about a lazy river (water park feature). Man, that’s expensive. We don’t have that. People may go there for one thing and come to Alma for a certain slide.”

FUTURE GROWTH
He does see a potential conflict in the way the proposed park at Ben Geren will be set up. Sebastian County and the City of Fort Smith will both have a say in the operation if the more expensive plan is approved.

“It’s a partnership,” Ballentine said. “They’re going to have to figure out who pays for what. There’s going to be a lot of unexpected things happen.”

As for Alma, the park is growing despite the recession. Ballentine said the city is buying 4.5 acres next to the park for a community center. The Rotary Club will help supply labor to construct the building, and when complete it will cater to local weddings, family reunions, and other large events. The city is also planning to add a new tennis court to draw players from around the area.

Ballentine said he’s learned a lot from running a water park. If you catch him on a good day, he’ll tell you it’s been a great experience. On a bad day, he’ll still agree it was the right move, he just won’t be as enthusiastic. Leave the enthusiasm for the new guys.  He thinks they’ll need it.