By Charlie Alison

FAYETTEVILLE -- The preachers and the choir sang the same hymns Monday night when the Fayetteville Parks and Recreation Advisory Board heard from recreational enthusiasts about the need for a large-scale park in the city and about the potential for using at least part of what is sometimes referred to as Wilson Springs Technology Park.

If the angels weigh in, the name may get changed to Wilson Springs Community Park.

"We need 150 acres," said Larry Long, one resident who attended the park board's meeting Monday night at city hall. "I think that we have the land -- the technology park."

Long said that there are plenty of places for commercial development around the city but very few places with enough property to create a large community park, which is the top recommendation in the city's master park plan.

In addition to the Wilson Springs property, which comprises about 280 acres, another 102 acres of land is for sale to the north, across Arkansas 112 from the 112 Drive-In Theater.

Wade Colwell, chairman of the park board, said that the Wilson Springs property also has access to nearby Arkansas 112 and Interstate 540 and is in the northwest quadrant of the Fayetteville, the fastest-growing part of town.

Those same reasons are why the city bought the Wilson Springs property more than a dozen years ago. City officials, however, envisioned building a high-tech business park to lure cutting-edge companies to Fayetteville. Lack of commercial interest and a recognition that more than 80 acres of the park are wetlands have so far stalled any development of the site, which is bisected by Clabber Creek.

A mayoral task force is considering what to do with the property with various factions arguing either for as much development as the land will allow or for as little as possible.

Joining with its own proposal, the park department has made the case that this piece of property, already owned by the city, could be the crown jewel in Fayetteville's park system.

Showing off a conceptual plan for what a community park might look like if it were developed on the Wilson Springs property and the 102 acres north of it, land for baseball fields, soccer fields, tennis courts, volleyball courts, a miles-long multi-use trail and still acres of open space to protect Wilson Springs and Clabber Creek.

Long repeated his belief that a commercial business park on the site won't succeed. "It won't be an economically viable option. This is," he said, pointing to the conceptual park plan. "I think this is something you can get the residents behind."

Terry Gulley, a park staff member, reminded members of the audience that the Wilson Springs task force will have two public meetings to discuss potential uses of the park. The task force has meetings scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Fayetteville Town Center and a second public hearing on Sept. 18. After the task force makes a recommendation, the City Council will make a decision about what to do.

Developing a large-scale community park is expected to cost about $15 million, money the park department doesn't have in hand. Park board members talked about the possibility of passing a bond issue that would be backed by existing revenue the park board already receives from sources such as the hotel, motel and restaurant tax.

Members have also talked about the possibility of seeking a property millage increase to help pay for a bond issue.