Special election set for May 18
Parks map: accessfayetteville.orgA ballot measure to add park maintenance to the possible uses of the Hotel-Motel-Restaurant (HMR) tax will reach voters on May 18, the same day as the primary elections.
At Tuesday’s council meeting, aldermen approved putting the issue on the ballot in a 7-0 vote.
Though the measure received support from aldermen, and Mayor Lioneld Jordan pledged his full support of the change in his state of the city address two weeks ago, Alderman Matthew Petty encouraged the council to promote the initiative to ensure its passage.
“We better be prepared to do some campaigning,” he said. “I don’t think this is going to be quite the slam dunk maybe we had thought a few weeks ago.”
The ballot initiative will not raise the tax, but rather, will authorize HMR funds to be used for park maintenance.
When the HMR tax was approved in 1995, the City Council had intended the money to be used for maintenance, Alderman Bobby Ferrell said. But, on the actual ballot, the only possible uses for the funds were promotion and development of the parks.
“To me it’s very plain,” Ferrell said. “If you read the minutes of the meeting, the intent was for the construction, building and maintenance.”
Sarah Lewis, Ward 4 council member, said she had heard a concern that adding maintenance would take away from building new parks.
Alderman Kyle Cook answered the critique by saying the maintenance of city parks has been squeezed in years past.
“If we can’t maintain the level that our citizens deserve, then we shouldn’t be building new ones,” Cook said.
The ballot will look like this on May 18:
FOR proposed Ordinance No._ amending Ordinance No. 3900 by authorizing and dedicating the revenue from the existing Parks Hotel, Motel and Restaurant tax to be used for the development, construction and maintenance of city parks.
AGAINST proposed Ordinance No._ amending Ordinance No. 3900 by authorizing and dedicating the revenue from the existing Parks Hotel, Motel and Restaurant tax to be used for the development, construction and maintenance of city parks.
Mary Robbins is a regular contributor for the Fayetteville Flyer. She declared Fayetteville as her hometown upon moving here for college. She is a Journalism graduate who enjoys live music, the outdoors and attending city council meetings. For more of Mary’s contributions, visit her author page.
Comments
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Chris
February 4, 2010
I’ll be voting AGAINST this one because I’d like to see some new parks established over the next few years. If this passes, the city could simply eliminate Parks appropriations from the general revenue and use the entire HMR tax to pay for maintenance—leaving nothing for acquisition or development of new parks.
Offcamber
February 5, 2010
Ah, subscribing to the Nadya Suleman school of parks administration?
Keep making more and worry out how to pay for their upkeep later.
Bad Brakes
February 5, 2010
Maybe the vote on May 18 will have to do with Sending A Message over not wanting another biker rally polluting our city.
mpetty
February 5, 2010
@Bad Brakes – What would it have to do with that? This vote has nothing to do with the A&P Commission or the money they receive from the HMR tax. HMR tax revenues are split into two halves, by state statute, and the Parks Fund gets one half.
@Chris – The reason we haven’t been developing smaller pocket parks and newer community parks is because more than $1 million is being held back to develop Southpass, because the UA has told us they will take back the Asbell soccer fields in a number of years. However, the owners of Southpass haven’t given us a deed yet, and patience is growing thin.
Regardless, we need the flexibility to with the Parks Fund to maintain and improve the parks we already have. This change will give us a funding source for rotating art installations and community gardens.
Bad Brakes
February 5, 2010
It has to do with being heard, in the only available method. Is that so hard to understand?
Michael
February 5, 2010
How is voting against repurposing part of an existing tax to pay for park maintenance being heard on one’s dislike of motorcycles? Makes less sense than cutting out your tongue because you dislike the taste of tapioca pudding.
David Franks
February 5, 2010
Bad Brakes–
Unless your motivation for voting– and your actual vote– are widely publicized, nobody else will make the connection. But by the time you have publicized your motivation, the vote is irrelevant: the publicity has accomplished more than the vote ever would. Of course, your attachment of an unrelated matter (funding for park maintenance) to your displeasure with another motorcycle tally would likely alienate people who otherwise agree with your displeasure, and so work against your purpose.
Seems like you’d better rethink the issue. Casting a vote on an irrelevant matter is not “being heard”.
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