In case you missed it: March 28 Town Hall Meeting

Photo: Todd Gill / Enlarge
About 100 people attended Mayor Jordan’s first town hall meeting of 2011 Monday night at the Fayetteville Senior Activity and Wellness Center.

The turnout was good for the first Mayor’s Town Hall Meeting of 2011.

About 100 people gathered Monday night at the Fayetteville Senior Activity and Wellness Center to listen to Mayor Lioneld Jordan and his staff recap their latest achievements and highlight upcoming projects.

Here’s a brief rundown of what was discussed.

Houses at Willow Bend

Sustainability Coordinator John Coleman and Rob Sharp, a Fayetteville architect and Partners for Better Housing board member, discussed an upcoming project that includes the construction of 44 energy efficient houses in the Walker Park neighborhood. The south Fayetteville homes at Willow Bend will be available for people with low- to moderate-income and are being partially funded by a $500,000 grant received in November 2010 from the Home Depot Foundation.

Trail and street project updates

City Engineer Chris Brown discussed an upcoming trail in south Fayetteville that will connect Frisco Trail to the Walker Park Neighborhood. The trail would include tunnels under MLK Boulevard and School Avenue. The $1 million project will be partially funded by both the Home Depot Foundation grant and the Walton Family Foundation.

Brown also highlighted street improvement projects at Cato Springs Road and Highway 16 that are scheduled for construction in 2011.

Streamside Protection Best Management Practices Manual

Karen Minkel, the city’s director of strategic planning and internal consulting, urged those in attendance to take a look at the Streamside Protection Best Management Practices Manual for more information about the recently passed Streamside Protection ordinance.

Financial update

Finance Director Paul Becker detailed the recently passed plan to give merit-based pay raises and $500 bonuses to city employees.

Parks & Rec

Connie Edmonston, the city’s parks director, said to expect some improvements to the Walker Park baseball fields including new fences, new dugouts, and upgrades to the park’s bleachers.

Edmonston also noted that the Gulley Park Summer Concert Series will begin its 15th season on May 26 and reminded the crowd of the upcoming plan to have free Wi-Fi on the square starting April 2.

Sidewalk Improvements

Transportation Services Director Terry Gulley gave a brief presentation of some of the projects his department is working on in 2011, including the 5.3 miles of sidewalk improvements the Fayetteville City Council approved a few months ago.

The largest section of planned sidewalk is a 2,300-foot stretch on Mission Boulevard between Vandergriff Drive and Covington Park Drive.

Other large projects include sidewalks on Oakland Avenue, Razorback Road and Mt. Comfort Road.

Next Town Hall Meeting

The next Town Hall Meeting is set for Wednesday, April 20 on the University of Arkansas campus. The “Town and Gown” meeting will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. inside the E.J. Ball Courtroom at the U of A School of Law.