Mayor Jordan’s Parking Deck Committee met for the second time this week to kick around some more ideas for a downtown parking deck.
When it comes to brainstorming, the ad hoc committee has no shortage of ideas (see previous story). One thing, however, is pretty firm: the group thinks the best place for the deck would be on the existing lot at Spring Street and West Avenue, across the street from Grub’s Bar & Grille.
That location, which is currently home to a city-owned paid parking lot, raises some space-related questions.
For example, would there be enough of a net gain in parking? And is there even enough room for construction?
The first question doesn’t seem to be very contentious. Mayor Jordan has repeatedly said he’d like the deck to include 300 spaces and the group is well aware that the favored location already includes a 65-space lot. A net gain of only 235 spaces hasn’t raised too many eyebrows, at least not during the committee’s first two meetings.
Question number two, however, has been brought up twice by Carl Collier of Collier Drug Stores.
“I think you need as much land on that lot as you can get,” Collier told the group last month. He said the constraints of the small area would likely require condemnation of some of the surrounding property to be used as a staging area for construction.
During this week’s meeting, Collier suggested condemning the entire block.
Mayor Jordan said he hoped the city wouldn’t need to condemn anyone’s property to make room for a parking deck.
“I understand,” said Collier, “but that’s your power.”
Jordan would, of course, need more than just power to purchase land.
City finance director Paul Becker said a 300-space parking deck alone will require between $5 million and $6 million in bonds. Becker said funding for the project would need to be in place by the end of the year in order to secure low interest, bank qualified financing.
With less than three months left in the year, and with design and City Council approval still needed, Jordan’s staff is looking at a pretty tight timetable.
“It’s time for the talk to end and to get moving,” said Jordan last month when group meetings first began.
True that.
Mayor Jordan’s parking deck committee
Carl Collier – Owner, Collier’s Drug Store
Steve Clark – President and CEO, Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce
Andrea Foren – Purchasing agent, city of Fayetteville / owner, Maxine’s Tap Room
Marilyn Heifner – Executive director, Fayetteville Advertising and Promotion Commission
Ethel Goodstein-Murphree – Associate Dean / professor, UA Fay Jones School of Architecture
Stephen Smith — Communications professor, University of Arkansas
Brian Swain – Administrator, Central United Methodist Church
Terri Trotter – Chief operating officer, Walton Arts Center
Sharon Waters – Parking and telecommunications manager, city of Fayetteville
Amy White – Owner, Something Urban
Next scheduled Parking Deck Committee meeting
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011
Time: 9 a.m.
Location: Fayetteville City Hall, room 326
I don’t understand the huge rush!? Can someone explain it to me?
Hey Bill, There’s not enough room for the two of us… How about you change to William?
This better
perfect, I appreciate it.
It’s a horrible idea to take that entire block when there are better alternatives. That block has some historic buildings that deserve to be preserved. The expense of taking the property by force and disrupting the neighborhood needlessly when there are other ways to address the issue makes the idea unviable.
Using the area where the WAC administration offices are now is one alternative. It seems most likely that those offices will move to Bentonville in the future anyway. That space along with the vacant space between the offices and Spring St. should give more than enough room for a deck.Even if it is necessary to use the Grub’s space it is still better than taking the whole Spring/West block. It would obviously be less expensive also- those properties are already owned by the City. Parking revenue should go directly towards improving parking and not for buying property that isn’t needed.
I don’t understand the need for this project, nor do I see what the value added for creating a 5-6million dollar parking deck on a parking lot site that empty for most of the time. The city needs to pass on this idea!
Do any of the ppl coming up with plans that drastically affect the center of town actually live here? From the BBBBQ board to the A&P commission to this parking deck committee. Its like the power brokers, as they probably like to refer to themselves, care nothing about the center as a residential area anymore. They rezone it for high density, promote tearing down historic buildings, encourage increasingly obnoxious events and then tell residents its our own fault if we don’t like the fallout from from their money making schemes.
The parking deck committee is unrepresentative. It’s almost all city officials, public/private reps, Chamber officials, people who’ve been through the revolving door at least once, people representing a perhaps not-so-valid-any-longer approach to the relationship between the economy and the average person’s “quality of life”. What public good is served by such a narrow selection? All downtown residential between College and campus has its days numbered if there’s not more variety in “expertise”.
Here are the members of Mayor Jordan’s parking deck committee:
Carl Collier – Owner, Collier’s Drug Store
Steve Clark – President and CEO, Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce
Andrea Foren – Purchasing agent, city of Fayetteville / owner, Maxine’s Tap Room
Marilyn Heifner – Executive director, Fayetteville Advertising and Promotion Commission
Ethel Goodstein-Murphree – Associate Dean / professor, UA Fay Jones School of Architecture
Stephen Smith — Communications professor, University of Arkansas
Brian Swain – Administrator, Central United Methodist Church
Terri Trotter – Chief operating officer, Walton Arts Center
Sharon Waters – Parking and telecommunications manager, city of Fayetteville
Amy White – Owner, Something Urban
There is a huge empty parking garage in the underwood building. That building is empty and a major eyesore, why doesnt the city try to buy spaces inside the parking garage? Why not use the resources available first instead of building and spending millions of dollars. That would be greener and more economical. 6 million divided by 300 spots at a few dollars a day doesnt exactly compute. Stop trying to squeeze unnecessary projects into your remaining term mayor, it isnt going to win you any votes.
Hey Mayor Jordan, I hope you read the flyer, if you do then how about you grow some balls and answer some of the questions people are asking about your “projects”. I don’t know many people that support this, yet somehow you still push forward. I look forward to the next election.
Bill–
Maybe Mayor Jordan pushes forward with his projects because his resolve is bolstered by people who actually attend meetings and engage him directly, rather than posting semi-anonymously in news forums online. Maybe he answers questions in meetings and in conversations. Maybe he’s so busy dealing with people who bother to show up that he just isn’t inclined to waste his balls on you.
Maybe.
David, maybe some people have to work when the meetings are going on, maybe some people that love their community have other priorities however still wish to engage the civilian leadership through an online forum. Maybe this isn’t a novel idea, maybe there are other leaders of states, cities, and our nation that actively engage their constituents through online forums because they understand the difficulty for one to get off work early and race across town to attend a meeting… Maybe whole community groups meet online, maybe the way we engage our friends, family, and community leaders is changing with this whole internet thing… Maybe it only takes 30 minutes to have a weekly online discussion, or at least make an attempt to reach out to the community he represents, maybe we deserve that. I don’t know David, but I see other elected leaders of this community have the balls to write on this forum, maybe he just doesn’t have any balls at all, then again maybe you don’t either.
Maybe
Bill–
You work during every meeting that the mayor attends? I hope you’re paid lots of overtime.
I was able to get direct answers to questions when I lived in Wichita. Yes, even when I lived five hours away from every meeting in town, I was still able to have my questions answered. I called or e-mailed people. I made my concerns known to friends here who were able to attend meetings and convey them.
As for whether the Mayor posts on these threads, it might be more a matter of time than of balls. After all, he attends all of those meetings that you can’t go to. Or it might be a matter of efficiency. You have only one mayor to whine about; he has a whole city full of constituents to communicate with, and there aren’t very many of them who read these threads.
Maybe.
I work a lot. I don’t understand how the mayor of Fayetteville doesn’t have time to address his constituents online, yet still has time to update a facebook page quite often. Maybe even on a tuesday at 1:00 pm, lunch break, possibly. My point is that the way our elected leaders communicate is changing all across the nation and him having a fb page is one example. I don’t think it’s too much to ask that our leader reaches out us in any way possible, after all, he wont be the first mayor that finds time to address community issues online. Maybe our mayor isn’t efficient, I’d rather read his comments on issues around the city, then a monday morning post about his weekend.. My parents have the ability to discuss topics around Denver with their mayor online and he has millions of people to deal with, you’re telling me the mayor of Fayetteville can’t? Maybe you need to start asking more from the people that represent us, especially regarding topics that concern our tax dollars.
Bill–
I see these links on the Denver mayor’s page:
— Request a meeting with the Mayor
— Request a proclamation, or a letter
— Learn what’s happening in the Mayor’s Office (which links back to the same page)
I also see links to some press releases.
The first two links on the Fayetteville mayor’s page are
— Contact
— Documents
The Denver mayor’s page has the advantage of links to press releases, so you don’t have to go to the Denver Flyer or a newspaper conglomerate with a paywall in order to read press releases. Other than that, there seems to be little difference. As for online discussions, I can’t find a reference to them anywhere.
Their Facebook pages are even more similar.
Why don’t you e-mail Mayor Jordan and ask him about his balls?
It is sad how so many of these comment discussions devolve into gutter talk and accusations that don’t pertain to the original post.
The parking deck discussions have been ongoing for over a decade- it is not a rush job. The Underwood deck was built to serve that building. When the economy and housing market recovers it will fulfill the need that caused it to be built. Major developments such as these are built for the longterm and not year to year needs.
I’m not a fan of Mayor Jordan at all but attacking him and the people serving on the committee doesn’t accomplish anything. Try coming up with some thoughtful alternatives as to what is needed for the area.
I vote for another burrito place…
THIS!!!!!!!!! VIVA DISTRICTO DE BURRITO!
He is not the one who does his facebook. It’s Julie Mcquade, the volunteer person. I think updating his facebook is her only job
comeon now nobody in office makes enough money to spend time talking to voters until election time.
If a deck is going to be built, PLEASE consider the aesthetic. There are parking deck facades all over America that are so interesting you would never know that there is an ugly parking deck behind them. One in Charlotte and another in Raleigh, N.C. stand out. Check out the website of the artist Ted Kahn who constructs wind-driven art for such structures and see what you think. If it’s near the art center, it would seem very appropriate to make it artistic. Check out this YouTube video and others that he has done.
http://youtu.be/DiS3m3SU2HE
Holy wow. That is amzing. Maybe Alice could buy us one of those.
Well, even if Alice won’t buy one for us, we could always buy one for ourselves if we want. Beauty transforms mediocrity. Which do we want for ourselves?
Uh gee. Speaking of “beauty transforming”
maybe we could get one for the ugly facade of the WAC too ?