WITH VIDEO: Town and Gown committee weighs in on UA’s $1 million request for A&P funds
UA officials plan to renovate the Old Field House building into a state-of-the-art concert hall.
Photo: Todd Gill
Justin Tennant got a lot more than he bargained for during Monday’s meeting of the Town and Gown Advisory Committee.
Tennant, a City Council member who serves on the Fayetteville A&P Commission, requested that someone from the Town and Gown committee add a brief discussion item to this month’s agenda concerning the University of Arkansas’ recent request for $1 million in A&P-collected HMR funds to put toward construction of a planned concert hall.
The A&P Commission was set to vote on the UA’s request during last week’s regular meeting, but Tennant asked commissioners to wait another month to give the Town and Gown committee a chance to weigh in.
The 21-member consultative group is made up of city employees, university representatives, Fayetteville residents and one City Council member.
“I feel like this is, by definition, what the Town and Gown committee should look at, which is things that are going to affect the City of Fayetteville and its citizens, as well as the University of Arkansas,” said Tennant.
The item was walked on at the beginning of Monday’s meeting by Chamber of Commerce president Steve Clark, who immediately switched gears.
Clark said he felt contributions of A&P funds to the university should be a regular occurrence, not just something that’s discussed on an as-needed basis.
He estimated that with a rising crop of about 1,500 new freshman each year, the university is responsible for bringing in one new Fayetteville resident almost every six hours. He said assuming each student spends $50 a week, he felt it was clear that the university was a strong economic driver for the city.
“Without that, we wouldn’t thrive,” said Clark.
Plus, he said with the school’s calendar already including about 40 events each month – most of which are free and open to the public – recognition of what the university does for the city of Fayetteville is overdue.
“From the Chamber’s perspective, it is our strong, strong belief that the recognition of the university as being an economic developer is essential and that support should not be about one purpose,” Clark said. “It should be a continuing, ongoing support for the university. A support that is revisited and provided on a semi-annual basis.”
Clark said instead of recommending the A&P Commission approve the one-time $1 million request for concert hall funds, he felt the group should urge the commission to invite the university to apply for $125,000 in reserve funds every six months during its regular funding meetings to help offset costs of existing or new events and projects.
“It seems to me that if the Advertising and Promotion Commission is to award cash to help an entity to continue to stimulate the growth and economy of the city of Fayetteville, there is no better person or group to give it to than the University of Arkansas,” he said.
What followed was a 90-minute discussion that included a debate over whether Clark’s proposal was within the jurisdiction of the committee, an argument over whether a specific dollar amount should be attached to the motion, and question-and-answer sessions with UA Chancellor G. David Gearhart and A&P Executive Director Marilyn Heifner.
Gearhart said if awarded $125,000 every six months instead of the $1 million, he’d likely still put the money toward the concert hall. Heifner reminded the group that the A&P would be voting on a $1 million concert hall award on Dec. 10, not a semi-annual $125,000 request.
The group eventually voted 10-3 to approve Clark’s proposal, but several members – including each city representative – declined to cast a vote.
The city employees said their decision to abstain was not because they don’t believe the university is an economic engine.
“I think we are all 100 percent in support of (the university) receiving something, and as much of something as (the A&P) thinks is feasible,” said Don Marr, the mayor’s chief of staff.
Ultimately, the city employees said they felt like creating a charge they weren’t given was outside the established scope of the committee.
“We can support the cooperation in funding for the university,” said Fire Chief David Dayringer, “but when we get into a specific dollar amount, I think we’re out of our element.”
While the proposal may not have any direct effect on the A&P’s future funding decisions – it is, after all, only a recommendation – Tennant said he was happy the group took the time to discuss the issue.
“To me, the dollar amount of the recommendation is insignificant,” said Tennant. “What I was looking for was whether the committee would support the donation of HMR funds – in any amount – to the university. And it’s clear they do.”
Town and Gown Advisory Committee – Nov. 19, 2012
Video: Fayetteville Government Channel
Fayetteville Town and Gown Advisory Committee
The Town and Gown Advisory Committe was created in July 2012 to be a forum for collaboration between the City of Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas on mutually relevant issues including, but not limited to, campus expansions, the need for student housing both on and off campus, and parking and noise in the areas adjacent to or nearby the campus. The Committee is empowered only to advise and make recommendations on a periodic basis to both the City Council and the University of Arkansas on such issues, and to adopt rules for the conduct of its own business.
City Council member
Mark Kinion – Ward 2 Alderman
Community members
Barry Herzog – Ward 1 resident
Diane Warren – Ward 2 resident
Tommy Deweese – Ward 3 resident
Ryan Miller – Ward 4 resident
Will Hansen – University of Arkansas student
Steve Clark – business owner/development community representative
City of Fayetteville representatives
David Dayringer – Fire
Yolanda Fields – Development Services/Community Services
Terry Gulley* – Transportation
David Jurgens* – Utilities
Don Marr – Mayor’s office
Jeremy Pate – Development Services
Greg Tabor – Police
Sharon Waters – Parking
* Only one representative will be considered a voting member at a time
University of Arkansas representatives
Melissa Harwood-Rom – Division of Student Affairs
Richard Hudson – Government Relations
Mike Johnson – Facilities Management
Bev Lewis – Athletics
Danny Pugh – Chancellor’s office
Tori Pohlner – Associated Student Government
Gary Smith – Transit and Parking
Source: City of Fayetteville
I completely disagree with Clark. I think the A&P should be investing in more community minded events in Fayetteville, which improve the Quality and Culture of Fayetteville to draw the students off campus. Tuition costs are rising, and the University should be even more self sustainable. this is yet another example of how our Chamber of Commerce is completely out of touch with the needs of small businesses and community minded people in this town.
Steve why not just give the UofA an AMP credit card? Ohhh, wait!
This just keeps getting more and more ridiculous. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure the A&P commision does not exist to reward our friends prize money, even if it can be argued that their events help the city. Why don’t we award the Waltons $1 Millon for all they have done for the city? Oh that’s right, they don’t need it.
I’m pretty sure the A&P commision should only ever ask themselves 2 questions.
1)Will this event or request actually help Fayetteville’s quality and tourism
2)Do they ACTUALLY NEED our money? Or is this thing going to happen anyway?
Only 13 voted. What kind of crap is that? Frustration!!!!
Also, I agree with Ryan and the two questions. I enjoy the UofA and would like for it to have more funds available. However, when we start providing it extra money just because then we are loosing the original idea of what the A&P funds are to be used for.
Stupid representatives and not voting. What do they think they are there for? To smile and look nice but not lead?
We should just give the university a quarter million dollars per year, for…unspecified whatever? That is some first-rate ass kissing, Steve!
If A&P is going to fund projects with the university, I’d rather it be on other more visible infrastructure rather than on bells and whistles for a performance hall most Fayetteville residents will never attend.
I’d support smaller contributions by the A&P for aesthetic improvement projects, public art, defining campus border areas with sculpture etc, extending trails, sidewalks that are used by citizens, planting trees along streets and roads, etc. But, I’m not sure if A&P funds even qualify for most of that stuff.
The incestuous nature of local politics has only increased recently. Fitting.
I’m surprised the UA representatives on the advisory committee didn’t abstain from the vote. It was, after all, their employer/boss who was asking for the A&P money.
The difference between ass kissing and brown nosing is dept -perception.. MR CLARK ..how deep do u go..SAY NO to the UofA taking our tax dollars..
I believe you mean depth perception perhaps? And too many people are forgetting 25,000 of Fayetteville’s residents are UA students, so it’s not just your tax dollars. It’s a huge HMR tax income driver for the city, so why shouldn’t money be given back to the UA for projects that will only bring more students and in return more tax income.
Just a tad over 21 thousand and enrollment has been capped at 24 thousand for the near term until facilities to house/feed/teach more than that have been constructed.
Enrollment this Fall was over 24k. Enrollment has not been capped at anything. The goal is 28,000 by 2015.
You’re a resident where you’re registered to vote, thus not all UA students by any means are residents here.
You are citizen where you are registered to vote. You are a resident where you sleep the majority of the time. So, yes, a person can be a citizen of the State of Texas (registered to vote there), and a resident of Fayetteville, Arkansas (their domicile is here).
UA students that live in Fayetteville, whether on campus or off, are counted as Fayetteville residents in the census, because this is where they sleep over 6 months of the year. UA students were counted in the 2010 census as residents of Fayetteville.
Isn’t there already a music hall within a quarter mile of campus? Why do we need another?
I see two tower cranes presently at the University. The sports complex is growing by leaps and bounds from SEC football bowl winnings sharing. The University charges for their own parking, purchasing landall over and lastly but not least they are raising tuition constantly. Now why do they want money from the A&P?
So much for the town and gown committee providing some “real world” perspective. Fayettevilles local politics come across as so incestuous at times. Good old boys supporting their fellas. Kind of like how the mayoral choices were the incumbent and the mayor before him? Come on. Growth and diversity takes new voices that are strong and independent. But I think Fayetteville will just keep spinning its tires.
good name, huh, for the admin team? this is exactly what the town&gown committee was set up to accomplish and Clark is big money’s go-fer. watch those credit card receipts now….
I was thinking they should rename this the ” crown and clown” committee. the university is king and the city is his jester.
Excellent.
I under stand the need for more improvements, but giving $1,000,000.00 to the University seems over the top. Why not use that $1,000,000.00 to start a museum owned by the city of fayetteville…that would help generate revenue and promote the city. It seems that the University could team with the city to build and create a wonderful museum that would benefit all of NWA… The U of A has enough items in storage to create a wonderful natural science and hitory museum….Might even be a draw for tourists coming to see Crystal Bridges. Wouldn’t this be better then a concert hall? If the city put up $1,000,000.00 and the U of A agreed to provide pieces from its stored collection, together they could build something great. I imagine that if a joint venture like this were created there would be many other non-profits out there willing to donate money to get the job done!
There are plenty of great locations in fayetteville right off of 540 to build a project like this! Lets invest taxpayer dollars in such a way that it builds something that brings business, tourists, and job opportunities to Fayetteville….
Lets move Fayetteville forward with using Fayetteville money to help the entire community.
I don’t think the university has an interest in running such a museum. Ironically, the Field House was home to the university’s natural science museum for years, until they mismanaged it into non-existence. I’ve seen the university’s collection, it is massive and awe-inspiring…and languishing in a warehouse. So sad. Personally I think the public would be much better served by bringing the state-owned natural history and archaeological collection into public view than by creating yet another venue for bassoon recitals, but what do I know?.
RE “but what do I know?”
What a bassoon sounds like, perhaps?
Don said: “Why not use that $1,000,000.00 to start a museum owned by the city of fayetteville”
How about using A&P money for the proposed Children’s Museum of Northwest Arkansas. They’re actively looking for a site. Why can’t it be in Fayetteville?
http://www.nwachildrensmuseum.org/
“Amazing Facts” from their website
* 143,000 children will live within a 90-minute drive of the children’s museum
* 160,000 annual visitors are projected for the new children’s museum
* 60,000 visitors will be admiLed to the children’s museum free of charge
* $18.7 million is the projected cost of museum construction, exhibits, furnishings, land acquisition, and landscaping
* $4.5 million is the goal for endowment, which will provide a steady, perpetual income of approximately
* $225,000 to support museum operations
* $1.4 million is the projected annual operating budget for the museum
35,000 square feet will be the size of the new museum, with an additional 45,000 of outdoor exhibits and activities
The children’s museum sounds great! Why is this not getting out to the public! Fayetteville must start being proactive…if not everything that could draw business to our town will go to Rogers and Bentonville.
Word is the Children’s Museum is already slated for Bentonville because “the family” has indicated that is where they want it. Money drives most of these decisions and it’s tough to argue when the deep pockets driving the decisions are some of the deepest in the world.
I am watching the Town and Gown Committe replay on the Government Channel. Steve Clark was completely out of order with his extremely long winded diatribe regarding the UofA and A and P Funding. Mr. Clark characteristically comandeered the committee. He monopolized the discussion and confused the issue at hand. What an arrogant jerk! Tommy D? The chairman had no control of the meeting. Who is he and why on earth is a person with no clue of how to run a committee meeting in charge? Furthermore as pointed out by Councilman Kinion the Town an Gown committee needs to look at its purpose established by City Ordinance. Kinion read ithe short and simple ordinance word for word to diplomatically redirect the activity and his point of order was completely disregarded by the Chair of the committee and the members. Dazed and confused committee members went on and on with crazy amendments etc. I have never witnessed a more dysfunctional meeting of a government entity. I suggest the City Council recognize the U of A and Chamber are going to do what they darned well please and not waste further Municiipal resources with this well intentioned but ill fated project. I was really hoping it would work as established by the Fayetteville City Council. What a joke on the naive Fayetteville City Council to think they would not be bullied and disregarded by the University and Chamber. In fact the UofA and Chamber control this committee and it is evident they will use it as their public pulpit only to benefit themselves. Regardless what Steve Clark implied the community is much larger than just the UofA. Indeed, as we are seeing, the UofA is establishing an unplanned (at least publicly undisclosed) growth area destroying well established adjacent neighborhoods by use of eminent domain . I am embarrassed at the overt dismissal my Alma Mater has for the City that worked so hard to bring her, as stated in the School’s Alma Mater (song) , here to the “brow of thy beauty…. The Mountains of God” only to be a disrespectful sibling spewing ugliness and disregard. Joni Mitchell opined this type of environmental and community rape aptly singing, “Don’t it always seem to go, That you don’t know what you’ve got, ‘Til its gone. They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.”
Cities hypothesize on science museum’s future
By Jeff Mores Staff Writer
Benton County Daily Record – April 10, 2008
BENTON COUNTY – With the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art being erected in
Bentonville, northwest Arkansas is not only preparing for a world-class art institution
but a completely different economic driver than this area has ever seen. And leaders and
stakeholders in Bentonville and Rogers are determined to make sure Crystal Bridges isn’t
the last museum to establish roots here…
» Story link