City Hall

LIVE UPDATES: City Council recap: Nov. 3, 2015

By Todd Gill ·

On the agenda

  • Approval of the Nominating Committee’s appointments to the Civil Rights Commission.
  • Adding a fourth baseball field to the regional park.
  • Participating in a regional water quality association.
  • A $1.73 million bid to repair and restore the historic Maple and Lafayette street bridges.
  • Prohibiting the planting of invasive plants in new neighborhoods.

» Download the agenda (PDF)

A meeting of the Fayetteville City Council began at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015 inside room 219 of the City Administration Building, located at 113 W. Mountain St. in Fayetteville.

Listed below are the items up for approval and links to downloadable PDFs for more information on each item of business.

Roll Call

Present: Adella Gray, Sarah Marsh, Mark Kinion, Matthew Petty, Mayor Lioneld Jordan, Justin Tennant, John La Tour, Alan Long
Absent: Martin Schoppmeyer
» View current attendance records

City Council Meeting Presentations, Reports and Discussion Items

1. Civil Rights Commission Nominating Committee Report (PDF): Committee appointment subject to confirmation by the governing body.
– Pass 6-1*

Notes: Alderman La Tour voted against. He said he is still opposed to the civil rights ordinance.

2. Quarterly Financial Report: Q3 report from Paul Becker, Chief Financial Officer.

Consent

Consent items typically are approved in a single, all-inclusive vote.

1. Approval of the Oct. 6 and Oct. 20, 2015 Special City Council meeting minutes.
– Pass 7-0

2. Bid no. 15-53 Lewis Ford Sales, Inc. (PDF): A resolution to award Bid no. 15-53 and authorize the purchase of a Ford F350 with Reading Utility Body and Tiger Crane from Lewis Ford Sales, Inc. of Fayetteville in the amount of $55,006.38 for use by the Water and Sewer Operations Division.
– Pass 7-0

3. Bid no. 15-54 Lewis Ford Sales, Inc. (PDF): A resolution to award Bid no. 15-54 and authorize the purchase of a Ford F250 with Reading Utility Body from Lewis Ford Sales, Inc. of Fayetteville in the amount of $32,978.38 for use by the Parks and Recreation Department.
– Pass 7-0

4. Amend Resolution No. 181-15 (PDF): A resolution to amend Resolution No. 181-15 concerning the purchase of a rotary lift system, pursuant to a National Joint Powers Alliance Purchasing Agreement, for use by the Fleet Division.
– Pass 7-0

5. Destruction of Certain Records (PDF): A resolution to authorize the destruction of certain records shown on the attached affidavits pursuant to relevant code sections of the Arkansas Code annotated related to maintenance and destruction of accounting, court and other records.
– Pass 7-0

Unfinished Business

None

New Business

1. Bid No. 15-57 Austin King, Inc. d/b/a King Electrical Contractors, Inc. (PDF): A resolution to award Bid No. 15-57 and authorize a contract with Austin King, Inc. d/b/a King Electrical Contractors, Inc. for electrical services on an on-call basis for a period of one year with an automatic option to renew for four additional years.
– Pass 6-1*

Notes: Alderman La Tour voted against. He did not say why.

2. Bid No. 15-57 King Electrical Contractors (PDF): A resolution to authorize a contract with King Electrical Contractors in the amount of $66,240.00, pursuant to Bid No. 15-57, for the installation of LED trail light fixtures and light poles along the Town Branch Trail from Greathouse Park to Hollywood Avenue, and to approve a project contingency in the amount of $6,624.00.
– Pass 7-0

3. Boyette Strategic Advisors (PDF): A resolution to approve a contract with Boyette Strategic Advisors in an amount not to exceed $89,210.00 to facilitate and prepare an update to the city’s Economic Development Strategic Plan, and to approve a budget adjustment.
– Pass 6-1*

Notes: Alderman La Tour voted against. He asked city staff why this item was being proposed at this time. Staff said it was brought forward because City Council members have asked for an updated plan, and the city’s current economic development contract with the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce expires in five months. Having data for an updated plan in place by the time the contract expires is something staff and aldermen said is important.

4. Crossland Construction Company, Inc. Change Order No. 8 (PDF): A resolution to approve change order no. 8 to the contract with Crossland Construction Company, Inc. in the amount of $715,453.00 to add a fourth baseball field and lighting for the soccer complex at the regional park, to approve an additional project contingency in the amount of $9,547.00, and to approve a budget adjustment.
– Pass 7-0

5. Tree Preservation Area Vacation for Crain Automotive (PDF): A resolution to reject the recommendation of the Urban Forester who determined that the tree preservation and mitigation areas in easements and dedications agreed to and signed by the owner/developer on June 25, 2014, should not be vacated or changed by a new development proposal for this acreage.
– Tabled 7-0

Notes: The applicant offered to plant up to 1.5 times the amount of required trees (36) on property owned by the Fayetteville School District, but aldermen are not allowed by law to accept a proposal to plant trees on a third-party property. The applicant then offered to plant twice as many required trees (48) on any city-owned property, or to pay twice the required amount of money ($32,400) into the tree escrow account in lieu of planting trees. City Attorney Kit Williams said if aldermen are interested in the last option, the item should be tabled to give parks staff time to consider the proposal.

Alderwoman Marsh said she was against the proposal and said the value of the trees, both environmentally and what they bring to the quality of life in Fayetteville, is worth far more to the city than $32,400.

Alderwoman Gray said the dealership is expected to bring in $50,000 each month in city sales tax revenue, and that she was embarrassed that some aldermen are considering denial of the proposal over 24 trees. Gray said this issue is one of the reasons Fayetteville has a reputation for being bad for business, and she would like to see changes to the city’s regulations that would make it easier for developers to build in Fayetteville.

Aldermen Tennant agreed, and said he would like to work with Alderwoman Gray to make changes to the tree preservation ordinance, possibly by allowing developers to plant trees on school district property when city parks staff determine that trees aren’t needed on city-owned land.

Alderman Kinion said he wants to see the dealership built in Fayetteville, but added that the city has a tricky topography that presents runoff and sediment challenges other cities in the region don’t have to deal with. He said if the item is tabled or left on the first reading tonight, he hopes a compromise can be reached.

Alderman Petty said there are other options to consider besides trading trees (or escrow funds) for a new development, such as allowing the applicant to tweak certain parts of the plans. For example, by decreasing the required widths of the property’s driving lanes by a couple of feet through variances, the developer might be able to shrink the overall footprint of the project and avoid the tree mitigation issue altogether.

Aldermen voted unanimously to table the item until the next City Council meeting.

6. Northwest Arkansas Multi-Jurisdictional Water Quality Compliance Association (PDF): A resolution to express the City Council’s intent to participate in cooperative regional efforts to evaluate the potential cost savings and environmental benefits that may be available to the city of fayetteville through the formation of a Northwest Arkansas Multi-Jurisdictional Water Quality Compliance Association.
– Pass 7-0

7. Henard Utility Products, Inc. (PDF): An ordinance to waive the requirements of formal competitive bidding and authorize the purchase of twelve (12) Trimble Ranger hand-held water meter reading devices manufactured by Badger Meters, Inc. from Henard Utility Products, Inc. in the amount of $51,725.00 plus applicable taxes for use by the Utilities Department.
– Pass 7-0

8. Bid No. 15-51 Crossland Heavy Contractors, Inc. (PDF): A resolution to award Bid No. 15-51 and authorize a contract with Crossland Heavy Contractors, Inc. in the amount of $1,725,071.42 for the construction of the Maple Street and Lafayette Street bridge rehabilitation project, to approve a project contingency in the amount of $172,507.14, and to approve a budget adjustment.
– Pass 7-0

9. Amend Chapter 177 Landscape Regulations (PDF): An ordinance to amend Chapter 177 Landscape Regulations of the Unified Development Code to adopt regulations prohibiting the installation of certain invasive plant species in new developments that require a landscape plan review and approval by the Urban Forestry Division, and to make certain technical revisions.
– Pass 6-1

Notes: Amended 7-0 to correct misspellings and to allow city staff to approve the planting of Nandina domestica (Heavenly Bamboo) on a case-by-case basis.

Alderman La Tour voted against, and said he believes this item is the first step in a longterm plan to prohibit the sale of invasive species and the planting of invasive species everywhere in the city, not just in new developments.

A local landlord who spoke in favor of the proposal said it is a cost-saving measure. She said she pays $200-$300 to remove invasive species that have grown on her property after her tenants move out because they don’t know how to identify invasive plants and remove them. She said by reducing the amount of invasive species planted in the first place, land owners will eventually save money.

Annoucements

– There are several vacancies on the city’s volunteer boards, committees and commissions.

Adjourned

This meeting was adjourned at 8:14 p.m.