LIVE UPDATES: City Council recap: Aug. 4, 2015

On the agenda

  • Applying for a $150,000 grant from the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.
  • Approving the 2016 employee benefits package.
  • Rezoning 16 acres at 4065 E. Huntsville Road.
  • Rezoning 4 acres northeast of Cleveland Street and Razorback Road.
  • Studying the purchase of the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce building.
  • Appropriation of $40,000 for the Sept. 8 civil rights special election.

» Download the agenda (PDF)

A meeting of the Fayetteville City Council began at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2015 inside room 219 of the City Administration Building, located at 113 W. Mountain Street 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, John La Tour, Alan Long
Absent: Justin Tennant, Martin Schoppmeyer


Consent

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

1. Approval of the July 21, 2015 City Council meeting minutes.
Pass 6-0

2. Bid No. 15-27 Austin King, Inc. d/b/a King Electrical Contractors (PDF): A resolution to award Bid No. 15-27 and authorize a contract with Austin King, Inc. d/b/a King Electrical Contractors, Inc. in the amount of $82,700.00 for the purchase and installation of electrical busways at the Noland Wastewater Treatment Plant, and to approve a project contingency in the amount of $8,270.00.
Pass 6-0

3. Bid No. 15-41 Bulk Crushed Rock Salt (PDF): A resolution to award Bid No. 15-41 and authorize the purchase of bulk crushed rock salt from Central Salt, LLC as primary supplier and Oakley Fertilizer, Inc. as secondary supplier for materials delivered, and Oakley Fertilizer, Inc. as primary supplier and Central Salt, LLC as secondary supplier for materials picked up, for varying unit prices as needed through the 2015-2016 winter season.
Pass 6-0

4. Riggs Cat of Springdale (PDF): A resolution to authorize the purchase of three (3) 2015 Caterpillar 420F2 backhoes from Riggs Cat of Springdale, Arkansas in the total amount of $286,007.58 pursuant to a National Joint Powers Alliance Cooperative purchasing agreement for use by Transportation Services, Parks and Recreation, and Water and Sewer Operations.
Pass 6-0

5. Williams Tractor of Fayetteville (PDF): A resolution to authorize the purchase of two (2) 2015 Bobcat E45 T4 excavators from Williams Tractor of Fayetteville, Arkansas in the total amount of $118,800.00 pursuant to a National Joint Powers Alliance Cooperative purchasing agreement for use by the Transportation Services department, and to approve a budget adjustment.
Pass 6-0

6. Ranger’s Pantry and Community Development Block Grant Program Income (PDF): A resolution to approve a budget adjustment in the total amount of $20,910.00 representing donations to Ranger’s Pantry and Community Development Block Grant program income received from housing lien payoffs and the sale of public facilities equipment.
Pass 6-0

7. Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism’s Outdoor Recreation Grant (PDF): A resolution to authorize an application for a 50/50 matching grant, through the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism’s Outdoor Recreation Grant program, in the amount of $150,000.00 for the construction of playground and parking improvements at Wilson Park.
Pass 6-0

8. Paymentus Agreement (PDF): A resolution to approve a two (2) year master services agreement with Paymentus corporation to upgrade the city’s electronic utility bill payment services for an initial setup fee of $15,000.00 and an estimated cost of $35,000.00 per year.
Pass 6-0

9. Habberton Road Water Main Construction (PDF): A resolution to express the City Council’s agreement that the city should facilitate the construction and financing of a water main along Habberton Road by accepting debt service payments as part of the customers’ water bills and remitting those payments to the financing entity.
Pass 6-0

10. 2016 Employee Benefits Package (PDF): A resolution to approve the 2016 employee benefits package.
Pass 6-0


Unfinished Business

1. RZN 15-5044 (4065 E. Huntsville Rd./The Plaza) (PDF): An ordinance rezoning that property described in rezoning petition RZN 15-5044, for approximately 16.02 acres, located at 4065 E. Huntsville Road from R-PZD 08-3071, Residential Planned Zoning District Bridgedale Plaza to RSF-7, Residential Single Family, 7 units per acre, NS, Neighborhood Services, and CS, Community Services.
Tabled 6-0

Notes: Robert Rhoads, an attorney representing the applicant, outlined some changes made since the last City Council discussion.

The 12-acre portion has been reclassified to request Neighborhood Conservation instead of RSF-7. That zoning allows for 10 lots per acre, but the developer will submit a bill of assurance to limit the number of lots at 57, or 4.7 lots per acre.

In addition, the developer will add the following five promises:
1. A gas station will not be built
2. There will be three points of ingress and egress, plus there will be a stub-out to the east
3. The developer will pay his share of any future traffic signal
4. The developer will pay his fair share of work to alleviate an offsite drainage issue that the city and the developer had planned to fix in the original PZD.
5. In order to ease traffic issues before the light can be installed, the developer will pay a reasonable amount to re-stripe a third turning lane (with AHTD approval) to serve the main entrance for the development on Huntsville Road.

Kit Williams, city attorney, reminded aldermen that although the developer is making promises, an official bill of assurance hasn’t yet been submitted. Williams cautioned the council not to make a decision until a bill of assurance is in hand.

The group decided to table the request until the next City Council meeting on Aug. 18.


2. Arkansas Legacy LLC Appeal (PDF): An ordinance rezoning that property described in rezoning petition RZN 15-5066, for approximately 3.98 acres, located at 1338 and 1326 W. Cleveland Street from RMF-24, Residential Multi-family, 24 units per acre and RSF-4, Residential Single-family, 4 units per acre to DG, Downtown General subject to a bill of assurance.
Left on the second reading

Notes: The developer is working on some changes that might be more favorable to the neighbors, and requested the item be tabled until the next City Council meeting on Aug. 18.

Alderman Alan Long said if the applicant makes major changes, then he’d prefer to see that happen in a separate conversation.

“If there was a new type of rezoning requested, I would think that would need to go back through the process of the Planning Commission and the planning staff,” said Long.

Alderwoman Sarah Marsh said the City Council doesn’t typically refer items back to the Planning Commission when changes are made, and it shouldn’t start now.

Long then clarified his statement and said he would prefer a simple vote on the original zoning request “to preserve the integrity” of the appeal process. That way, he said, major changes wouldn’t occur without proper notice being given to the surrounding property owners.

“By sending it back to planning at this point, for a different type of zoning, the neighbors wouldn’t receive all the same notifications that they normally do,” said Long. “It seems like it would be better to not change this in the middle of the appeal.”

Neighbors who spoke said they’d prefer that the City Council deny the proposal outright.

Alderman Long motioned to send the item to the third and final reading, but he and Alderman Mark Kinion were the only members to vote yes. Council members Marsh, Petty, La Tour, and Gray voted against Long’s motion, and to leave the item on the second reading.


3. City Council’s Intention to Purchase the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce Building (PDF): A resolution to express the City Council’s intention to investigate a possible purchase of the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce building on Mountain Street.
Fail 2-4

Notes: Council members Petty and Marsh said with no clear need for additional city space in the near future, they’ve decided to vote against any further exploration of buying the building.

Petty said if the city didn’t already own a large piece of property across the street, he might’ve come to a different conclusion.

Alderman Long said he appreciated the intent of the resolution, but said the City Council tour of the chamber building on Monday led him to decide against supporting the proposal.

Council members Gray and Kinion said they still believe it would be a wise investment to purchase the building now before it’s bought by a private entity.

Gray and Kinion were the only aldermen to support the resolution.

» Read more about the proposal here


New Business

1. Kessler Consulting Amendment No. 1 (PDF): A resolution to approve amendment no. 1 to the contract with Kessler Consulting, Inc. in the amount of $39,980.00 for assistance with the design and implementation of a commercial food waste pilot program and a single stream recycling pilot program, and to approve a budget adjustment.
Pass 5-2*

Notes: La Tour and Long voted against. Mayor Jordan voted in favor.

Long said he’s against the idea of a single-stream pilot system. La Tour called the idea “coercion” and said he’d rather be persuaded to increase recycling, not “coerced.”


2. Uniform Nondiscrimination Protections Special Election (PDF): A resolution to approve a budget adjustment in the amount of $40,000.00 to provide funding for payment of costs related to the Uniform Nondiscrimination Protections Special Election.
Pass 5-1

Notes: La Tour voted against the budget adjustment.

3. RZN 15-5103 (1837 W. Mitchell St./Dunn) (PDF): An ordinance rezoning that property described in rezoning petition RZN 15-5103, for approximately 0.23 acres, located at 1837 W. Mitchell St. from RMF-24, Residential Multi Family, 24 units per acre, to RSF-8, Residential Single Family, 8 units per acre.
Pass 6-0


4. ADM 15-5093 (UDC Chapters 161, 164 and 172 – Single Family and Two Family Infill) (PDF): An ordinaince amending Title XV Unified Development Code of the City of Fayetteville to amend chapters 161, 164 and 172 to modify the bulk and area regulations to encourage small lot single family and two family infill in multi-family zoning districts and to include minumum design standards for this type of development.
Tabled 6-0

Notes: Tabled until Oct. 6 at the request of city staff who want a little more time to make some changes.

5. Repeal Chapter 171 Streets and Sidewalks (PDF): An ordinance to repeal Chapter 171 Streets and Sidewalks and enact a replacement Chapter 171 Streets and Sidewalks of the Unified Development Code.
Pass 6-0

Notes: Amended to remove the words “openness and neighborliness.”

Adjourned

This meeting was adjourned at 8:57 p.m.