File photo
On the agenda
- Rezoning 0.31 acres at 1320 S. College Ave.
- Rezoning 0.31 acres at 147 E. Spring Street.
- Rezoning 10.86 acres at Old Missouri Road and Rolling Hills Drive.
- Clerical revisions to the city’s Tree Preservation and Protection laws.
- Including funding in the 2018 budget for traffic calming devices.
- A $1.9 million contract for waterline improvement projects.
A meeting of the Fayetteville City Council began at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 6, 2017 inside room 219 of City Hall, located at 113 W. Mountain St. in Fayetteville.
Listed below are the items up for approval and links to PDF documents with detailed information on each item of business.
Roll Call
Present: Adella Gray, Sarah Marsh, Mark Kinion, Matthew Petty, Mayor Lioneld Jordan, Justin Tennant, Sarah Bunch, John La Tour, Alan Long
Absent: None
» View current attendance records
Consent
Consent items are approved in a single, all-inclusive vote.
1. Approval of the June 20, 2017 City Council Meeting Minutes
– Pass 8-0
2. Bid #17-33 Vance Brothers, Inc. (Details): A resolution to award Bid #17-33 and authorize a contract with Vance Brothers, Inc. for asphalt microsurfacing of city streets at a cost of $2.28 per square foot as needed through the end of 2017.
– Pass 8-0
3. Bid #17-35 Lewis Ford Sales, Inc. (Details): A resolution to award Bid #17-35 and authorize the purchase of a Ford E350 box truck from Lewis Ford Sales, Inc. of Fayetteville, Arkansas in the amount of $37,007.00 for use by the Recycling and Trash Collection Division.
– Pass 8-0
4. Bid #17-36 Altec Industries, Inc. (Details): A resolution to award Bid #17-36 and authorize the purchase of a Ford F750 with Altec aerial platform from Altec Industries, Inc. of Creedmoor, North Carolina in the amount of $132,212.00 for use by the Parks and Recreation Department and the Transportation Department.
– Pass 8-0
5. Arkansas Occupational Medicine Services, P.A. d/b/a Arkansas Occupational Health Clinic (Details): A resolution to authorize a one-year contract with an option to renew for up to four additional one-year terms with Arkansas Occupational Medicine Services, P.A. d/b/a Arkansas Occupational Health Clinic in an amount not to exceed $50,000.00 for physical exams and health screenings for Fire Department employees at a cost of $264.00 to $575.00 per exam.
– Pass 8-0
Pulled from Consent
1. Bid #17-34 Grand Truck Equipment Company, LLC (Details): A resolution to award Bid #17-34 and authorize the purchase of a Ford F550 with Dakota body and aerial platform from Grand Truck Equipment Company, LLC of Afton, Oklahoma in the amount of $103,115.00 for use by the Transportation Department.
– Pass 8-0
Unfinished Business
1. RZN 17-5776: (1320 S. College Ave./Sugarland Properties) (Details): An ordinance to rezone that property described in rezoning petition RZN 17-5776 for approximately 0.31 acres located at 1320 S. College Ave. from NC, Neighborhood Conservation to RI-U, Residential Intermediate, Urban.
– Pass 7-0
Keaton Smith, who is representing the applicant, said the request is for RI-U so the property owner can build four smaller, more affordable homes on the land instead of two larger homes.
A neighbor who recently went under contract to buy the home directly south of this property, said he was in favor of the proposal. He said he thinks it would be better for the neighborhood to have more affordable housing.
Rob Sharp, a local architect, said he is also in favor of the rezoning because the neighborhood needs more affordable small housing.
On the final reading, Petty again recused himself from the discussion and vote.
New Business
1. Bid #17-37 Countryside Farm and Lawn Equipment Company, Inc. (Details): A resolution to award Bid #17-37 and authorize the purchase of a John Deere 5100E tractor with mowing attachment and a John Deere 6110M tractor with mowing attachment from Countryside Farm and Lawn Equipment Company, Inc. in the total amount of $202,099.00 for use by the Transportation Department.
– Pass 8-0
Alderman Justin Tennant said he has been frustrated with the state law that requires cities to purchase from the lowest in-state bidder instead of allowing cities to show preference to local businesses. He asked about the locations of the bidders in this instance.
Terry Gulley, Transportation Services Director, said three bids were received – one from Fayetteville and two from Springdale. Gulley said the Fayetteville bidder (Williams Tractor) submitted paperwork that indicated their tractor did not meet several required specifications, and that the only bidder who checked “yes” on all the required specs was from Springdale, so they chose that one. Gulley said several factors staff examine when choosing a bid other than price, including overall maintenance cost, resale value, and history of the timeliness of repairs at a particular bidder’s location. He said the city has had trouble getting repairs made in a timely manner at Williams Tractor, but that factor did not come into play in this case because their bid simply did not meet the minimum required standards.
Before Gulley spoke, Alderman La Tour moved to table the item for further evaluation by the Equipment Committee and Alderman Long agreed. After hearing Gulley’s response, Long said he no longer agreed that the bid should be re-evaluated. Alderwoman Gray, who chairs the Equipment Committee, said she thinks city staff has done their job correctly in this instance, and that the item doesn’t need further examination.
Alderman Petty said he’d like to save some money by using the Williams Tractor bid, but said it would probably be a wash, considering it would be 24-36 weeks before that equipment could be re-bid, approved, ordered and delivered.
The council voted against tabling the item 1-7 (La Tour voted yes). The vote to award the original bid was approved unanimously.
2. Bid #17-32 Goins Enterprises, Inc. (Details): A resolution to award Bid #17-32 and authorize a contract with Goins Enterprises, Inc. in the amount of $1,919,872.00 for the construction of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, Huntsville Road, and Garden Park Apartments waterline improvement projects, to approve a project contingency in the amount of $288,000.00, and to approve a budget adjustment.
– Pass 8-0
3. Community Access Television, Inc. d/b/a Your Media (Details): A resolution to approve a change in the city’s public access television policy and to amend the contract with Community Access Television, Inc. d/b/a Your Media to expand public access services to residents of Washington County and Benton County for an annual fee of $50.00.
– Pass 8-0
4. RZN 17-5802 (147 E. Spring St./Teague) (Details): An ordinance to rezone that property described in rezoning petition RZN 17-5802 for approximately 0.31 acres located at 147 E. Spring Street from rmf-24, residential multi family, 24 units per acre to RI-U, Residential Intermediate, Urban.
– Pass 7-0
– Left on the first reading
The proposed rezoning area does not touch the elementary school property, and does not include the Keenan Tower House designed by Marlon Blackwell Architects.
Mitch Weigel from Downtown Properties Real Estate Group spoke on behalf of property owner James Keenan and said the zoning was chosen because to allow mixed development, including homes and small shops.
Ward 3 council members Tennant and Bunch said they’ve heard from some residents who are concerned about this rezoning, and requested that the item be left on the first reading to allow time for further examination and a possible tour of the area.
Tennant also noted that while the city’s longterm master street plan does recommend an extension of Rolling Hills Drive to Crossover Road, there is no timetable, funding, or design in place for that project. He reminded the council that the rezoning has nothing to do with the possible road extension that may or may not ever occur.
The discussion was left on the first reading, and will resume at the next City Council meeting on July 18.
Here’s a map for reference:
6. VAC 17-5815 (429 N. Vinson Ave./Merritt) (Details): An ordinance to approve VAC 17-5815 for property located at 492 N. Vinson Ave. to vacate a portion of a street right-of-way.
– Pass 8-0
7. Amend Chapter 167 – Tree Preservation and Protection (Details): An ordinance to amend Chapter 167 Tree Preservation and Protection of the Unified Development Code to make clerical revisions including defining certain terms, removing definitions of terms that are defined in other portions of the Unified Development Code, and correcting ambiguous or unclear names and terms.
– Pass 7-1
8. Traffic Calming Installation (Details): A resolution to express the intention of the City Council to include funding in the 2018 budget for additional traffic calming installation within city streets.
– Pass 8-0
Alderman Petty, who co-sponsored the resolution, said he thinks it would send a signal that traffic calming has at least some level of priority in Fayetteville. He said he hopes the city can eventually get to a point to where 6-12 traffic calming projects are identified and funded each year.
Alderwoman Marsh said she’s in favor of the intent of the resolution, but stressed that oldschool methods – like speed tables – have not proven to be effective at calming traffic. Techniques, she said, have evolved greatly and sometimes are more complicated than simply applying a piece of infrastructure to a particular area.
Mayor Jordan told the council that the Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) fund has about $8 million available for projects, and that he’s not sure what would have to be cut in order to create funds for traffic calming. Alderman Petty said it’s possible the city could receive grant funds for some projects.
Announcements
– A free dive-in movie is scheduled Friday, July 7 at the Wilson Park pool.
– City officials are still gathering input for the upcoming master plan for transportation and parking in Fayetteville. See survey information here.
– Public tours of the winners of the city’s Urban Forestry Advisory Board’s Sustainable Landscape Competition are scheduled for Saturday, July 15.
Adjourned
This meeting was adjourned at 7:55 p.m.
