File photo
On the agenda
- An appeal of the Fayetteville Housing Authority’s application for a large-scale development.
- Removal and replacement of windows at City Hall.
- A $25,000 grant from the FAA.
- A $110,000 grant from FEMA.
- Approval of the 2017 millage levy.
A meeting of the Fayetteville City Council began at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 19, 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
City Council Meeting Presentations, Reports and Discussion Items
1. Nominating Committee Report (Details): Presented by Council member Mark Kinion
– Pass 7-1
ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Steve Frankenberger – One community/citizen at large term ending 12/31/19
Laura Canter – One unexpired community/citizen at large term ending 12/31/18
ENERGY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT NO. 1
Remains vacant – One term ending 12/31/19
FAYETTEVILLE ARTS COUNCIL
Peter Croken – One unexpired arts and cultural citizen at large term ending 06/30/19
Remains vacant – One unexpired working artist term ending 06/30/19
TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARD
Ari Bazan – One citizen at large unexpired term ending 06/30/21
TOWN AND GOWN ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Donna Daniels – One Ward 3 Resident term ending 09/30/19
Remains vacant – One Ward 1 Resident term ending 09/30/19
Remains vacant – One University of Arkansas Student term ending 09/30/19
La Tour voted against. He did not say why.
2. Ozark Regional Transit Report (Details)
Consent
Consent items are approved in a single, all-inclusive vote unless pulled by a council member.
1. Approval of the Sept. 5, 2017 City Council Meeting Minutes
– Pass 8-0
2. Hazmat Services Revenue (Details): A resolution to approve a budget adjustment recognizing hazmat services revenue received by the Fire Department from Washington County in the amount of $8,476.00 and increasing the related expense budget.
– Pass 8-0
3. Bid #17-51 Cruse Uniforms & Equipment, Inc. (Details): A resolution to award Bid #17-51 and authorize the purchase of class A-B uniforms from Cruse Uniforms & Equipment, Inc. as needed through 2022, at an estimated cost of $29,307.45 per year, for use by the Fire Department.
– Pass 8-0
4. Assistance to Firefighters Grant (Details): A resolution to authorize the acceptance of a 90/10 Assistance to Firefighters Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the amount of $110,001.00 for the purchase of a Mobile Air Cascade System Trailer for the Fire Department, and to approve a budget adjustment to provide for matching funds in the amount of $10,999.00 and a project contingency in the amount of $18,150.00.
– Pass 8-0
5. Bid #17-61 Benchmark Construction of NWA, Inc. (Details): A resolution to award Bid #17-61 and authorize a contract with Benchmark Construction of NWA, Inc. in the amount of $263,800.00 for phase one of the removal and replacement of windows at City Hall, and to approve a project contingency in the amount of $50,000.00.
– Pass 8-0
Unfinished Business
None
New Business
1. Energy Assessment Grant Acceptance (Details): A resolution to authorize the mayor to sign a grant offer accepting a 90/10 matching grant from the Federal Aviation Administration in the amount of $25,740.00 for an Airport Energy Efficiency Assessment, to authorize the City Attorney to certify the grant agreement, and to approve a budget adjustment.
– Pass 8-0
2. RFQ 17-12 Crossland Construction Company, Inc. (Details): A resolution to authorize a contract with Crossland Construction Company, Inc., pursuant to RFQ 17-12, for Construction Manager at Risk Services for the Fayetteville Public Library expansion and renovation projects, to approve phase one pre-construction services in an amount not to exceed $110,000.00, and to approve a project contingency in the amount of $15,000.00 for phase one.
– Pass 8-0
3. Appeal of LSD 17-5775 (324 E. 12th Place/Morgan Manor Apts. Addition) (Details): A resolution to grant the appeal of City Council member Sarah Marsh and to deny the Fayetteville Housing Authority’s application for a large-scale development.
– Tabled 8-0 until Oct. 3
The project was approved 5-2-2 (Commissioners Hoffman and Quinlan voted ‘no’; Commissioners Belden and Niederman abstained).
Marsh said the project was represented to the commission as a non-profit development, but it has come to light that the development is a for-profit project. She said the applicant was misleading in their attempts to get the project approved. She also said she agrees with two commissioners who said the project doesn’t meet the city’s design goals and will contribute to problems with drainage and traffic.
Marsh said the process by which the project was presented to the commission was flawed and should go back to the drawing board.
“The process here is rotten,” Marsh said. “We need to shine a light on that.”
Council member La Tour asked why the project was approved by the commission if it was indeed presented in such a flawed manner.
City Attorney Kit Williams said although the project was first thought to be in violation of HUD requirements, it was later confirmed that the development is not in violation of any city, state, or federal statute.
Williams said with the project seemingly in compliance, commission members are only allowed to consider whether the project itself fits within the guidelines of the city’s development codes. Since the majority of the commissioners believed that the project did meet the city’s guidelines, they approved the project.
Wisdom of the proposed development and personal opinion of that project, Williams said, are not factors that can be considered.
Marsh noted that two commission members abstained from voting on the project because they had previously been told that the decision would be appealed to the City Council for further consideration.
Council member Petty suggested tabling the item for two weeks to give the applicants time to respond to Marsh’s accusations.
4. 2017 Millage Levy (Details): An ordinance levying a tax on the real and personal property within the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas, for the year 2017 fixing the rate thereof at 2.3 mills for General Fund operations, 0.4 mills for the Firemen’s Pension and Relief Fund, 0.4 mills for the Policemen’s Ppension and Relief Fund, 2.5 mills for Fayetteville Public Library operations, and 1.2 mills for the Fayetteville Public Library expansion; and certifying the same to the County Clerk of Washington County, Arkansas.
– Pass 8-0
Announcements
– A Ward 4 meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 25 in room 111 of City Hall.
– A “startup crawl” scheduled for Sept. 29 in downtown Fayetteville. More info here.
– The first of four fall bulky waste cleanup events is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 30 at two locations in Fayetteville. More info here.
– Information for parking and road closures during Bikes, Blues & BBQ is available on the city’s website.
– The state legislature has changed the titles for individual members of the City Council from “alderman” to “council member.”
Adjourned
This meeting was adjourned at 6:37 p.m.
