SPRINGDALE : Council tables funding plan for I-540 exit
Posted on Wednesday, August 27, 2008
SPRINGDALE — The City Council on Tuesday tabled for a month a resolution authorizing a funding plan for the gateway to Arvest Ballpark — a $ 20 million exit at Interstate 540 linking Don Tyson Parkway and Dearing Road.
Though aldermen expressed support for the exit, they said they needed more input from the planning staff regarding projected revenue for the next four to five years, when the exit is expected to be built.
Alderman Eric Ford complained that planning staff had promised, but never delivered, a detailed account and projections for the Capital Improvement Program, the sales tax fund that would be used to pay for design and construction.
“I’ve been waiting for cashflow charts and I haven’t seen them,” Ford said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen for the next five years.”
An exit is expected to motivate developers looking to build near Arvest, Mayor Jerre Van Hoose said. And the exit would also provide access to residential areas east of I-540 and south of U. S. 412.
Van Hoose wanted to approve the resolution Tuesday and send a signal to developers that Springdale is serious about west end development. But he also sensed the jitters among his colleagues, and said a vote should be taken in four weeks when he is back from vacation.
City planners recently determined that the 2003 bond program needed only $ 6. 3 million in supplements, not the $ 25 million originally set aside. With nearly $ 20 million possibly available for other projects, Van Hoose and Alderman Rick Evans pushed forward with the funding resolution for the exit.
But Tuesday just seemed too early for aldermen to commit to such an expensive program.
“I believe we need to bring in the developers and the landowners to see what the final cost will be,” said Alderman Mike Overton. He said he has yet to see the projection for land acquisition, a figure that is not included in the $ 20 million estimate.
Meanwhile, Springdale is in contract negotiations with Garver Engineers for the exit design.
Springdale is not the only city in the region planning for a new exit. Bentonville has plans for an exit at J Street and either an exit at Eighth Street, or a link that ties Eighth Street to an existing exit. The J Street exit is being funded locally, while the Eighth Street project is being funded by a federal earmark.
Both projects are under design.
Rogers just completed an exit at Perry Road, funded by federal dollars and a local match.
Ford also said that if sales taxes continue to drop, the city might have to offset general fund shortfalls with capital dollars. If that is the case, Ford wondered if Springdale will have enough money to build the exit.
Chief engineer Ben Peters, who wasn’t present Tuesday, said earlier that he expects the sales tax for capital improvements to generate at least $ 7. 5 million per year, leaving $ 5 million annually for the exit and another $ 2. 5 million for other programs.
Planning and Community Development Director Patsy Christie said Tuesday that the new numbers probably won’t be a whole lot more detailed than the ones already proffered by Peters.
“There won’t be major changes to what you got last time,” Christie said.
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