Only 4,030 voters cast ballots on impact fees
Posted on Sunday, April 22, 2007
Three Farmers, three Farthings, two Favorites, a Fickle and four Friends were among the Fayetteville residents who cast their votes recently on the question of road impact fees.
So did 30 Johnsons, 28 Jones, 25 Smiths, 25 Browns, 9 Terminellas, some of the Quorum Court, most of the Planning Commission, all of the Fayetteville City Council, the mayor and the school superintendent, according to a list of voters prepared by officers of the Washington County Clerk of Court. The 4, 030 voters who cast ballots in the April 10 election rejected the road impact fees in a cliffhanger election that, as of Friday, ended in a 2, 015 tie.
Another 31, 908 of the city's 35, 938 registered voters didn't vote.
Janine Parry, assistant professor of political science at the University of Arkansas and director of the Arkansas Poll, said the low turnout, about 11. 2 percent, was not uncommon for a local issue. She said that typically 65 to 80 percent of registered voters turn out in national elections. "It's terribly ironic that Americans are most likely to participate in the elections on which they are least likely to have an effect," said Parry. "Conversely, we are least likely to participate in the elections on which we stand the greatest chance of having an effect," she said. "This election was a perfect demonstration of that fact. "Parry, a Ward 2 resident, voted on the losing side. She favored the road impact fees.
Drama
It's been said that the only time one vote doesn't matter is when it's not cast. For 10 days, Fayetteville's road impact fee election hung on that one-vote-notcast with a 2, 015 to 2014 tally. Two provisional ballots, cast by Shannon Raffaelli and John Meeks, were studied by the Washington County Election Commission, but both were denied and the one-vote difference stood. One overseas ballot, counted Friday, reversed that result. For now. Michael K. Lee's "no "vote from Panama brought the question to a 2, 015 tie instead of a majority of one. As a tie, the issue failed. Even that hangs in the balance as Washington County Attorney George Butler checks legal issues about the address. The vote could turn around again depending the results of the county attorney's research. A majority of 50 percent plus one vote is required for the fees to take affect.
Voters
Jeff Erf, who campaigned for the fees, voted. Steve Rust, president and CEO of the Fayetteville Economic Development Council, who campaigned against the fees, did not. He lives in Farmington.
Steve Percival, School Board president, didn't vote. He lives in the school district, but not in the city limits.
Jim Lindsey, faced with the potential of more than $ 3 million in impact fees for one proposed project called The Links, was busy that day. He didn't vote.
"I was out of town," said Lindsey.
Asked why he didn't use early voting, he said," I just planned to vote, and I got caught out of town. "Lindsey said," I'm one of the 89 percent. All of us didn't do a very good job. "Tom Terminella, Tracy Hoskins, Charles Sloan, John Nock, Richard Alexander and Brandon Barber are among the developers who voted. UA Athletics Director Frank Broyles also voted. Developer Hank Broyles didn't. He lives in Johnson. "My wife and I were sitting around the other day saying if we still lived in Fayetteville, we would have both voted no and ended the impact fees," said Hank Broyles Friday.
Wards
More Ward 1 residents cast votes than any other ward, even though Ward 4 has more registered voters. Ward 1 Alderman Adella Gray thinks the traffic on Mission Boulevard and Huntsville Road may have inspired the 1, 290 voters of her ward. "Possibly, people in our ward are just very aware that we need a lot of work done. And they realize it costs a lot of money," Gray said. The city's first ward has 8, 661 registered voters, giving them a 31. 95 percent turnout. For herself, Gray campaigned for her council seat on her support for impact fees. Ward 3 brought out the next highest turnout in both number - 1, 121 - and percentage, 27. 76 percent of its 9, 670 registered voters.
The 923 voters from Ward 4 represent 22. 86 percent of the 10, 019 registered voters on the city's west side.
Residents of the downtown area had the smallest turnout in the election with 704 or 17. 43 percent of Ward 2 's 7, 588 registered voters.
None of the 166 voters registered in Precinct 38 voted at their North Porter Road site. Precincts 42 and 43 also had no voters. Nor is anyone registered to vote in those precincts, reported the Clerk of Court's office. In Precinct 6, 310 voters cast their ballots at Trinity Temple Church on Rolling Hills Drive, topping the precinct list.
Ages
Pearl I. Clinehens, 94, the oldest voter in the impact fee election, chose not to say how he voted. "I voted the way I wanted to," he said. Clinehens said he votes in all the elections. Clinehens, at 94, was in the smallest group of voters by age. Twenty-three people from 88- to 97-years-old voted in the election.
Kimberly A. Bundsgaard, 18, a senior at Fayetteville Public Schools and the youngest voter, plans to do the same through her lifetime. This was her second election.
Bundsgaard voted no.
"If we have the impact fees, then it costs the builders more money to build the houses which makes the houses cost more," Bundsgaard said.
Bundsgaard said she likes the mix of people in Fayetteville and felt the added cost to new homes could change that variety.
Folks around the halfcentury mark cast the most votes in the impact fee election. There were 1, 021 votes cast by people who are 48- to 57-years-old. The count was 192 for the youngest group of voters, ages 18 to 27. Votes by age group are identified in a chart on this page.
Officials
Bobby New, superintendent of Fayetteville Public Schools, said he voted, in part, because it is a civic responsibility. "Part of our charge is being good, responsible citizens and setting an example for emerging leaders," said New. New chose not to say how he voted, adding that he has friends and board members on both sides of the issue. The school board president, Percival, could not vote because he lives out of town. Like Hank Broyles, he wanted to. Percival said he was concerned that critical commercial real estate development," so desperately needed"for the property tax base that funds much of the school district, would be lost if the impact fees were approved by voters. Of the 13 Washington County Quorum Court Justices of the Peace, five have Fayetteville addresses, although they do not all live within the city boundaries. Steve Zega and Ken Kieklak voted. Jessie Bryant didn't. "It was a very busy day," she said. Unexpected situations stopped planning commissioners Christine Myres and Hilary Harris from casting their votes. Harris said she wasn't in town and that was not anticipated so she could not prepare for the election. Myres planned to vote at the end of the workday but an unexpected deadline kept her at work past the time that she could get to her polling place. Both women said they are voters and vote in most elections. John Logan Burrow, chairman of the Washington County Election Commission, and Nancy Varvil, election coordinator, both voted.
New voters
Former Iowa state senator and congressional candidate Dr. John Redwine has called Fayetteville home for about three years. He voted in this election and has voted in every election since he arrived. His reasons are similar to those identified by Parry, the key importance of voting on local issues.
"When I was in Sioux City, I was always disgusted to see that 4 percent of the population had voted for school board members when they controlled the majority of the property tax in the county," Redwine said. "As a former school board member, I encouraged people to get out and vote. That was their only say about that."
Redwine voted against the impact fees.
"I see no distinction between fees and taxes. In my opinion this was just another tax. I did read all the issues. I can see both sides of the story. It's a beautiful area, and we love living here; but, I believe it's overtaxed."
Michael Norris has lived in Fayetteville about two years. He has voted in three elections since he arrived from Texas. He voted against impact fees. "Being a newcomer and seeing the growth, I think it's very important to broaden our tax base," said Norris. He said passage of the fees "would have been a godsend for Johnson and Springdale."
Will of the people
Ward 4 Alderman Lioneld Jordan has been working to bring road impact fees to the city for the six years he has been on the council. He said last week before the overseas ballot was counted that he would adhere to the final outcome of the election, regardless of what that outcome is. "We brought this forward as a vote of the people to get direction on which way the people want to go. If that one vote is against the impact fee, I will respect the voice of the people," he said.
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