Sowing the seeds : Coody says green movement is key to success for Fayetteville
Posted on Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Fayetteville Mayor Dan Coody wants to leave a legacy of sustainability.
"This issue needs to develop a life of its own that will last beyond those of us in office today," Coody said during his 2008 State of the City address. "I will be leaving office in less than one year, and it would be tremendously discouraging if Fayetteville's successes and momentum in the sustainability movement leave with me."
Coody delivered the address Tuesday before the Fayetteville City Council and a crowd gathered for the debate over the renaming of Sixth Street after Martin Luther King Jr. Coody is not seeking a third term in office.
Taking the lead in the sustainability movement is the only way to secure a strong financial future for the city, Coody said. The city has already garnered national and international attention for its efforts, he said, which is sparking the interest of companies looking for such as community.
Fayetteville is in a unique position to build its economy on sustainability, Coody said, pr imar ily because of the proximity to Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which he described as "the single greatest factor in the changing mindset of business in the global environmental movement."
Following Wal-Mart, Coody said, is the University of Arkansas and the Arkansas Research and Technology Park, which produces the intellectual capital sought by new business.
While the city has begun leading by example through creation of a sustainability coordinator position and committing to build city buildings to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver standards, Coody said, more needs to be done. The city needs to aggressively pursue other tasks, such as encouraging similar building standards by waiving impact fees.
Perhaps the city could provide free parking for vehicles that meet certain efficiency standards and find ways to help "citizens of modest means"replace appliances with more efficient ones, he said.
The city must also maintain the high quality of life, which will take political will, Coody said. The long-term security of the city will require investments now despite the tight financial circumstances, he said.
Coody said there are two types of infrastructure in which city governments must invest: hard and soft. He described hard infrastructure as streets and sewer plants, while the soft category covers such things as trails and police.
"Thinking of these soft infrastructure quality-oflife requirements only as wants instead of needs fails to understand what it is that makes Fayetteville such a great place to live," he said. "It also fails to understand what is required of us if we are going to compete with the outside world."
Coody cautioned that Rogers is getting ready to invest $ 25 million in its quality-oflife and that Fayetteville can't stand to fall behind in that regard as well, in light of the loss of sales tax revenue to communities to the north.
Keeping the Walton Arts Center has to be another key focus for the city, Coody said. City leaders can't wait for the center to finish its expansion plan study, but must work now to keep it here through projects such as the proposed parking deck / Dickson Street hotel.
Coody also stressed the importance of being more business friendly within the constraints of city regulations, particularly plans developed from resident participation. He said the problem for developers is not that they have to meet stringent requirements, but that they fear denial at the council level even if those requirements are met.
"In being hyper-responsive to the individual, we completely discount the majority," he said.
Coody spoke of accomplishments in the previous year, which include the construction of a new fire station and $ 200, 000 in savings from programs instituted by the sustainability coordinator. The city's lobbyist has also been successful in the few years it has been under contract with the city, bringing in more than $ 16 million while only costing $ 300, 000, he said.
Major infrastructure projects are well under way, Coody said, with the west side sewer plant about five months from beginning operation. Transportation improvements are also under way as part of the sales tax bond issue, he said, though the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department has estimated certain projects will cost more.
Coody likened the higher estimates to the cost overruns of the Wastewater System Improvement Project, which is more than $ 60 million over what voters were told when they approved the sales tax to pay for it.
While transportation remains the area most in need of improvement - and will likely remain so for the foreseeable future - Coody said, that's a good thing.
"When I consider the top concerns of many other communities - crushing poverty, high murder and violent crime rates, systematic corruption, failing schools, crumbling infrastructure, dangerous pollution, absence of opportunity to name just a few - I thank God traffic congestion is our biggest immediate problem," Coody said.
To read the entire text of Coody's address, go to blog. accessfayetteville. org.
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