All aboard : Fayetteville joins others along I-540 on mobility authority
Posted on Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Fayetteville jumped on the bandwagon Tuesday with the other three big cities along Interstate 540 to participate in the Northwest Arkansas Regional Mobility Authority.
The Fayetteville City Council approved an ordinance 7-0 to join the authority. Alderman Adella Gray was absent.
The council's approval means the mayor or his representative will have a seat on the board of the newly formed authority, which will focus on implementing regional transportation priorities.
A northern bypass around Springdale and a Bella Vista bypass are a couple of examples of projects the authority board might pursue, officials said.
Alderman Shirley Lucas explained that Fayetteville was already a part of the authority regardless of how the council voted Tuesday.
"By virtue of the Washington County Quor um Court voting to be in, the (residents ) of Fayetteville are in whether we vote up or down," she said. "What we are voting on tonight is a vote on the board."
Benton County, Rogers, Lowell, Bentonville, Prairie Grove, Springdale and Bella Vista have also adopted ordinances to join the authority.
The authority is a single entity that will work toward implementation and construction of regional transportation projects. The ordinances passed by the counties establish an agency that can begin working to put together financing and construction plans.
All cities of the first class within the two counties can join the authority and have a voting member on the board. Second-class cities can also join, but they will not be voting members on the board.
The authority will be able to issue bonds that are funded by sales tax revenues or tolls, but any tax increases would require approval of the county quorum courts and a majority of the voters, officials said.
"I'm really glad that all of the cities along the I-540 corridor are now on board," Mike Malone, director of the Northwest Arkansas Council, said in an interview after the meeting. "So far, there has been widespread support for the concept."
Scott Van Laningham, vice chairman of the Northwest Arkansas Council, told the City Council the authority plans to start meeting in August after all the city councils in the two counties have had an opportunity to vote on whether to join.
He said members do not have to pay any dues to join. Malone has agreed to serve as a volunteer staff member for the organization, and the Northwest Arkansas Region- al Planning Commission has agreed to provide office space, he said.
"The idea was to keep the costs low until you know if you have a functioning (authority )," Van Laningham said.
He said that although the authority will have the power of condemnation, he thinks that's something it will do as a last resort.
He also said that mass transit has to be part of the package that's evaluated by the authority board.
Alderman Lioneld Jordan said people asked a lot of good questions at a Ward 4 meeting Monday regarding the authority.
Jeff Hawkins, director of the Regional Planning Commission, said on Monday that amendments to state legislation in 2007 made it more feasible for local governments to establish regional mobility authorities.
An act signed by Gov. Mike Beebe last March gives local governments the power to fund transportation projects through voter-approved sales taxes or the creation of toll roads.
"This is intended to be a supplement to and not a substitute for state and federal funding," Hawkins said in an interview Tuesday.
"This is the only way for cities and counties to collectively fund and implement regional transportation projects," he said. "It's a new tool, and no one else has adopted one. We are the first in the state."
In other business, the council • Heard complaints from several people about an ordinance on first reading regarding changes in street improvements to be required on the Ruskins Heights development along Arkansas 45. The change would allow developers to pay the city more than $ 43, 000 in lieu of improvements. One change is not adding a turning lane that the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department has said it will not approve.
• Approved a resolution to apply for a matching grant of $ 68, 235 for the Fayetteville Executive Airport.
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