City not following own ordinances, unresponsive

My wife, Sharon Davison, and I were glad to see Greg’s Harton’s column in the June 5 Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. It is sad to see that Fayetteville city government, which once prided itself on transparency and inclusion, seems to be moving toward autocracy. Adella Gray and Sarah Marsh are our aldermen, and they seem to wish to stifle public debate.

We have had over a decade of problems with the city of Fayetteville, which have resulted in material damage to our homestead, declining property value and much emotional stress. City agencies have failed to enforce their own ordinances, and have gone beyond that to harass us. I presented these concerns, with documentation, directly to Mayor Lioneld Jordan a few months ago; he advised me to approach my aldermen to petition the City Council for compensation (he had verbally promised my wife he would take care of the matter). Gray did respond to one email, two months ago, by stating that she would “look into it.” Apparently she and Marsh do not like to respond to emails and phone calls any more than they care to listen to citizens at meetings.

Yet, Fayetteville seems to have plenty of money to throw at fancy development ideas, outside consultants for decades-old parking issues and nebulous city jobs. Sharon and I wish only to be made whole. We have no confidence in the judicial system; why should we have to pay for the city to follow its own regulations? CHARLES R. “RICK” BELT

Fayetteville