Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Centerton set to vote on sales tax extension
New city hall, road and park work sought
CENTERTON — Residents will decide Tuesday if they want to extend a sales tax to pay for road improvements, park development and a new city hall.
“This is a continuation of the current sales tax,” Alderman Wayne Low said. “We still need roads and parks. The city hall is maxed out to the gills, very full. There’s no room for storage or more people.”
Sixteen early votes had been cast by 3:15 p.m. Friday. Early voting will continue at the Benton County Clerk’s Office in Bentonville on Monday. Centerton has 7,600 registered voters, according to Dana Caler, Benton County’s election administrator.
City leaders are asking resident to continue a 1-cent sales tax voters passed in 2006. Mayor Bill Edwards said they are asking for $31 million.
About $15 million will go to street improvements, $6 million toward refinancing the 2006 bond, $4 million for parks and trails, around $4.5 million for capital projects and $1 million each for the Police and Fire departments. Each will be presented to voters as a separate question, Edwards said.
Refinancing the sales tax will extend it to 30 years, Edwards said.
“But it will be paid off sooner than 30 years,” he said.”Our city is growing rapidly, so we’ll get more sales tax to pay off the principal.”
Centerton’s population grew nearly 36 percent between 2010 and 2016, going from 9,487 residents to 12,861, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The city collected about $26,000 a month in sales tax in 2011, and is now collecting $108,000 a month, Edwards said.
The $15 million in street improvements includes $4 million to widen Centerton Boulevard from Main Street to Arkansas 279 from two lanes to five lanes. Edwards said the money will be used to match Highway Departments money and should go to bid in 2021.
The rest of the street improvement money would go to road maintenance and various future projects, Edwards said.
Susan Ratliff, a six-year Centerton resident, said road improvements are necessary, especially with the influx of students to West High School, which has about 1,800 students.
“Our city is growing,” Ratliff said. “We have to have better traffic flow. We need it to run smooth so we can go to work and get kids to school. That just comes with growth.”
The city plans to use the parks and recreation share of the sales tax money to upgrade equipment at Hickory Park and Thompson Park, build a splash pad and restrooms at McKissic Park on Allen Road, and complete Kinyon Sports Complex on Gamble Road near the high school, Edwards said.
“We got one operational baseball/softball field and we have three to go,” Edwards said.
The city will also use sales tax money to extend its trail system, but there are no exact plans on what those extensions will be, Edwards said.
Capital project expenses include a new city hall/district court building.
“If this passes we hope to have it done within a year,” Edwards said. “The need is here today.”
Sales tax money for capital projects will also go toward future upgrades and improvements to city property, Edwards said.
There are no specific plans for how the $2 million for the Police and Fire departments would be spent, but Edwards said the police and fire stations might need expansion.
The sales tax approved in 2006 was for a $9 million bond, $6 million of which was used for streets and $3 million for EMS. Street improvements from the 2006 sales tax included widening Centerton Boulevard from Greenhouse Road to Main Street, widening Gamble Road and installing a traffic light at the Seba Road and Gamble Road intersection, Edwards said.
The EMS money went toward building a fire station on Arkansas 72, a fire station on West Centerton Boulevard, purchasing two fire trucks, a new ladder truck, a brush pumper and a support truck that carries supplies, Edwards said.
Edwards hopes residents will support the sales tax extension across the board.
“It’s a worthwhile cause and we’ll be frugal with the money,” he said.
“Our city is growing. We have to have better traffic flow. We need it to run smooth so we can go to work and get kids to school. That just comes with growth.”
— Susan Ratliff, a Centerton resident