Candidates offer solutions

FAYETTEVILLE — The City Council candidates who want to represent west side residents have similar ideas on how to better link their ward to the rest of the city, but differ on stormwater management and new development.

Adam Fire Cat and Teresa Turk are challenging incumbent John La Tour, who is seeking his second term as Ward 4 representative.

On a map, it looks like Interstate 49 slices through half the city, Fire Cat said, but he rejects the perception the west part of town is isolated. He said connectivity to and from the west side of town could use some work, though. He described the Wedington bridge as a time vampire and supports improving it, which the Arkansas Department of Transportation plans to do late next year.

Turk said the interstate creates a cultural isolation for the west side. She encouraged putting pressure on the state to expand connectivity and work on traffic control.

More bicycle and trail connectivity also will help, she said. In her personal experience, Turk finds herself driving to a spot so she can go for a bike ride. Trail connection at Mount Comfort Road is kind of scary with cars and bicycles in close proximity, and it could be improved, she said.

Turk suggested the council engage in a full-court press with the state to start and finish highway and interstate projects that would make travel in the city safer. Many of the city’s roads double as state highways.

La Tour said he supports the city’s plan to connect Howard Nickell Road to Van Asche Drive using bond referendum money and a grant from the Transportation Department.

La Tour also supports building pockets of infill development west of the interstate. That would put services and amenities, such as shops, offices and convenience stores, near residences. He also advocated for annexation to increase the land supply.

Council members need to think about what the city will look like in 30 years, and its lifeblood is sales tax, La Tour said.

The population is going to grow no matter what, he said. He worried neighboring cities in Northwest Arkansas will outpace Fayetteville. Smart choices, such as when it comes to rezoning or paying police and firefighters properly, have to be made, he said.

“I think we’ve so governed down our growth, and attenuated, that other places will grow more quickly,” La Tour said. “I want Fayetteville to participate in that growth.”

A consequence of growth is frequent flooding. The city is in the middle of a study to determine how much it should add on as a fee to residents’ water bills in order to pay for drainage improvements. The city’s engineers have identified at least $200 million in projects that need to be addressed. The stormwater utility fee is anticipated to be an ongoing source of revenue to take care of an ongoing need.

Turk said the city should do a better job on the front end to prevent what’s causing drainage issues. Pavement from construction contributes to the stormwater problems, and city code should have more rigorous requirements for new developments, she said.

The city should also buy park land when it can, such as Lewis Park. The park near Asbell Elementary became the subject of discussion once the city’s lease with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, which owns the land, was set to expire last summer. The lease has since been extended, and the city is holding talks with the School District on a long-term solution.

Lewis in particular catches a lot of water running through it, and allowing the property to be sold and likely built on would only contribute to flooding issues, Turk said. She proposed using more capital money, which is designated for structural improvements such as roads and sewer lines, for drainage solutions.

Turk expressed reluctance over adding a utility fee because of the hardship it may

cause to residents with fixed or lower incomes.

La Tour voted to support launching the study that will suggest the amount of the utility fee. He likened the fee to a tax, which almost always is dead on arrival to him, unless there’s a compelling reason to support it, La Tour said. Keeping water out of homes served as that compelling reason, La Tour said. He spoke of a constituent who has to put out sandbags every time it rains. La Tour said he wants to continue to serve on the council in order to make sure the revenue generated from the fee will be used appropriately.

Fire Cat said he would reserve judgment on the fee until he sees how much it is. As long as the charge is minimal and spread evenly to residents throughout the city, along with the benefits, it could be appropriate, he said.

“You’ve got to be pragmatic about that sort of thing,” Fire Cat said. “If you’re talking about a cent or two, that becomes one thing, and people don’t mind it as much. If you’re going into dollar amounts tacked onto bills, people start getting a little edgy.”

The council last week unanimously approved a major development on the forested Markham Hill between campus and I-49. Neighbors came out in droves against it.

The candidates expressed different feelings on where they’d fall in the general neighbors-versus-developers conundrum.

La Tour said his inclination is to side with the property owner’s right to develop, unless neighbors present a compelling reason otherwise.

Fire Cat said he wouldn’t deny a development proposal based on aesthetics, but tangible effects such as excessive noise or blazing lights going on all night could sway him.

Turk said she wants to serve as a negotiator between

neighbors, developers and the administration.

“It takes a lot of extra time, it takes a lot of patience, but I think in the end it’s worth it so we have buy-in from everybody,” she said. “That way we won’t have people who are upset and mad and ill-willed on both sides. And we’ll have transparency.”

Ward 4 covers most of the city west of I-49 and parts of the University of Arkansas campus south of Wedington Drive. Notable landmarks include the University Heights neighborhood, Pratt Place Inn, Bryce Davis Park, Holcomb Elementary School, Owl Creek School, Asbell Elementary School and the Boys & Girls Club.

City Council members earn $12,504 annually and serve four-year terms. The election, which is nonpartisan for municipal candidates, will be Nov. 6.