Farmington council adopts new ward boundaries

FARMINGTON — The Farmington City Council adopted an ordinance recently to redistrict city wards based on the 2020 census, though not all current members were able to stay in their respective wards.

In one instance, two current council members will have to run against each other if they want to run for reelection in the November general election.

Jeff Hawkins, director of Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission, said one of the goals for redrawing city wards is to keep council members in their current wards, if possible.

However, due to the high growth in Ward 4 in the southern part of Farmington, staff with regional planning were not able to do that with everyone, Hawkins said.

The council on April 11 approved the 2022 redistricting map, which will be in effect for those running for election in November.

All Position 1 council members will remain in their respective wards: Ward 1, Sherry Matthews; Ward 2, Keith Lipford; Ward 3, Brenda Cunningham; Ward 4, Diane Bryant.

The four-year terms for Position 1 members run through December 2024.

For Position 2 in each ward, only Ward 1 council member Hunter Carnahan remains in the same ward.

Council member Bobby Morgan has been moved from Ward 3 to Ward 2. If he wants to run again for election in November, he would file for the Ward 2, Position 2 seat.

Council members Shelly Parsley and Linda Bell now are in Ward 3. If both are interested in serving again on the City Council, they would have to run against each other for the Ward 3, Position 2 seat.

None of the current Position 2 City Council members is living in the new boundaries for Ward 4 in the southern part of the city. Ward 4 includes Valley View area, Blue Sky Road, Spring Mountain Road and Meadowsweet Subdivision.

In a letter to Mayor Ernie Penn, Hawkins said the City Council has a duty to see that each ward has as nearly an equal population as possible to best serve the interest of its citizens.

Courts have generally ruled that deviations in population among election districts should be less than 10% to be valid.

Based on the 2020 census, Ward 1 had a population of 1,648; Ward 2, 1,556; Ward 3, 1,738; and Ward 4, 2,642, a deviation of 57.3%, far above the threshold of 10%, Hawkins said.

“As such, the redistricting of ward boundaries as a result of the 2020 Census is necessary,” Hawkins said.

The deviation in population for the new wards is 4.4%, according to Hawkins. The population for each ward is as follows: Ward 1, 1,899; Ward 2, 1,864; Ward 3, 1,873; Ward 4, 1,948.

Hawkins said his staff made as few changes as possible to the existing ward boundaries (adopted in 2012 after a special census), while following the 2020 census block lines, and every effort was made to keep current council members, in particular Position 1 members, in their respective wards.

“In short, there unfortunately did not appear to be a practical way to accomplish the objective of redistricting having no effect on all incumbents,” Hawkins said in his letter to Penn.

People interested in running for one of the Position 2 seats on the Farmington City Council will be required to pick up election packets at City Hall and provide an identification and proof of residency to make sure they are filing to run in the correct ward. State law requires candidates to live in their respective ward when they file for office and when holding office.

Candidates can begin gathering signatures on May 12. The first day to file as a candidate is Aug. 3.

In other action, the council approved paying an additional $38,739 for its share of a state project to overlay Southwinds and Jim Brooks roads. The city received $300,000 in state aid street funds to overlay the two streets and agreed to pay any balance if costs exceeded that amount.

The Arkansas Department of Transportation awarded the overlay project to APAC.

Floyd Shelley, public works manager, said the city will follow up this project with work to improve the intersection of Jim Brooks and Clyde Carnes roads.

In other news, the monthly financial report shows revenue from the city’s local

sales tax continues to increase, compared to the same period last year.

For March, revenue from the city’s local sales tax rates is up by more than 27%, compared to March 2021. For March, the city received $220,557, compared to $173,156 in March 2021. This is for sales in December.

Through March, the city has received $742,831 from its local sales tax revenues for its general fund, compared to $540,876 for the same period last year. This is about 35% of what the city budgeted to receive from the city sales tax in 2022.

Revenue from the state sales tax also is up for the year. For March, the revenue is up by 18.6%, compared to March 2021. The city received $137,886 from state sales tax revenues in March, compared to $116,244 in March 2021.