Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Springdale allowed to annex property
TONTITOWN — The city will lose nearly 39 acres of prime real estate along Henri de Tonti Boulevard to Springdale, a Washington County Circuit Court judge decided.
The property is valued at $4 million, attorneys said.
First Security Bank sued Tontitown last year saying city officials didn’t provide adequate police, fire, ambulance, water and sewer or street services. The City Council refused to allow the property to join Springdale in 2014, according to court documents.
On Thursday, Judge Doug Martin found in favor of the bank, attorneys for both sides said.
The bank property will be allowed to be included in Springdale, said Gary Jiles,
attorney for the bank.
Just how or when the property will join Springdale is pending orders from the judge, attorneys said. Springdale is ready to take the property and can offer immediate services, said Ernest B. Cate, city attorney.
Springdale’s City Council voted to annex the property in 2014, he said. No election is required for the property to become part of Springdale, Cate said.
Springdale wasn’t part of the lawsuit, Cate said.
The property — one tract is at 1395 Henri de Tonti Blvd. — is well located for a business and could attract jobs to Springdale, Cate said. Roughly 16 acres is commercially zoned, and about 23 acres to the south of the commercial land is zoned residential, records show.
The bank foreclosed on the property in 2011 but has struggled to sell it because it’s in Tontitown, a bank vice president said in court documents. Bank officials sought de-annexation.
The city plans to continue to fight, said Nicholas P. Corcoran, an attorney for Tontitown, in email.
“( T) he property has not yet been annexed into Springdale and (Tontitown) is not without options, which we do plan to pursue,” he said.
Corcoran didn’t elaborate or respond to further questions. He said he’s “not comfortable” talking about why the judge ruled in favor of the bank.
Martin hasn’t yet issued a finding of fact and conclusion, which would shed light on why he favored the bank and whether the property is automatically part of Springdale, attorneys said Friday.
Jiles said Tontitown made a commitment to offer services and then failed to do so.
Court documents indicate bank officials felt city services weren’t at the same level as what was available in Springdale.
In one instance, the bank paid $ 250,000 to install a sewer main and lift station to service the improved portion of its property, according to a petition filed Dec. 29, 2014. The land had been served “by an inadequate septic system,” according to a petition by the bank.
Bank officials noted in court documents the city couldn’t provide a “stable municipal government.” The instability “deters serious buyers with projects from considering developments or projects in Tontitown,” according to the bank’s 2014 petition.
As an example of instability, the documents cite the city’s move away from the volunteer fire department that served it roughly 38 years, the creation of a cityrun department in 2014, and a return to the volunteer fire department for fire protection services.
City officials bicker and even physically threaten each other, according to the 2014 petition.
Court documents filed by Corcoran repeatedly said the city provided adequate services.
The property has a road, water and sewer available and fire protection, Corcoran wrote in documents.
Aldermen have repeatedly said this year the city has adequate fire and police protection. Springdale provides ambulance service to the city.
Mayor Paul Colvin said an update on the case is likely during the next City Council meeting Oct. 6, he said.