Fayetteville City Council Approves Walton Arts Center Changes

Aldermen Assured Fayetteville Facility Will Be Improved

FAYETTEVILLE -- Walton Arts Center officials expect fundraising for a Fayetteville expansion to kick into high gear now that city aldermen have approved governance changes for the nonprofit organization.

The City Council approved the changes, 7-1, Tuesday after hearing from a number of prominent residents.

At A Glance

Fayetteville City Council

Also on Tuesday, the City Council:

• Rejected a rezoning request allowing two houses to be built on about 1.6 acres at 659 N. Genevieve Ave.

• Agreed to rezone 0.7 acres at 1974 N. Gregg Ave. where a small apartment complex is planned.

Source: Staff Report

The University of Arkansas chancellor, chairman of the Walton Arts Center Council, chairman of the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce's board and president of the Dickson Street Merchants Association all urged aldermen to adopt the governance proposal as presented.

The changes, among other things, will give the Walton Family Foundation nine appointees on the center's 19-member board. The city and university will each retain five. According to amended articles of incorporation, the board will be able to add four members at a time, with one member being appointed by the university, one by the city and two by the Walton Family Foundation.

"Those were the three major players, and, therefore, they ... should be the ones to appoint the board," City Attorney Kit Williams said Tuesday.

The board will no longer be legally identified as an "agent" of the city and university, with strict fiduciary duties to those two entities. It will no longer just oversee operations at the Fayetteville arts center. It will also officially be in charge of the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion in Rogers and an additional performing arts center planned for Bentonville.

The center will continue to lease 495 W. Dickson St. for another 25 years. Fayetteville taxpayers' investment of $1.5 million, which was used to create the center's endowment in the mid-1980s, will be returned to the city and can be put toward a downtown parking deck. And programming in Fayetteville will be required to continue "in a manner that is generally commensurate with the quality and quantity of performances and activities occurring prior to 2013."

Those written assurances were bolstered last week when the center's board passed a resolution stating money will not be raised for any other facilities before the Fayetteville expansion and renovation project is complete.

"The Fayetteville arts center has been and will be for as far as this board can see the centerpiece and engine of the Walton Arts Center," Greg Lee, chairman of the center's board, said Tuesday. "It is both our pledge and our stated intention to expand and upgrade the jewel that is the Walton Arts Center of Fayetteville."

Joe Fennel, who owns Bordinos restaurant, a block away from the arts front doors, said renovation will reinvigorate Dickson Street -- just as the Walton Arts Center did when it opened in 1992.

The renovation project, as pitched to voters in the run-up to a Nov. 12 bond election, includes a new lobby, expanded Starr Theater, larger backstage area and new administrative offices, as well as technical upgrades to the 1,201-seat Baum Walker Hall. According to a timeline presented at last week's board meeting, construction is expected to begin in August and last through mid- to late 2016.

Chancellor David Gearhart, who emphasized his Fayetteville roots and sported a purple tie Tuesday, said, "I know there's a lot of controversy about what happens, perhaps, in other cities in Northwest Arkansas. There's not a whole lot any of us can do about that.

"Personally, I am very supportive of what happens all through Northwest Arkansas. The AMP, the potential building of another venue -- perhaps in Bentonville -- I think all of those are good things. But my first concern has to be about this city and the University of Arkansas."

"I believe firmly that enacting this new governance structure is going to benefit the city of Fayetteville and is going to benefit the university," Gearhart said. "The city of Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas are the two entities that have to do everything we can to make certain that the Walton Arts Center remains viable and continues to be an important entity in our city and on Dickson Street. We believe that in order to do that -- to ensure that we're going to have a viable entity -- we need to enact these new governance documents."

Alderman Justin Tennant last month suggested the changes go into effect only after the Fayetteville renovation is complete or only after $23 million is raised for the effort. Tennant said Tuesday the support from "some of the most prominent citizens we have" convinced him the city's interests are being protected.

"Depending on one or two people who say, "Trust me," or "Trust us," was not sufficient to me, and I didn't think it was sufficient to the people of Fayetteville," Tennant said. "However, when I see these people tonight ... it's clear to me that these people truly have given their word."

"I want to thank the WAC Council for making this assurance," Tennant said. "I want to thank them for giving us their personal assurances and giving their word that this project will happen as voters were told that it would."

Alderman Alan Long, the only City Council member to vote against them changes, said he had hoped the proposal would be heard for a third time at the council's July 15 meeting. Long also questioned why other municipalities weren't being represented on the center's board.

NW News on 07/02/2014

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