Rogers downtown improvements will take time

Jarrod Benningfield (left) of Springdale and Steven McDaniel of Fayetteville walk Friday along the sidewalk past businesses on Walnut Street in downtown Rogers. For photo galleries, go to nwadg.com/photos.
Jarrod Benningfield (left) of Springdale and Steven McDaniel of Fayetteville walk Friday along the sidewalk past businesses on Walnut Street in downtown Rogers. For photo galleries, go to nwadg.com/photos.

ROGERS -- Improvement to streets, parks and utilities downtown will happen over time as money becomes available, Mayor Greg Hines said Friday.

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NWA Democrat-Gazette

People walk on Friday along the sidewalk past businesses on First Street in downtown Rogers. The Downtown Plan approved recently by the City Council calls for numerous capital improvement projects. For photo galleries, go to nwadg.com/photos.

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NWA Democrat-Gazette

Traffic passes Friday through the intersection of Walnut Street and Second Street in downtown Rogers. “I certainly think downtown will play a role in budget talks this year as I try to formulate the next year’s budget to present to the council,” Mayor Greg Hines said.

The Downtown Plan approved recently by the City Council calls for numerous capital improvement projects.

"The key to developing a successful and sustainable downtown is through implementation of strategic public projects that complement private investment advancing the downtown plan," the plan states.

Projects could be paid for through the city's annual budget, a future bond issue and private-public partnerships, Hines said.

"This is the time of priority setting and determining what projects could be cash flowed through the budgeting process vs. those that will require significant capital," Hines said.

The city's 2016 budget starts in January. The process of deciding the budget will start next month and will be adopted in November, Hines said.

"I certainly think downtown will play a role in budget talks this year as I try to formulate the next year's budget to present to the council," Hines said. "It may be very small things -- installing an underwater drain system for four blocks so sidewalks can be put on top of it."

The city already budgets things such as decorative lighting annually, Hines said. The budget also has flexibility if special projects pop up, he said.

About $1 million the City Council approved to buy property downtown in recent months is an example of finding flexibility in the budget, Hines said. This includes $365,000 for the purchase of a city block at 101 E. Cherry St. Another $729,900 was approved to buy the former Rogers Morning News building at 313 S. Second St.

Big Projects

Larger projects such as redoing roads or revamping parks could come in the next bond issue, Hines said. A bond issue could go before voters in about three years, he said.

The last bond project was approved in September 2011. It was to pay off $149.9 million in bonds for capital improvement projects and refund previous bonds.

The $17.5 million Lake Atalanta project is an example of a project partially paid for through the bond that will affect downtown, Hines said. The city also used reserve and a $3.8 million matching grant from the Walton Family Foundation for the project.

As the city redoes roads, utilities also should be considered, the master plan suggests.

"Currently there are numerous underground utilities that require some form of upsizing or replacement," the plan states. "These include aging lines with materials that no longer are used in the construction of utility lines, so replacement of utilities throughout downtown will be necessary."

Earl Rausch, Rogers Water Utilities superintendent, said most of the water lines downtown were replaced in the 1950s and 1960s. Fire codes have changed since then, he said.

"Today's code is going to require sprinkler systems in a lot of those older buildings," Rausch said. "When they designed those lines they weren't looking at sprinkler systems. We need to up the capacity for sprinklers."

Some areas of downtown were built for homes but now serve commercial businesses, Rausch said. The downtown plan also calls for a shift of uses in some places downtown, he said. A change could alter what type of water lines are needed, he said.

Rausch said the Water Department doesn't know what the capacity needs are downtown exactly. A citywide study including capacity needs is being done by Garver Engineering, he said. It should be complete by the end of the year, he said.

Water officials are also starting to meet with city officials to figure out the best way to update lines, Rausch said. It's best lines are replaced as road projects are completed, he said. This takes coordination with the city's Planning Department, Rausch said.

"The Gateway people have given us the big picture, but it isn't their job to go into detail," Rausch said, referring to the consultant that developed the downtown plan. "We haven't done the details yet."

Hines said the city also is looking at hiring a person to oversee the downtown plan.

"They will know the master plan inside and out," Hines said. "They will eat, sleep and breath this plan. They will advocate for the implementation of the plan."

City officials are just starting to design what the position could look like, Hines said.

Bentonville Downtown

A downtown plan for Bentonville was created in 1997, Mayor Bob McCaslin said. But it wasn't until the city started investing in infrastructure in about 2007 that things really started to turn around for the area, he said.

A 2007 bond issue raised the money to replace utility infrastructure, streets and sidewalks, McCaslin said.

"Upon completion, three years before Crystal Bridges opened, people began improving their own buildings," McCaslin said. "It seemed vacancy rates went to virtually zero."

Infrastructure improvement plays an important role in downtowns, McCaslin said.

"We believe that it is the city's role to create the environment that will attract commercial development infill," McCaslin said. "If we have the infrastructure right, we believe the private sector will look at it and say, 'I like the direction I see that city going and I will invest in what they are doing.'"

Hines also said the city is just one player in the improvement of downtown.

"That role is not that of purchasing a large quantity of land but of ensuring that the infrastructure is in place so that an investor or developer can seize that opportunity," Hines said.

NW News on 08/16/2015

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