Fayetteville mayor delivers 'State of the City' address

FAYETTEVILLE -- Mayor Lioneld Jordan highlighted 2014 accomplishments and noted several initiatives on tap in the year ahead during his annual "State of the City" address Tuesday.

"I am proud to report tonight that the state of our city is sound," Jordan said during his 43-minute speech. "Together we are building a bright future for our residents."

At A Glance

Fayetteville City Council

Also on Tuesday, the City Council:

• Agreed to roll $86.2 million worth of ongoing capital projects, outstanding debt obligations and grant-funded items into the city’s $145.2 million budget for 2015

• Approved an $891,000 contract with Dallas-based RJN Group Inc. for a sewer system evaluation study

• Awarded bids for asphalt striping, curb and gutter construction, hillside gravel, truck hauling, concrete, aggregate materials, plastic drainage pipe, concrete drainage pipe, topsoil, thermoplastic pavement markings, retaining wall blocks and waste disposal services in 2015

• Elected Mark Kinion, Ward 2 alderman, as the city’s vice mayor

• Recognized City Clerk Sondra Smith as the recipient of Fayetteville’s 2015 Martin Luther King Jr. Brotherhood Award

Source: Staff Report

On the web

Go to the online version of this story at nwadg.com to read a copy of Mayor Lioneld Jordan’s “State of the City” address.

Source: Staff Report

Also on Tuesday, the City Council approved a set of policy changes meant to encourage small-scale manufacturing in commercial zones.

Aldermen also decided to hold off on new rules for how local ballot initiatives and referendums must be worded until after the City Council's Ordinance Review Committee has a chance to weigh in on the proposal.

Jordan touched in his address on several major infrastructure projects that were completed or began in 2014.

City officials cut the ribbon on a long-awaited bridge connecting northbound College Avenue to westbound lanes of traffic on the Fulbright Expressway in July. Another project that took Garland Avenue to four lanes between North Street and Melmar Drive wrapped up last year.

The city broke ground on a 1-mile extension to Van Asche Drive, between Gregg Avenue and Arkansas 112, in March. And design work has begun on Rupple Road and Zion Road improvements.

Jordan said he expects drivers to begin using a 245-space parking deck on the south side of the Walton Arts Center property in October. He said restoration of historic bridges on Maple and Lafayette streets will begin this year as will realignment of the Old Wire Road-Mission Boulevard intersection and design work for new sidewalks and tree wells along College Avenue.

City officials plan to tackle sidewalk projects in 2015, including work on East Dickson Street, South School Avenue, Mission Boulevard and Markham Road. Roughly three miles of new trails are planned.

"Strategic investment in infrastructure produces a foundation for long-term smart growth, and our people deserve to see where their dollars are going," Jordan said Tuesday.

He said 755 building permits were issued in 2014, but, he added, there is room for improvement.

"I believe we can and must do more to be competitive in growing our local economy," the mayor said.

He pledged to conduct a survey of business owners and employees in the coming year to determine if the city should change its development code.

Jordan tried to put debate over the city's recent Civil Rights Administration ordinance in a positive light. Voters repealed the ordinance in a Dec. 9 referendum. Their action overturned the council's decision Aug. 20 to enact the anti-discrimination law.

"We are not a divided city like some argue," Jordan said. "What is revealed by the recent debates and conversations about the city's civil rights ordinance is that we are still Fayetteville -- a vibrant community that welcomes open dialogue about important issues."

He also mentioned Mount Kessler acquisition, passage of an urban agriculture ordinance, formation of the state's first energy improvement district and creation of the city's first community orchard in Tuesday's address.

The manufacturing policies the City Council approved Tuesday will allow small-scale production by right in several zoning districts where manufacturing is prohibited. Most manufacturing sites will be limited to 5,000 square feet. Microbreweries, micro-distilleries and micro-wineries will be allowed to operate in commercial zones, so long as their buildings are less than 10,000 square feet and they produce no more than 15,000 barrels of alcohol per year.

The proposal related to citywide initiatives and referendums would give the city attorney's office authority to review proposed ballot language before groups begin circulating petitions in an effort to put local measures to a public vote. The City Council's Ordinance Review Committee is scheduled to meet today and will set a date to discuss the proposal.

Joel Walsh can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAJoel

NW News on 01/21/2015

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