FAYETTEVILLE -- Rising health insurance costs for more than 600 city employees and a $40,000 appropriation for a Sept. 8 special election are among several items on a full City Council agenda next week.
Aldermen are also scheduled to review a divisive rezoning request on 4 acres northeast of Cleveland Street and Razorback Road and a resolution requiring further study of buying the Chamber of Commerce building.
Fayetteville City Council
The City Council is scheduled to meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in Room 219 of the City Administration Building, 113 W. Mountain St.
Other agenda items include:
• A request to rezone 16 acres at 4065 E. Huntsville Road where a mixed-use residential and commercial development is planned; and
• A resolution authorizing an application for a $150,000 grant from the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism. If received, the money will be used to make parking and playground improvements at Wilson Park.
Source: Staff Report
According to a report by Pachee Lee, Fayetteville benefits administrator, total health insurance premiums will jump by 6.4 percent next year.
Currently, employees pay $82.96 per month on the city's traditional plan and $13.16 per month for high-deductible coverage. Those prices will increase to $96.28 and $20.18 in 2016, about 22 percent and 8.7 percent of the true cost of health insurance coverage, respectively. City taxpayers pick up the rest of the bill.
Family coverage was $384.72 per month for employees on Blue Cross Blue Shield's traditional plan and $40.68 per month for employees receiving high-deductible benefits this year. Costs will increase to $420 and $59.28, respectively, in 2016.
The increased price of providing insurance to 634 employees will be split evenly between the city and its employees, bringing the city's total expected cost in 2016 to approximately $3.5 million.
The $40,000 for the Sept. 8 election on Fayetteville's Uniform Civil Rights Protection ordinance is a $3,045, or 8.2 percent, increase over the $36,955 the city spent on a Dec. 9 special election, where a previous anti-discrimination ordinance was repealed by 52 percent of the 14,580 people who cast ballots.
According to a bill from the Washington County Election Commission, the bulk of the cost for the Dec. 9 election was poll workers ($17,103), ballot stock and printing ($6,253), county staff ($4,156) and election commission meetings ($2,100).
A special allocation is needed for the Sept. 8 vote, because the City Clerk's office didn't budget for an election in 2015.
The Uniform Civil Rights Protection ordinance, if approved, will prohibit specific acts of discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender residents.
It applies to landlords, private companies with at least nine employees and all places of public accommodation that provide goods and services to the general public. Churches and religious organizations of any kind are exempt.
Aldermen are scheduled to hear the Cleveland Street rezoning request for the second time Tuesday.
Paul Jeske and his family are asking for more dense zoning on land they've owned for decades in order to build up to 54 residential units in a cluster of houses, duplexes and cottage-style apartments.
City planners, planning commissioners and nearby residents have opposed the Jeskes' request, saying the Downtown General zoning designation they're seeking is inappropriate so close to existing homes.
Neighbors have also cited traffic, parking and density concerns.
Brian Teague, an engineer with Community by Design who's representing the Jeskes, said in a July 2 letter, "The property owner feels that the proposed rezoning is compatible with the surrounding land use and is encouraged by the city of Fayetteville's long-range planning goals."
Aldermen Adella Gray and Mark Kinion sponsored the resolution asking Mayor Lioneld Jordan's administration to further study buying Chamber of Commerce building, 123 W. Mountain St.
Chamber officials plan to move into a new space on the south side of the downtown square by the first of the year, leaving the circa 1960 structure available for purchase.
Paul Becker, Fayetteville finance director, said city administrators have already considered the purchase and deemed it unnecessary.
"I don't see that we're going to have major additions to our staff here in the downtown campus in the near future," Becker said July 20.
Kinion, at the time, responded, "It seems to me like it would be an ideal property to hang on to if we could."
"We pretty much own everything around it," he added.
Aldermen are scheduled to tour the building -- and the Fayetteville Police Department, 100 W. Rock St. -- at 5 p.m. Monday.
The building is listed at $998,000.
NW News on 07/29/2015