South Fayetteville City Council candidates speak to growth, economy

FAYETTEVILLE -- The city is growing and whoever sits on the City Council will have to plan responsibly, the two candidates vying to represent Ward 1 agreed.

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Sarah Marsh

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Paul Phaneuf

Alderwoman Sarah Marsh faces author and minister Paul Phaneuf for one of south Fayetteville's council spots. Marsh has served on Ward 1, Position 2 since 2013 and became vice mayor in January.

Fayetteville City Council

Ward 1

Sarah Marsh

• Age: 40

• Residency: Fayetteville, 16 years.

• Employment: Self-employed designer, E̶m̶i̶l̶y̶ ̶M̶o̶r̶r̶i̶s̶ Emily Mars* Fashion House.

• Education: Bachelor’s of architecture, University of Arkansas.

• Political Experience: Fayetteville City Council, 2013 to present; vice mayor since January.

Paul Phaneuf

• Age: 67

• Residency: Fayetteville, two years.

• Employment: Author, minister, owner of Liberty Consulting.

• Education: Four years at Providence College, Rhode Island.

• Political experience: None.

Phaneuf ran unsuccessfully against Ward 1, Position 1 Alderwoman Adella Gray in 2014.

Ward 1 covers much of south and southeast Fayetteville, including Walker Park, Kessler Mountain Regional Park, Lake Sequoyah and the Arkansas Research and Technology Park.

Phaneuf, a financial consultant, said he wants to see responsible commercial revitalization that will encourage residential development in south Fayetteville. He said he supports many of the visions outlined in the city's 2030 Master Plan and wants to maintain a friendly business environment to keep the tax base strong to pay for those projects.

"We can always adapt as we go based on what actually happens," Phaneuf said. "But we can't adapt if we don't have the money to do it."

More buildings that engage the streetscape, such as trailside homes and mixed-use development, will better connect neighborhoods and result in a safer community, Marsh said. A major part of the city's master plan strives to create a town in which people want to live, she said.

Resurfacing roads, building complete sidewalks, installing new water and sewer lines and reducing the dead spaces of parking lots will address blight problems in the ward, Marsh said.

"Most of south Fayetteville, or at least the core of south Fayetteville, was built before we had all these pesky regulations that developers like to complain about that require things like sidewalks and appropriate infrastructure," she said. "It was also traditionally a minority and economically impoverished area, so it just never got the attention or investment that the rest of the city did."

The city government's unfriendly policies cause business owners and developers to flock north instead of locating or expanding in Fayetteville, Phaneuf said. The permitting process, for example, should be reviewed from beginning to end, he said.

"If other cities can routinely do most of this kind of stuff in hours, and we consistently take weeks, it is a self-evident fact that it therefore can be done," Phaneuf said. "Is it not a logical question to ask, 'Why aren't we also doing it?'"

Knowledge-based positions, rather than brick-and-mortar jobs, have become the trend nationwide, and entrepreneurs look for amenities like trails and parks and walkable neighborhoods when seeking a place to live, Marsh said. She pointed to the city's recent contract with Startup Junkie, a Fayetteville-based company that helps businesses get off the ground, as a step toward a vibrant economy.

"There's a lot of trail down here," Marsh said. "I'm hearing from young professionals who are moving to the area, and they're looking for property in south Fayetteville."

Phaneuf said business owners consistently tell him about their difficulties dealing with the city government, and encouraging startups will not address Fayetteville's needs.

"I want to know why so many business owners I talk to who have done business here for decades feel besieged and refuse to expand or invest in their own city," Phaneuf said. "They find that doing business in Fayetteville is becoming unprofitable because our systems suffocate them."

Protecting the natural environment and managing development so as to not adversely affect the watershed will keep the city from having to react to pollution after the fact, Marsh said.

Phaneuf called for a balance between industry and natural beauty and planning that would avoid traffic congestion.

NW News on 10/22/2016

*CORRECTION: Fayetteville Alderwoman Sarah Marsh of Ward 1, Position 2 owns Emily Mars Fashion House. This story gave the wrong name of the business.

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