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Home My WebLink About2025-01-13 - Minutes - TOWN AND GOWN ADVISORY COMMITTEE Jan. 13, 2025 | 3:00 p.m. Virtual Meeting Via Zoom Members: CITY COUNCIL & COMMUNITY MEMBERS REPRESENTATIVES • Sarah Moore City Council Member • Max Emerson U of A Student - Off Campus • Jack Avery Community Citizen at Large • Annie Dowling Community Citizen at Large • Alan Wilbourn Exec. Dir. Of Communications, Fayetteville Public Schools CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE STAFF REPRESENTATIVES • Keith Macedo Interim Chief of Staff Committee Co-Chair • Lisa Thurber Director of Communications and Marketing • Jonathan Curth Director of Development Services STAFF RESOURCES WILL BE CALLED UPON AS NEEDED UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS REPRESENTATIVES • Jeremy Battjes Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs/Committee Co-Chair • Mark Rushing Associate Vice Chancellor, University Relations • Clayton Hamilton Sr. Associate Vice Chancellor for Campus Services • Mason Berres President, Associated Student Government • Kolade Olatunde President, Graduate Professional Student Congress Meeting Video: https://reflect-fayetteville-ar.cablecast.tv/CablecastPublicSite/show/8728?site=1 1. Call to Order Battjes called the meeting to order at 3 p.m. 2. Roll Call In attendance: Sarah Moore, Maximums Emerson, Jack Avery, Annie Dowling, Alan Wilbourn, Keith Macedo, Lisa Thurber, Jonathan Curth, Jeremy Battjes, Mark Rushing, Clayton Hamilton, Mason Berres Absent: Kolade Olatunde 3. Approval of Minutes: Curth moved and Wilbourn seconded approval of the October 2024 meeting minutes. The minutes were unanimously approved. 4. Approval of Meeting Agenda: Curth moved and Avery seconded approval of the January 2025 meeting agenda. The agenda was unanimously approved. 5. Old Business: none 6. New Business MEETING MINUTES a. Welcome and introduction to Keith Macedo, new Committee co-chair: Battjes invited the committee members to briefly introduce themselves considering several new members joining the meeting. Macedo noted that he is the Interim Chief of staff for City of Fayetteville. Macedo advised that Keaton Smith and Jessica Lewallen from the Mayor’s Housing Crisis Task Force also were in attendance as guest speakers. b. Welcome and introduction to Clayton Hamilton, new Committee member: Hamilton, Sr. Associate Vice Chancellor for Campus Services at the University of Arkansas, introduced himself as part of item (a) under New Business. c. The Ramble completion and opening – Alison Jumper, City of Fayetteville Director of Parks, Natural Resources and Cultural Affairs: Jumper shared an update on the official completion and opening of The Ramble. The Upper Ramble, the last phase of the overall Cultural Arts Corridor 2019 Bond project, opened with a ribbon cutting in December 2024. Jumper advised that a few final details will be added to the park in the coming months, along with a call for artists for a custom art piece that will be installed. Jumper also highlighted a few events and activations that may be scheduled beginning Spring 2025 for the newest part of The Ramble. Battjes asked if this will be a reservable space; Jumper advised that the intention is for this space to be primarily open and any requests for a special event should follow the existing special events request process. Wilbourn said he visited the park on New Year’s Day and saw about 100 people using the park. d. Incoming first year University students update: Battjes said the University anticipates an incoming freshman class of 6,800 to 6,900 new students for the 2025 Fall semester, bringing total enrollment to approximately 34,000. Officials expect similar total enrollment numbers for Fall 2026. Moore asked about potential unknowns other influences for the Fall 2026 numbers; Battjes said they are targeting a certain number for incoming freshman classes based on conversations about what is sustainable and growth considerations. Battjes added that FAFSA changes may influence students’ abilities to fund their education but those effects are currently unknown. Rushing said that enrollment predictions are generally very accurate. Dowling asked about the distribution of where students are living; Battjes said that just under 6,300 beds are available on campus, 1,200 beds are master leased in the community and beds in sorority houses vary. Dowling suggested that these numbers could be shared in the committee’s July 2025 meeting. Curth asked if the University’s housing report is available; Rushing said that the entire report will not be made public, but portions have been released and Curth was welcome to contact him to request the information. Avery asked if there is a way to see where students are clustered in living units off-campus across town; Battjes and Rushing said they were not aware of such a visualization or mapping tool with this information. Rushing added that most of the 1,200 master leased beds are bordering or very close to campus, and that the University historically has not tried to provide on-campus housing for students after their freshman year. Moore asked if the University is capturing resident addresses and whether it’s possible to see how many students live outside of Fayetteville, for purposes of assessing transit options and accessibility. Battjes said he would look at the student database and determine what information they have and are able to share. Hamilton said that the University has launched a transit study that will likely be a 6- to 9-month process; this study can be shared with the City and this committee once complete. Battjes added that a new residence hall project is underway, adding approximately 700 new beds to on-campus housing availability. It should open for the Fall 2028 semester. e. Overview of new sorority house at Wilson and Maple: Battjes gave an update on a project to build a new sorority house on University-owned land. More substantive information on this project may be available for the July 2025 committee meeting. Current projections include approximately 80 – 90 beds and maybe 60 parking spaces; discussions are underway for any additional parking needs and challenges. This project is targeted to open Fall 2027. f. Mayor’s Housing Crisis Task Force update: Macedo introduced representatives Smith and Lewallen from the Mayor’s Housing Crisis Task Force. Smith and Lewallen provided an overview of the task force and their work to date, including what it has accomplished so far. Lewallen noted that production of new housing is an ongoing target; with more than 60% of households in Northwest Arkansas being 2 people or less, the task force members recognize that new production should consider different types of housing to meet area needs. Smith added that not all aspects of the housing challenge are in the City’s control, but that local government does have some ability to create flexibility for property owners and builders. Lewallen said that approximately 20 to 30 percent of renters in Fayetteville are University students, which indicates that interaction and shared strategy between the City and University on housing would be beneficial. Curth asked what discussions task force members have had about collaborative efforts; Smith referenced a “Safe Routes to School” joint effort between the City and Fayetteville Public Schools that is a good example of collaborative work; and Lewallen said that she has learned that different approaches, possibly including public/private partnerships for non-traditional solutions. Moore referenced a list of task force recommendations to City Council and thanked task force members for their work and collaborative efforts. Emerson said that accelerated building of University dorms is the clearest path forward; he asked if the University has a building height limit, and suggested incentivizing tall dorms being built on existing University parking lots and implementing lower resident parking on campus. Battjes said that building heights on campus are determined by what is appropriate considering surrounding, existing buildings and cost effectiveness, among other factors. Smith asked whether there is precedent for the University entering into private leasing for properties it owns; Battjes said they are exploring methods for delivery that go beyond University building structures, but there are processes and state laws that are involved; he referenced sorority and fraternity houses on University land as examples. g. Razorback Road, 15th Street and MLK traffic cameras Macedo gave an update on new traffic cameras installed by the City to 15th Street and MLK, with additional cameras planned for 15th and Razorback, allowing public safety officers to view traffic real-time. Moore asked how long camera footage is kept on file before being delete; Macedo said 30 days. Moored asked who has the ability to access the footage; Macedo said a few supervisors in the police department and dispatch. Macedo added that because these are intended for game day traffic, and the police department manages game day traffic, very few people outside of public safety have access. 7. Public Comment/Other Discussion Moore asked whether the committee has ever met in person or in a combination of virtual/in-person; Thurber said that prior to COVID, the committee met in person, but after COVID, committee members have preferred virtual attendance because of travel time and accessibility preferences. Moore asked about the possibility of having housing task force updates as a standing item for the committee, and whether the committee should to meet more frequently and focus more on housing issues; Macedo said that with the administration change, conversations will be happening around work with the housing task force that might shed light on future direction. Rushing said that in prior years, the committee found it did not have enough subject matter to warrant meeting more frequently than quarterly; many items covered are longer-term and do not have substantial updates on a monthly cadence. Emerson asked if the housing task force has any University participation; Macedo said that the housing task force is open to the public and students have attended. Emerson indicated support for a semi-annual in-person meeting and more frequent meetings on an ad-hoc basis, as needed. Moore asked what information or education the University might be providing to students regarding citizenship status; Battjes said the University works closely with international students, but he was unsure of specifics. Dowling asked about improving the commute to Kessler Mountain during game day traffic; Macedo referenced the new traffic cameras and their ability to intelligently manage traffic lights. Dowling suggested having a police officer directing traffic at the Cato Springs exit. Lewallen asked if the University transit study will incorporate Ozark Regional Transit; Emerson added that a city-funded trail transit system would fill in gaps between Razorback and Ozark Transit. Hamilton said that all routes and demand would be considered in the study. 8. Next Meeting and Adjourn The next committee meeting is scheduled for April 28, 2025 via Zoom. Battjes adjourned the meeting at 4:17 p.m.