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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-05-05 - Minutes - City Council Meeting Minutes May 5, 2026 Page 1 of 18 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov City of Fayetteville Arkansas City Council Meeting May 5, 2026 A meeting of the Fayetteville City Council was held on May 5, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. in Room 219 of the City Administration Building located at 113 West Mountain Street, Fayetteville, Arkansas. Mayor Rawn called the meeting to order. Present: Council Members Robert B. Stafford, D’Andre Jones DHA, Sarah Moore, Mike Wiederkehr, Scott Berna, Sarah Bunch, Teresa Turk, Minister Monique Jones, Mayor Molly Rawn, Senior Assistant City Attorney Blake Pennington, City Clerk Treasurer Kara Paxton, Chief of Staff Keith Macedo, Chief Financial Officer Steven Dotson, Staff, Press and Audience. Council Member Bunch arrived after roll call had been taken. Pledge of Allegiance Mayor’s Announcements, Proclamations and Recognitions: None City Council Meeting Presentations, Reports, and Discussion Items: Sales Tax & Monthly Financial Report – Chief Financial Officer Steven Dotson, Chief Financial Officer stated, “In February, we saw taxable sales in the city, totaling approximately $272.9 million, and that was an increase of around 7.3% or $18.6 million compared to February of 2025. Retail trade was up 7% year over year, representing an increase of $8.3 million. Accommodation and food services were up 11% or $4.1 million, and wholesale trade was up 26% or $4.7 million. We noted that building materials and supplies increased nearly 50% or $5.5 million, and bookstores and news dealers increased 34% or nearly $1.3 million compared to 2025. So, we had a pretty good month for taxable sales in the city. In total, we noted Council Member Scott Berna Ward 3 Position 1 Council Member Sarah Bunch Ward 3 Position 2 Council Member Teresa Turk Ward 4 Position 1 Council Member Min. Monique Jones Ward 4 Position 2 Mayor Molly Rawn City Attorney Kit Williams City Clerk Treasurer Kara Paxton Council Member Robert B. Stafford Ward 1 Position 1 Council Member Dr. D’Andre Jones Ward 1 Position 2 Council Member Sarah Moore Ward 2 Position 1 Council Member Mike Wiederkehr Ward 2 Position 2 Docusign Envelope ID: A450D45F-4BFE-86EF-8376-A02075E04C33 City Council Meeting Minutes May 5, 2026 Page 2 of 18 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov a 7.3% increase in taxable sales compared to 2025 and then looking at the actual tax collection results in February of 2026 compared to 25 the city one penny was up 7.27% or roughly $179,000 compared to last year, the county portion to the city was up 4.47% or roughly $89,000. Resulting in a total combined sales tax collection increase of 6.02% or roughly $269,000 compared to February of 2025 and in looking at the tax revenues compared to what we actually had budgeted in February of 2026 the city one penny was up 4.15% compared to budget. The county portion was up 1.42% compared to budget. For a combined total for the month of February, up 2.93% compared to budget, or approximately $135,000 and cumulatively, that's going to put the city, on a year-to-date basis, up approximately half a percent, or $73,000 compared to budget. So basically, we kind of made up for some of the earlier months of the year, which were a little bit weaker during this time period. As a reminder, all of the sales tax collection reports are posted on the city's website under the Finance and Administration link. Can I answer any questions on the sales tax report. In that case, I will move on to the monthly financial report, and this report is for March of 2026, starting off in the general fund. Our property tax was down around 2% around $4,800, our sales tax was flat, franchise fees were flat. Our alcoholic beverage fees, those were down around 2% but that's only around $5,700 our building permit fees were up quite a bit, around $1.1 million compared to budget through the month of March. Our turnback was flat. Our charges for services were down around 2% and in total, that's going to leave the general fund up approximately 5.1% or around $874,000 compared to budget through the month of March. So once again, just like the tax report, we kind of made up for some lost ground in earlier months, in this month. In looking at the street fund, we are down around 3% around $63,000 for the year through the month of March. In the parking fund, we're down around 4% but we are gaining back some ground. If you recall, the last couple of months, I've reported weaker numbers than we would have expected. Divided in the parking fund, but we are making up some ground there are currently through the month of March, we are down around 4% around $27,000 in the Parks Development Fund we are up 1.4% compared to budget. Around $18,000 in our Water and Sewer Fund, we're up 5% or roughly $676,000 compared to budget through the month of March. What we're seeing is an increase in water and sewer sales and connection fees. Obviously, along with that, we're seeing corresponding increases in the expense for water and sewer as well. So it does kind of balance out, but this is positive news to see. In the Water and Sewer Fund, in the Stormwater Fund, we're up 5% or roughly $42,000 through the month of March. In Recycling and Trash, we are up 1.2% or roughly $58,000 and in the Airport compared to last year, our gasoline sales are up around 19% or around $130,000 in our number of flight operations is up 15.6% or roughly 930 more flight operations than the same time period last year. With that, can I answer any questions on the monthly financial report” There was a brief discussion between Mr. Dotson and Council Member Minister Jones. Mr. Dotson answered her questions by providing the percentages of specific funds. He also explained state turnback is a state program that provides around $14.50 per capita to the City of Fayetteville. Upon the request of Mayor Rawn, Mr. Dotson also gave additional information regarding parking funds. Mr. Dotson explained that parking funds were down compared to last year but felt strongly that the funds will catch up and match the numbers reported for 2025. Docusign Envelope ID: A450D45F-4BFE-86EF-8376-A02075E04C33 City Council Meeting Minutes May 5, 2026 Page 3 of 18 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov There was a brief discussion between Mr. Dotson and Council Member Moore. Mr. Dotson answered the questions by stating the $7.9 million in rebates were actualized in February of 2026. Mr. Dotson finalized his comments by explaining that staff would continue to look for rebate opportunities. Agenda Additions: None Consent: Change Order with Southern Brothers Construction: A resolution to approve Change Order No. 1 with Southern Brothers Construction in the amount of $37,950.00 for additional concrete work on the Recycling and Trash Collections compost pad. Resolution 107-26 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Flowers CC&D, LLC (Cost Share Agreement): A resolution to repeal Resolution 278-24 and to approve a cost share agreement with Flowers CC&D, LLC in an amount not to exceed $23,289.50 for the installation of a water line, and to approve a project contingency in the amount of $4,658.00. Resolution 108-26 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk On-Call Materials Testing Services: A resolution to award RFQ 26-01, Selection #1 and authorize the purchase of on-call materials testing services from McClelland Consulting Engineers, Inc., Olsson Associates, Inc., and GTS, Inc. as needed through April 30, 2027, within the approved budget. Resolution 109-26 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk On-Call Surveying Services: A resolution to award RFQ #26-01, Selection #2 and authorize the purchase of on-call surveying services from Crafton Tull, Hawkins-Weir Engineers, Inc., and Garver, Inc. as needed through April 30, 2027, within the approved budget. Resolution 110-26 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Plainview Avenue/Rolling Hills Connection – Contract Amendment with Garver: A resolution to amend the Professional Engineering Services Contract with Garver, LLC for additional design services in the amount of $88,050.00 to continue engineering design on the Plainview and Rolling Hills Extension Project. Resolution 111-26 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Docusign Envelope ID: A450D45F-4BFE-86EF-8376-A02075E04C33 City Council Meeting Minutes May 5, 2026 Page 4 of 18 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov S. School Ave. SS4A –Amendment #1 with ISG: A resolution to approve Amendment No. 1 to the Professional Services Agreement with I & S Group, Inc. in the amount of $443,000.00 for additional services on the South School Avenue Safe Streets and Roads for All Project. Resolution 112-26 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Contract for 7hills Day Center and Walker Family Residential Community: A resolution to waive competitive bidding and authorize a contract with Seven Hills Homeless Center for operations and capital improvements in the total amount of $275,370.00. Resolution 113-26 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Installation of Security Bollards at the Upper Ramble: A resolution to award Bid 26-32 and authorize a contract with Hutton Corporation in the amount of $166,647.00 for the installation of security bollards in the Upper Ramble, to approve a project contingency in the amount of $20,000.00, and to approve a budget amendment. Resolution 114-26 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Council Member Berna motioned to suspend the rules requiring the mayor to read the consent agenda. Council Member Dr. Jones seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. Mayor Rawn asked shall the consent agenda pass. Upon roll call the consent agenda passed unanimously. There was a brief announcement made by Mayor Rawn. She explained that two of the items would more than likely be tabled. Item 2026-222 C.1 516 North Fallin Avenue Sewer Damage Claim would potentially be tabled to the next meeting and item 2026-1520 D.7 a resolution to express gratitude for academic project would be potentially tabled indefinitely. Public Hearing: Ordinance to Adopt 2026 Water & Sewer Rate & Impact Fee Study: An ordinance to amend § 51.136 Monthly Water Rates, §51.137 Monthly Sewer Rates, and §159.02 Water and Wastewater Impact Fees to change water and sewer rates as recommended by the cost of service study conducted by Carollo Engineers. Senior Assistant City Attorney Blake Pennington read the ordinance. Jennifer Walker, Deputy Chief Financial Officer, presented the recommendations that included a phased rate adjustment. She provided several examples of increased costs individuals would pay. She explained the average household, a low use household, paying $39 a month would still pay $39 a month in July 2026. Then due to the phased rate adjustment the same household would be paying $49 a month in 2030. She provided examples for an average usage household, Docusign Envelope ID: A450D45F-4BFE-86EF-8376-A02075E04C33 City Council Meeting Minutes May 5, 2026 Page 5 of 18 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov moderate usage household, and higher usage households/businesses/organizations. She finalized her comments by explaining the water and sewer rate adjustments would follow a two-phase approach, that would result in the recommendation rates being the lowest in the region. There was a brief procedural question that was addressed regarding when the amendment should be presented. Senior Assistant City Attorney Blake Pennington opinioned his recommendation would be to wait until after the public hearing Council Member Moore spoke about previously completed infrastructure improvements that might incentivize a developer to build in those specific areas. She asked if the impact fees would be imposed only on specific areas. Corey Granderson, Utilities Engineer, explained that accessory dwelling units would be exempted and then deferred the question to Isalah Barnes. Isalah Barnes, Associate Vice President for Carollo Engineers explained their team had reviewed the system. She went on to explain that the method of utilizing geography to determine impact fees was not used in the rate study that had been completed. She ended her comments by explaining San Antonio, Texas is an example of a city that had used geography to determine fees, and the sections of the city were broken down by pressure zone for water and sewer by basin. Council Member Stafford mentioned that the Beaver Watershed District planned to increase the rate by 5% a year. He went on to say that the city is planning to increase the rate by 3% and that he had concerns the two numbers did not align. Mr. Granderson alleviated Council Member Stafford’s concerns by explaining the city planned on using a multi-year model for the rate adjustments and that the model will include the exact Beaver Watershed District rates that the city has been notified of. The City Council received 4 public comments regarding the ordinance. A procedural question was answered by Senior Assistant City Attorney Blake Pennington and Mayor Rawn. It was decided that the council could move forward at this point and make a motion to amend the ordinance that was discussed earlier in the meeting. A motion to amend the ordinance language for 159.02( C)(2) to, “Development projects which have obtained building permits prior to the effective date of this ordinance shall pay the impact fees in effect at the time of the issuance of the building permits” by Council Member Wiederkehr. Council Member Stafford seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. Council Member Stafford requested city staff to respond to the questions and comments made during the public comment period. Docusign Envelope ID: A450D45F-4BFE-86EF-8376-A02075E04C33 City Council Meeting Minutes May 5, 2026 Page 6 of 18 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov Keith Macedo, Chief of Staff, spoke of the detailed conversations that have taken place over the years regarding the need to update the city’s water and sewer infrastructure. He went on to address the concerns that had been shared regarding cost share agreements. He explained the city would be implementing a policy in the future relating to cost shares. In his final comments he explained that the city planned to work with developers and the city’s sewer modeling vendor to create a more streamlined process for obtaining a sewer study. He shared that these were all details that would be addressed as the city creates a Sewer Master Plan. Council Member Wiederkehr referenced his experience dealing with cost share agreements and impact fees. He explained that in his previous experiences, cities had the ability to set up escrow accounts. He went on to explain that a developer would pay the upfront costs and implementation then every other subsequent user who would tie onto those existing pipes would pay a fee to the escrow account then the city would reimburse the initial developer who burdened the initial substantial cost from the escrow account. He finalized his comments by explaining if the city were to move to this type of model that it does not apply to infill developments since lift stations are on the edge of town. He felt that all infill developers should have to pay for the many miles of pipe it will take to reach a lift station. Council Member Moore expressed her concern regarding the council passing the item that evening. She explained she had several community members reach out to her with questions, and she felt it would benefit everyone if the item was not passed that evening. She also referenced the San Antonio example that had been shared earlier in the conversation. She finalized her comments by identifying potential unnecessary costs if the council brings amendments later to the ordinance as opposed to waiting to pass the ordinance allowing time to submit amendments now. Keith Macedo stated, “First thing on the cost shares is probably the easiest of the three. That's something that's very important to me. One of my first meetings in this role was talking about a lift station on the west side of town, and how it's going to support five different developments, and how that was on our our master plan. And that was something that we wanted to bring to the top. So I think that's something staff will make a priority. I think that's something that we could get done in the very near future, talking about kind of infill. I think, as most people on the council know, my background is in technology and I think that's a technology problem. I could sit there and look at, can we do that? Yes, but is it? Is it something that would be a huge job. We just went through our stormwater utility, and you can look at what it took for us to calculate the impervious surface and the amount of head count that it took for us to bring that up. And it's not a one and done. It's something that we're working on every single day to make sure that's updated. Then when you look at infill development, which I think that we're a shining star in the area that does infill development, and with that state law, you know, that doesn't allow us to do anything with ADUs, that is a positive that people don't have to pay impact fees when they're doing an ADU. If you look at it, you still have to get the water from Beaver Lake to the faucet, and you still have to get the effluent from the house to the sewage treatment plant. As Mike Whitaker, very eloquently stated there's a lot between point A and point B. So that person even though they have an infill will have to pay for that entire infrastructure. We have to pay for the chemicals. We have to pay for the wear and tear of those wastewater treatment plants. If you look at our bond that we just put $120 million allocated to our Nolan plant, that is a significant Docusign Envelope ID: A450D45F-4BFE-86EF-8376-A02075E04C33 City Council Meeting Minutes May 5, 2026 Page 7 of 18 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov cost. That if we didn't have that in our bond, we'd be talking about that tonight. So I think, could it be done? Yes, but I also think that you have to look at being efficient use of our resources. As you as you mentioned we hired experts with Carollo, and I think they've done an outstanding job, and it's what they've brought to us as a defensible method before each night. And then, I think the last thing is on timing. It is something that we would like to be done ASAP, just because we would love to work with our wholesale customers to be able to give them a little additional information or time to get this information out to their ratepayers.” Jennifer Walker stated, “I just want to address two things that I heard in your comments. First, excellent feedback from the developer community, and I think that city staff is very interested in exploring this. But I want to talk about the scope of the project, what we're talking the feedback from developers, what we're talking about is far outside the scope of the impact fee study that we have performed. We looked at it and considered it, but it is way beyond the scope of the study that we've performed. There's not a possibility of amending the process to consider these things. This will be a new process, and I think that's a worthy cause that we can explore. The second point I will make is the impact fees. I want to say this very carefully, financially speaking, the impact fees and the rates are tied together. They work together to cover total costs of the system, and we have outlined many differences to who pays for what, and we've segregated our costs so that some are covered by impact fees and some are covered by rates, and that's very intentional, but we have total work that has to be done if we delay or change the impact fees, we then must go back and change the rates to cover our total costs. So if we were to, as an example, say, we want to take a different approach with impact fees, we want to do a new study that's, you know, spend, spend another year looking at this and get it right the first time. We could do that, but we would also need to adjust the rates to cover all of the impact fees that we were going to collect in 2026 to 2027 while that study is happening to recoup those costs, because if we had not presented impact fees tonight alongside the rates, the rates would have been higher. I hope that makes sense.” Council Member Moore asked if staff could provide an estimate of what the rates would be projected at if the impact fees were not included. Steve Dotson, Chief Financial Officer stated “I think that's something that would bear quite a bit of calculation to determine what that would be. I would echo the comments that Jennifer made, and these are some of the comments that I made at the water and sewer committee meeting. Now, this was a scientifically calculated and legally defensible rate study, both in terms of the impact fees as well as the water and sewer rates that we are assessing. Like Jennifer said, it would be likely borne by a number of customers in that initial zero to 2000 gallon class if we were to adjust impact fees to reduce them, we would have to, therefore, increase the rates that we're charging to customers. That’s kind of what we've been experiencing for the last 17 or so years. The fees that we have been charging have not nearly been enough to cover it, and we went over that earlier. Basically, what we're doing is we're bringing those fees to what we had calculated in 2009 we're just essentially adding on the rest of what was not implemented. If we don't do that, we're going to see some pretty large increases from my initial calculations in the rest of the rates.” Docusign Envelope ID: A450D45F-4BFE-86EF-8376-A02075E04C33 City Council Meeting Minutes May 5, 2026 Page 8 of 18 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov There was a brief discussion between the Isalah Barnes, Associate Vice Present of Carollo. The discussion identified the difference between San Antonio, Texas and Fayetteville, Arkansas. Council Member Berna voiced his dislike of the percentage increase for rates. He cautioned the council to make sure developers are not vilified. Council Member Turk requested the Office of the City Attorney to review Arkansas state laws that would determine if a requirement existed that would require pipe to be upsized for downstream development. Blake Pennington, Senior Assistant City Attorney responded, “Sure and just briefly responding if we have impact fees that are sufficient to fund our account. I guess you can use the cost share ordinance that says that we'll pay the excess cost of upsizing something so if the developer has to provide some additional amount of capacity to their development. But we say, instead of an eight inch, you need to go to go to 12 inch, and this is going to serve other developments in the area. Hopefully our impact fee fund has the money for us to pay for that portion of the cost share.” Council Member Turk stated, “We've often done that, but it's, I think it gets complicated, and I think it's really inconsistent. So it would be nice if we had the escrow model that Council Member Wiederkehr mentioned, if that's even possible within the state. My second set of comments are we've been trying to find the right size, and because we're growing so quickly, and then we kind of got, I would say, blind sided, a little bit, just slightly by the increase in water costs from Beaver Water Eistrict. So I think it's really important that we implement this, that we pass this, if not tonight, within two weeks. I'd prefer that we pass it tonight. We've got all the cost comparisons between the other cities in our area. We are the lowest, or we're really close to the lowest of what I would call the bigs. And so keeping that in mind, even though we're hearing some concerns from the development community, I think we're still cheaper to build overall than the other cities and so, and we've been very cheap with our impact fees since 2009 so again, I think the team has done an excellent job of looking at this, and I would just ask that we pass this tonight.” Council Member Minister Jones requested to know when the city could start communicating with the communities outside of the city limits that depend on the City of Fayetteville to provide water and sewer services. Mayor Rawn explained that she and her team had met with the mayors for the towns of West Fork, Greenland, Elkins, Farmington, Mount Olive, Johnson, and Goshen. She further explained that once the council made a decision on the rate study then the mayors of these other towns would distribute the information to their citizens. Mr. Macedo, responded and explained that the local mayors had been very happy with the engagement Mayor Rawn and her team was able to provide. Council Member Stafford motioned to suspend the rules and go to the third and final reading. Council Member Turk seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed 7-1. Docusign Envelope ID: A450D45F-4BFE-86EF-8376-A02075E04C33 City Council Meeting Minutes May 5, 2026 Page 9 of 18 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov Council Member Wiederkehr, Berna, Bunch, Turk, Minister Jones, Stafford, and Dr. Jones voted yes. Council Member Moore voted no. Senior Assistant City Attorney Blake Pennington read the ordinance. Mayor Rawn asked shall the ordinance pass. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. Ordinance 6994 as Recorded in the office of the City Clerk Unfinished Business: 516 North Fallin Avenue Sewer Damage Claim: A resolution pursuant to §39.10(C)(4) of the Fayetteville City Code to authorize a payment of $100,000.00 to Chris Skrocki for a sewer damage claim arising at 516 North Fallin Avenue. At the February 17, 2026 City Council meeting, this resolution was tabled to the March 5, 2026 City Council meeting. At the March 5, 2026 City Council meeting, this resolution was tabled to the April 21, 2026 City Council meeting. At the April 21, 2026 City Council meeting, this resolution was tabled to the May 5, 2026 City Council meeting. Council Member Stafford motioned to table the resolution to the May 19, 2026 City Council meeting. Council Member Dr. Jones seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. This resolution was tabled to the May 19, 2026 City Council meeting. New Business: 2825 North Hughmount Road (Sewer Connection): A resolution to allow the extension of the city’s sewerage system beyond the city limits to 2825 North Hughmount Road, under the same conditions as a citizen of Fayetteville could receive such sewer services for new construction. Tim Nyander, Utilities Director presented the resolution to the council and explained that the home’s septic tank located on this property had been failing. He explained that the owner of the property had requested to have a sewer tap installed and sewer line to be able to connect to the city’s sewer system. Mr. Nyander finalized his comments by explaining that Fayetteville city limits surround three sides of the property. There was a brief conversation between Council Member Turk and Mr. Nyander. Mr. Nyander verified that if the resolution was approved it would be at no additional cost to the city. He also explained that the city’s code states that if a user or future user of the city’s system gets ride of a private wastewater treatment system and connects to the city’s sewer line then the user would not have to pay an impact fee. Docusign Envelope ID: A450D45F-4BFE-86EF-8376-A02075E04C33 City Council Meeting Minutes May 5, 2026 Page 10 of 18 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov Council Member Moore expressed her appreciation for the knowledge that she had been able to gain over the years that related to privately owned septic tanks. She further expressed her appreciation that the city had a way to assist individuals in their time of need when their septic tanks failed. Council Member Turk stated, “one of the reasons, again, why I pulled this off of consent, is that about six months ago, we had a resident that is on the edge of town, but this is these are older homes that are that are on septic. So, it's not a new development, it's an older home. And so how do we balance that? They're within the city, but they don't have the funds to extend the pipe, whereas we're going to annex A portion and waive impact fees for somebody that's outside of our city. So, it's how do we align our policies and support for those kinds of situations?” Council Member Berna motioned to approve the resolution. Council Member Dr. Jones seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. Resolution 115-26 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Purchase 2400 W. Valley Drive: A resolution to approve the purchase of property located at 2400 West Valley Drive in the amount of $225,000.00, to approve a contingency in the amount of $7,500.00, and to authorize the Mayor to sign all closing documents. Chris Brown, Public Works Director, explained that he had distributed a memo earlier in the day that provided the information the council had requested during the agenda session. He finalized his comments by explaining that purchasing property is just one way the city uses to solve drainage issues. There was a brief discussion between Council Member Turk and Mr. Brown. Mr. Brown explained the process of gathering facts. Brown reiterated that if a property is for sale in the floodplain, the city can purchase it to ensure no future development is built on top of the floodplain. Council Member Bunch asked Mr. Brown if he recommended the implementation of elevation strategies on any of the homes. Mr. Brown explained that he did not recommend leaving the houses in place since they were in the floodway. Council Member Moore asked if the city would work on additional diversion that would widen the channel, taking some of the pressure off of the neighborhood. Mr. Brown answered the question by explaining the plan was to remove the structure and use that lot to make drainage improvements. There was a brief discussion that took place between Council Member Moore and Mr. Brown regarding how communication has been handled between the city and the property owners in the Docusign Envelope ID: A450D45F-4BFE-86EF-8376-A02075E04C33 City Council Meeting Minutes May 5, 2026 Page 11 of 18 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov neighborhood. They also briefly discussed the fact that the funds used in this type of project from the city’s Capital Improvements Project Funds. Another brief discussion took place between Council Member Minister Jones and Mr. Brown. Mr. Brown explained that the city obtained an appraisal to ensure the property was not listed for more money than it was valued at. Keith Macedo, Chief of Staff, provided the background information regarding the discussions that took place between city staff regarding this item. He explained that staff was very supportive about moving forward with the purchase of the property. He finalized his comments by explaining the city would continue to look for grant opportunities that would assist with these types of items. A brief discussion took place between Council Member Turk and Mr. Brown. Mr. Brown explained that the stormwater bond funds would be used to pay for this item. He explained that if FEMA funding was received later, then the FEMA funds would supplement the projects related to this topic. Council Member Stafford moved to approve the resolution. Council Member Bunch seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. Resolution 116-26 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk VAC-2026-0002 West Meadow Street: An ordinance to approve VAC-26-02 for property located at 600 West Meadow Street in Ward 2 to vacate 0.06 acres of general utility easement. Senior Assistant City Attorney Blake Pennington read the ordinance. Jonathan Curth, Development Services Director presented the applicant’s request to vacate an estimated 2700 square feet of general utility easement. Mr. Curth explained that city staff supported the approval of the request. Eric Bartels, applicant explained that he was available to answer questions. Council Member Stafford motioned to suspend the rules and go to the third and final reading. Council Member Dr. Jones seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. Senior Assistant City Attorney Blake Pennington read the ordinance. Mayor asked if the ordinance passed. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. Ordinance 6995 as Recorded in the office of the City Clerk Docusign Envelope ID: A450D45F-4BFE-86EF-8376-A02075E04C33 City Council Meeting Minutes May 5, 2026 Page 12 of 18 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov VAC-2026-0001 West Kaywood Lane: An ordinance to approve VAC-26-01 for property located at 1834 West Kaywood Lane in Ward 1 to vacate 0.05 acres of right-of-way. Senior Assistant City Attorney Blake Pennington read the ordinance. Jonathan Curth, Development Services Director, presented the applicant’s request that pertained to a portion of right-of-way that was dedicated in 1964 with the intent to establish a potential cul-de-sac if the road was extended in the future. Mr. Curth explained that the city had not extended and did not plan to extend Kaywood Lane in the future. There was a brief discussion between Council Member Moore and Mr. Curth. Mr. Curth answered her questions about potential impacts relating to backing up into an alley or fronting an alleyway. He explained he did not envision any of those situations occurring. There was a brief discussion between Council Member Wiederkehr and Mr. Curth. Mr. Curth explained that if a development was placed at the end of Kaywood Lane and it extended beyond the typical 150 feet the State of Arkansas fire code requires, the turnabout would have to be incorporated into the development of the site. Council Member Berna motioned to suspend the rules and go to the third and final reading. Council Member Stafford seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. Senior Assistant City Attorney Blake Pennington read the ordinance. Mayor Rawn asked shall the ordinance pass. Upon roll call the ordinance passed unanimously. Ordinance 6996 as Recorded in the office of the City Clerk RZN-2026-0009 West Palmer Place: An ordinance to rezone the property described in Rezoning Petition RZN 2026-09 for approximately 0.38 acres located at 1660 West Palmer Place in Ward 1 from RSF-4, Residential, Single-Family, Four Units Per Acre to RSF-8, Residential Single Family, 8 Units Per Acre. Senior Assistant City Attorney Blake Pennington read the ordinance. Jonathan Curth, Development Services Director presented the applicant’s rezoning request that is located near Bud Walton Arena. Mr. Curth identified that the request is compatible from a land use compatibility standpoint, future land use map standpoint and from a long-range planning standpoint. He explained because of the compatibility the Planning Commission and city staff support the approval of the item. He highlighted the fact that the area’s tree canopy requirement would decrease from 25% to 20% upon approval of the rezone. Mr. Curth finalized his comments by providing additional details regarding the drainage issues in the area. Docusign Envelope ID: A450D45F-4BFE-86EF-8376-A02075E04C33 City Council Meeting Minutes May 5, 2026 Page 13 of 18 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov There was a brief discussion between Council Member Stafford and Mr. Curth. Mr. Curth provided answers about the property that had been asked by explaining he was, “confident that it could be split into three lots that would allow three houses and three accessory dwelling units”. There was a brief discussion between Council Member Dr. Jones and Mr. Curth. Mr. Curth verified that up to three non-related individuals were allowed to live in one household. Therefore, the calculation of 15 people that Dr. Jones provided was accurate. Mr. Curth verified that if all 15 individuals had a car parked on the street it could potentially make it difficult for emergency vehicles to be driven on the street. There was a brief discussion between Council Member Berna and Mr. Curth. Mr. Curth explained that if the area Council Member Berna referenced was within the right-of-way, then the city’s Transportation Department could enter and clear the area out. Mr. Curth finalized his comments by explaining the process of submitting a work order to the city if the area is within the right-of-way. Council Member Turk asked if the property owner could request for the city to purchase the area due to the drainage issues. Mr. Curth explained that yes, the owner could. He verified that the owner had already reached out to him with the request. There was a brief discussion between Council Member Stafford, Mr. Macedo, and Mr. Curth regarding easements and rights-of-way. Mr. Curth responded to Council Member Stafford’s questions by explaining an important question that needed to be answered. Mr. Curth explained that the question would be, if the council rezoned the property with the intention of allowing one more house to be built, could or would that inadvertently cause the city to have to buy another property in the area to complete drainage work. Council Member Moore asked to verify the zoning of the surrounding areas and if the city had received information regarding the University of Arkansas’ activity regarding purchasing property in the surrounding area. Mr. Curth verified that the University of Arkansas was zoned P-1, Institutional and explained the surrounding was residential. He finalized his comments by stating he was not aware of any potential property acquisitions by the University of Arkansas. A brief discussion took place between Council Member Moore and Mr. Curth. Mr. Curth answered her questions and verified the specific zoning codes for the surrounding areas. Council Member Moore referenced the narrowness of the street and asked about parking regulations along roadways in that specific neighborhood. Mr. Curth explained that there were no specific ordinances in place but there were street signs displaying that a parked vehicle could be ticketed or towed. The City Council received 5 Public Comments regarding this ordinance. Docusign Envelope ID: A450D45F-4BFE-86EF-8376-A02075E04C33 City Council Meeting Minutes May 5, 2026 Page 14 of 18 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov Noah Jones, applicant representative and future general contractor for the future planned project gave a brief presentation of the item. Mr. Jones explained that, at this time, no ADUs were being planned along with the development project. Mr. Jones mentioned the need to address drainage issues, add retaining walls and potential culverts. Council Member Berna verified several facts regarding the future development pertaining to development requirements with Mr. Curth. Mr. Curth stated, “we were getting a bit into the development requirements, yes. So yes, single family homes are required to have two parking spaces. And then there was a question of, how close could they build to the street? The RSF eight zoning district has the same setback requirement in the front as the RSF four zone District, which is 15 feet so that'd be 15 feet off the street by setbacks, but we have a development requirement that says your driveway has to be at least 18 feet long, and that's intended to prevent vehicles from overhanging in the sidewalks that are just outside of it in the right of way.” Council Member Berna, noted that the Planning Commission and city staff supported the request to rezone the property. He explained that he would not be in favor of approving the item due to the observations he had during the tour that including the parking issues mentioned during public comment, the narrow road, drainage issues, and the potential ability to add ADUs to the development if the rezoning was approved. Council Member Stafford voiced his general dislike of assigning the zoning code of RSF-4, Residential Single-Family, 4 units per acre to property. He went on to say that the disadvantages of potentially creating harmful draining issues or causing the city to have to purchase property later to mitigate drainage were the reason why he would not be voting to approve the item. Council Member Dr. Jones voiced his lack of support for the approval of the item. He finalized his comments by bringing attention to the need for well thought out development while the city continues to experience a housing crisis. Council Member Wiederkehr, after receiving Mr. Curth’s explanation that if a lot-split were requested a determination would have to be made regarding the required street frontage, went on to provide comments on the item. He described the property as unique and stated, “there are locations that are not conducive to greater density”. Council Member Turk, thanked Jonathan Curth, Development Services Director for organizing a tour of the property. She referenced an item the council spoke about several years ago that was similar in its complexity. She finalized her comments by saying she would not support the approval of the item. Council Member Bunch voiced her agreement with the previous comments made by the other council members. She finalized her comments by saying she could not support the approval of the item. Docusign Envelope ID: A450D45F-4BFE-86EF-8376-A02075E04C33 City Council Meeting Minutes May 5, 2026 Page 15 of 18 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov Council Member Berna motioned to suspend the rules and go to the third and final reading. Council Member Turk seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. Senior Assistant City Attorney Blake Pennington read the ordinance. Mayor Rawn asked shall the ordinance pass. Upon roll call the motion failed 1-7. Council Member Moore voted yes. Council Member Wiederkehr, Berna, Bunch, Turk, Minister Jones, Stafford, and Dr. Jones voted no. The ordinance failed. RZN-2026-0008 North Garland Avenue (Appeal of Planning Commission Denial): An ordinance to rezone the property described in Rezoning Petition RZN 2026-08 for approximately 2.10 acres located at 1705 North Garland Avenue in Ward 2 from RSF-4, Residential, Single-Family, Four Units Per Acre to RI-U, Residential Intermediate-Urban. Senior Assistant City Attorney Blake Pennington read the ordinance. Jonathan Curth, Development Services Director presented the request to the council and explained that the property had previously been used as a community farm. Mr. Curth explained that city staff supported the rezone due to the land-use compatibility and it is consistent with the city’s long-range plans. He briefly spoke about the drainage in the area and explained that in the southwest corner the city had previously installed a storm water box and inlet where the property had naturally drained. He explained this action allowed the incorporation of the swale that Tricycle Farms has constructed. He finalized his comments by providing additional information details regarding the offer of a bill of assurance where the applicant proposed to increase the tree canopy requirement from 15% to 20%. Allie Wilson, development group representative, presented the rezoning request and provided a PowerPoint slide show to support the request. Ms. Willson said that the development team had requested to rezone the property to RI-U, Residential Intermediate-Urban. Their goal was to create a unique space that would be walkable with compatible infill development with a mix of housing types including attached and detached dwellings that incorporated the city’s trail. Ms. Wilson also spoke about the bill of assurance that had been offered to the city. She explained that the bill of assurance would limit the property to a maximum of 30 structures, required fence visibility to ensure a tunnel effect is not created, privacy fencing adjacent to neighbors, and increase the tree canopy requirement from 15% to 20%. Council Member Moore asked about access to the trail and memorial area. Luke, development group representative, spoke about the requirement to go through the city’s large-scale development review process. Docusign Envelope ID: A450D45F-4BFE-86EF-8376-A02075E04C33 City Council Meeting Minutes May 5, 2026 Page 16 of 18 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov Council Member Stafford referenced the conditions outlined in the bill of assurance and voiced his support for the approval of the item. Council Member Turk spoke about the property’s proximity to a trail extension and the fact that the property is upstream from the noted flooding issues. She voiced her preference of this area being included within a PZD. A brief discussion between Council Member Moore, Senior Assistant City Attorney Blake Pennington, and Mr. Curth took place regarding the number of structures allowed on the property. Mr. Pennington explained that the document talked about 30 structures but also states all units must comply with the RI-U, Residential Intermediate-Urban zoning requirements which may consist of no more than four attached dwelling units per structure. Council Member Moore voiced her concerns regarding total allowable structures and additional concerns that had stemmed from comments made by the council. She spoke about her preference to table the item for two weeks. Mayor Rawn spoke and reminded the council about the number of items on the upcoming agenda. Council Member Wiederkehr, after verifying that the city’s code changed regarding trail frontage he then proceeded with his final comments. He emphasized the fact that the item had been denied by the Planning Commission. A brief discussion regarding procedural rules took place. Senior Assistant City Attorney Blake Pennington answered Council Member Bunch’s question that the council should not negotiate or request a bill of assurance from an applicant. Council Member Berna requested for the applicant to answer a question. Council Member Berna wanted to know how the applicant would be affected if the item was tabled for a month. Luke spoke and stated that if the council were to table the item for a month it would negatively affect his business and the project. Council Member Minister Jones motioned to amend the ordinance to accept the bill of assurance. Council Member Stafford seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. Senior Assistant City Attorney Blake Pennington read the ordinance. Council Member Minister Jones motioned to suspend the rules and go to the third and final reading. Council Member Dr. Jones seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed 6-2. Council Member Berna, Bunch, Minister Jones, Stafford, Dr. Jones, and Moore voted yes. Council Member Wiederkehr and Turk voted no. Senior Assistant City Attorney Blake Pennington read the ordinance. Docusign Envelope ID: A450D45F-4BFE-86EF-8376-A02075E04C33 City Council Meeting Minutes May 5, 2026 Page 17 of 18 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov Council Member Stafford voiced his support of approval for the item and talked about the need for properties to change as the community changes. He shared his hopes of a more walkable community in the future. A brief discussion occurred to clarify procedural rules when voting on an appeal of a Planning Commission decision. Senior Assistant City Attorney Blake Pennington explained that to pass the rezoning request it would require five affirmative votes. He explained that therefore, voting yes would mean that a council member voted to pass the rezoning request. Council Member Turk spoke and emphasized her preference to hold the item for at least two weeks. A brief discussion occurred regarding the applicant’s ability to return to the council in the future to make the same request. Mr. Curth explained that the applicant must wait one year before requesting to rezone the property if the request remains the same as presented. If the applicant chose to change the request, then it would prompt the process to start all over again. Meaning the request would have to be heard first by the Planning Commission. Mayor Rawn asked shall the ordinance pass. Upon roll call the ordinance passed 7-1. Council Member Wiederkehr, Berna, Bunch, Minister Jones, Stafford, Dr. Jones, and Moore voted yes. Council Member Turk voted no. Ordinance 6997 as Recorded in the office of the City Clerk Resolution to Express Gratitude for Academic Project: A resolution to express gratitude for academic project to explore and provide considerations for crisis response systems. Council Member Moore motioned to table the resolution indefinitely. Council Member Minister Jones seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. This resolution was tabled indefinitely. Announcements: Keith Macedo, Chief of Staff explained that the city would be hosting two public open house events to gather feedback on proposed safety improvements. The event to provide feedback on the North College St. and East Joyce Blvd project would be held on Thursday, May 7th and Thursday, May 14th, 2026. City Council Agenda Session Presentations: Opportunities in Crisis Response Presentation by UofA PHD Public Policy Program Team – Dola Flake, Erica Eneks, Larissa Rocha, and Travis Wagher Docusign Envelope ID: A450D45F-4BFE-86EF-8376-A02075E04C33 City Council Meeting Minutes May 5, 2026 Page 18 of 18 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov Department of Economic Development Quarterly Report – Director of Economic Development City Council Tour: Agenda Item D.5: RZN-2026-0009 West Palmer Place: Date & Time: May 4th, 2026 at 3:00 PM. Address: 1660 W. Palmer Pl. Parking: Park on-street along Hartman Ave. to the west. Agenda Item D.6: RZN-2026-0008 North Garland Avenue (Appeal of Planning Commission Denial): Date & Time: May 4th, 2026 at 4:00 PM. Address: 1705 N. Garland Ave. Parking: Park on-site west of the intersection of Sycamore/Garland. Adjournment: 9:31 p.m. _____________________________ __________________________________ Molly Rawn, Mayor Kara Paxton, City Clerk Treasurer Docusign Envelope ID: A450D45F-4BFE-86EF-8376-A02075E04C33