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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1991-01-30 Minutes1 MINUTES OF A MEETING OF TNS CITY BOARD OF DIRECTORS • A special meeting of the Fayetteville'City Board of Directors was held on Wednesday,/January 30, 1991, at.8:30 a.m. in Room 326 of the City .Administration Building at 113 West Mountain Street, Fayetteville, Arkansas. PRESENT:. Mayor Fred.Vorsanger, Directors Dan Coody, Julie Nash, Ann Henry, •Shell Spivey, -Michael Green, Bob Blackston; CityManager'Scott Linebaugh, City Attorney Jerry Rose, and City Clerk Sherry Thomas; members of the staff, press and*audience. CALL TO ORDER ' The meeting was called:totorder by the Mayor with six Directors present. p..r q Mayor Vorsanger explained that in the absence of Director Ann Henry,he would address the subject of -reviewing the decision to not renew membership in the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission on'her behalf. The consensus of the Board was to give this subject further,. discussion. Mr. David Dubbell.,fa city representative to the Regional Planning Commission, was asked to solicit the Board's feelings on this subject. He thanked the Board for the opportunity to address them. He stated that Fayetteville is very fortunate to have a strong and effective local planning staff and activity. He stated the fact that there is a need„to look at issues beyond the city boundary mechanism, and certainly the Staff does this when they look at local issues. It is believed that the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission plays a very effective and. key part in trying to maintain the quality of life that everyone likes as this region grows at an ever increasing rate. There are many regional issues that impact the City of Fayetteville, and the Regional Planning Commission is one of the groups. that tries to help in the management of coordinated growth. The Commission was established in 1965 under Arkansas legislation, and it has been a body which has been in motion since that time. It has established its credibility and effectiveness, and certainly one of the key things that it has done is establish a sense of trust and communication and coordination among the many communities and governmental bodies here in' Northwest Arkansas. The Commission is a very dedicated group of people working with limited funds and means. Fayetteville has been fortunate to receive a number of grant funded programs of which this group is one of the steps for approval and coordination in the application for a Federal grant, such as the Elderly Taxi Program, Area Transit Authority, etc. This program has generated more than $3.5 million that has flowed into this community. The Regional Planning Commission is working on the transportation needs of the City's Human Service clients at 41. V4 January 30, 1991 present. The Commission is the recognized metropolitan planning organization. Within that domain, they have the "Transportation Improvement Program", and that is the vehicle which is the coordinating and approving body which enables federal funds to be put back into the community for road and street improvements where they interface with federal roads. In addition, the Commission has a master street plan for the whole region. In the longer term view, the rate of growth that has been seen within the last few years is projected to increase. As changes occur, everyone knows that we have to anticipate and plan for problems and their solutions. Therefore, the Commission acts as a vital part of the planning activity. He urged the Board to think as a city about the benefits of maintaining the support of this long-standing institution. He stressed that Fayetteville has received and would receive more benefits and stressed the fact that Fayetteville can provide strong leadership both by elected officials and Staff working with the Regional Planning Commission. Director Green asked who would handle the grant process currently handled by the Regional Planning Commission if the City does not fund its membership to the commission. Mr. Hubbell stated that it was a somewhat technical question. There are some grants the city could apply for independently of going through a Regional Planning Commission. It would then have to be handled by some state activity which is over the Regional Planning Committee, and then move its way up. But many of these programs are based on the fundamental premise of regional cooperation and participation within a metropolitan area. So, even though the Board could submit for the grant, they might have less of a chance of receiving it. Fayetteville would probably not be precluded, per se, but it may well be precluded in some particular situations. One of the fundamental premises that was set up when all of the groups got together was that everyone was going to contribute -- not in terms of what they received necessarily -- but with the knowledge that there were regional problems, and we all have to pull together. Sometimes Fayetteville might be over- funding in terms of benefits, and other times it might go the other way. If Fayetteville withdraws, it would be going the other way because Fayetteville would continue to receive the benefits of the transit funds that would flow even though no monies were contributed to the agency. Mayor Vorsanger inquired about the different roles of the Northwest Arkansas Council and the Regional Planning Commission and if there was any duplication in these two entities. 53 January 30, 1991 • Mr. Dubbell responded by saying that there is no real duplication, and all of the groups are there to work together. Northwest Arkansas Council is the group that does the thinking, goal -setting, etc., and the Regional•Planning Commission is the group that is the one who does the studies and collects the data and knows all of the ins and outs of the grant applications. They are much more task oriented whereas the other group is more goal oriented. Henry, seconded by+Green, made a motion to include the Northwest • Arkansas Regional Planning Commission to the 1991 Budget. There was discussion:about the fact that the Commission was slack in providing the`Board of Directors with information concerning their planning sessions and actions. It was suggested that the Commission take a more assertive role. in the future. Mayor Vorsanger expressed his desire to continue to support the Northwest Regional Planning Commission because of the large population of Fayetteville, and its leading role in the Region. Upon roll call,.,the motion was passed by a vote of 4 to 3, with Directors Coody, Nash:and Blackston voting in the minority. • Mayor Vorsanger stated the fact that budgets are subject to revisions. Green, seconded by Blackston, made a motion to approve the 1991 Budget. 4* C Upon roll call, the resolution was passed by a unanimous vote. RESOLUTION 9A-91 APPEARS ON PAGE OF ORDINANCE AND RESOLUTION BOOK ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 9:14 a.m.