Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-01-21 MinutesMayor Lioneld Jordan City Attorney Kit Williams City Clerk Sondra Smith City Council Meeting Minutes January 21, 2014 Page 1 of 12 Aldermen Ward 1 Position 1 —Adella Gray Ward 1 Position 2 — Sarah Marsh Ward 2 Position 1 —Mark Kinion Ward 2 Position 2 —Matthew Petty Ward 3 Position 1 C —Justin Tennant Ward 3 Position 2 —Martin W. Schoppmeyer, Jr. Ward 4 Position 1—Rhonda Adams Ward 4 Position 2 — Alan T. Long City of Fayetteville Arkansas City Council Meeting Minutes January 21, 2014 A meeting of the Fayetteville City Council was held on January 21, 2014 at 6:00 p.m. in Room 219 of the City Administration Building located at 113 West Mountain Street, Fayetteville, Arkansas. Mayor Jordan called the meeting to order. PRESENT: Alderman Adella Gray, Sarah Marsh, Mark Kinion, Matthew Petty, Justin Tennant, Martin Schoppmeyer, Rhonda Adams, Alan Long, Mayor Lioneld Jordan, City Attorney Kit Williams, City Clerk Sondra Smith, Staff, Press, and Audience. Pledge of Allegiance Mayor's Announcements, Proclamations and Recognitions: City Council Meeting Presentations. Reports and Discussion Items: State of the City Address — Mayor Lioneld Jordan Mayor Lioneld Jordan read the State of the City Address. A copy is attached. City Attorney Kit Williams thanked the Mayor and City Council for all their hard work and leadership. Presentation of the City of Fayetteville Martin Luther King Brotherhood Award - Presented by City Attorney Kit Williams 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-5323 accessfayetteville.org Telecommunications Device for the Deaf TDD/TTY (479) 521-1316 City Council Meeting Minutes January 21, 2014 Page 2 of 12 City Attorney Kit Williams: Since March 2001 it has been my honor and pleasure to select a City of Fayetteville employee to receive the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Brotherhood award. This year's honoree exemplifies Dr. Martin Luther King's spirit of equality and legacy of service. She has managed one of our most important community outreach facilities and has worked diligently and creatively to expand its services to even more of our citizens. Mr. Williams presented the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Brotherhood award to Tenisha Gist, Director of the Yvonne Richardson Community Center. Tenisha Gist, Director of the Yvonne Richardson Community Center thanked everyone and was honored to receive the award. She stated she had a lot of support and accepts the award for all those who believe in equality and trying to do what is right. Mayor Jordan: Tenisha has done a tremendous job at the Yvonne Richardson Center. She has a great heart for people and an understanding for what their needs are. Congratulations and thank you for your service. Agenda Additions: None Consent: Approval of the January 07, 2014 City Council meeting minutes. Approved Bid #13-59 NAFECO: A resolution to award Bid #13-59 and to approve the purchase of wildland fire gear backpacks from NAFECO in the amount of $22,319.64 and to approve a budget adjustment. Resolution 19-14 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Bid 913-59 Emergency Vehicle Specialists: A resolution to award Bid 413-59 and to approve the purchase of wildland fire gear which includes helmets, goggles, gloves, shelters, coats and trousers from Emergency Vehicle Specialists in the amount of $115,190.86. Resolution 20-14 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Gulf State Distributors: A resolution to approve the purchase of ammunition needed by the Fayetteville Police Department during 2014 from Gulf State Distributors in the amount of $50,770.35 pursuant to the State of Arkansas ammunition contract. Resolution 21-14 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Alderman Long moved to approve the Consent Agenda as read. Alderman Adams seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-5323 accessfayetteville.org Telecommunications Device for the Deaf TDDITTY (479) 521-1316 City Council Meeting Minutes January 21, 2014 Page 3 of 12 Unfinished Business: VAC 13-4516 (Brenda Drive, Court and Walton Street/University of Arkansas): An ordinance to approve the University of Arkansas' petition to vacate Brenda Drive, Court Street, Walton Street and a thirty foot wide alley all within property owned by the University of Arkansas. This ordinance was left on the Second Reading at the November 19, 2013 City Council meeting. This was left on the Second Reading and Tabled to the December 17, 2013 City Council meeting. This ordinance was left on the Third Reading at the December 17, 2013 City Council meeting and Tabled to the January 21, 2014 City Council meeting. Mayor Jordan: This went to the Transportation Committee. Alderman Petty: We voted on a recommendation as an unanimous vote to restrict access on the northern border of the property. City Attorney Kit Williams: We would need to change one of the conditions for approval. It is my understanding that they do not want Condition #1 any longer. You do not want to have a document showing how you will design the lot. Jay Young, Development Consultants: That is correct. The Exhibit that was in the packet was a conceptual site plan to show our idea of how this would come together. That Exhibit is no longer reflecting how that is going to be designed. If you are going to suggest an amendment that is going to restrict access to Hotz that would be the condition. City Attorney Kit Williams: Does this meet your approval? There shall be no entrance or exit to Holz from this parcel now or in the future without express City Council approval in the form of a resolution. Would that meet the requirements you would like? Jay Young, Development Consultants: Yes. City Attorney Kit Williams: Then I suggest you change Condition #1 to that condition. Alderman Petty moved to amend the ordinance to state there shall be no entrance or exit to Hotz from this parcel now or in the future without express City Council approval in the form of a resolution. Alderman Adams seconded the motion. David Boddington, Holz Drive and Ward 4 resident stated we believe that the Transportation Committees recommendation to not allow any vehicle or bus to enter or exit on to Holz from the north end of the proposed project is a wise and responsible recommendation. Tonight we urge you to listen to the recommendation of the Transportation Committee and to vote against any northern egress on to Holz Drive. City Attorney Kit Williams: I want to make sure that the Council understands that originally Planning had worked with the University and had come to an agreement for the construction dedication of two public streets as shown on Exhibit C. This new change would say the University does not have to build any public streets in this parking lot. I have one minor change 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 accessfayetteville.org Telecommunications Device for the Deaf TDD/TTY (479) 521-1316 City Council Meeting Minutes January 21, 2014 Page 4 of 12 to what my suggestion was. I want to put there should be no motor vehicle entrance or exit, rather than no entrance or exit. Obviously, I don't think anybody here wants to restrict pedestrians. I want to give our Development Services Director an opportunity to weigh in with any comments he might have before City Council votes. Jeremy Pate, Director of Development Services: We have stated our recommendation position on the record before. We made the recommendation for the connection to Hotz based on your policy of connectivity. We understand the circumstances surrounding each and every connection to any street are contact sensitive. We respect the Transportation Committees recommendation in this particular case, from our perspective we still support the connection. I think the pedestrian enhancement for a future trail and/or pedestrian connection there will certainly be positive and warranted. I think leaving it up to the City Council or a future City Council possibly to open this up to a Meadow Drive signal in the future could come back to you all as an item. We believe the neighborhood will want that in the future. We are not in the future, we are here today so we respect that decision. Alderman Petty: Do we need to change the motion to reflect your new language? City Attorney Kit Williams: This will be Condition of Approval #1. There shall be no motor vehicle entrance or exit to Hotz from this parcel now or in the future without express City Council approval in the form of a resolution. After discussion the previous motion was changed to say there shall be no motor vehicle entrance or exit to Hotz from this parcel now or in the future without express City Council approval in the form of a resolution. Upon roll call the motion to amend passed unanimously. Alderman Adams: This was a very good exercise between Town and Gown relationships. The University came to a Ward 4 meeting and listened to the residents. Thank you Mike and your team for doing that. You showed us that the University cares about our Town and Gown relationship. We listened to citizens on the street and that live in the neighborhood. Alderman Long and I both have had entails and input. I met with Jeremy and we talked about the future. We do think when Razorback Drive is made into a four lane there may come a day when we need to cross over to go north and we will be glad that we can get out of there from that neighborhood in different ways. Thank you Council for supporting what Alderman Long and I want to see done, that is to protect our neighborhood from more cars and encourage traffic to go to the main roads. Alderman Tennant: This is a great example of compromise between a neighborhood that is feeling the effects of growth and a University that is dealing with the effects of growth. Thank you to the University. Alderman Long: The University spent an incredible amount of time and I appreciate it. It shows that the University wanted to be a part of our neighborhood. I appreciate the Transportation Committee listening to all the concerns and the City Council being flexible. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 accessfayetteville.org Telecommunications Device for the Deaf TDDfM (479) 521-1316 City Council Meeting Minutes January 21, 2014 Page 5 of 12 Alderman Gray: I want to thank Mike Johnson and his team for his patience in letting us work through this. This particular option, that we bring forward tonight, might seem a little bit drastic, but at this particular time in this particular situation this is the best way to go for our neighborhood. It is a great example of us working together. I wanted to listen to Ward 4, especially Mrs. Adams who lives in the midst of these streets. Mayor Jordan asked shall the ordinance pass. Upon roll call the ordinance passed unanimously. Ordinance 5652 as Recorded in the office of the City Clerk Amend Chapter 178: An ordinance to repeal §178.03 Sidewalk Vendors and enact a replacement §178.03 Sidewalk Vendors and Food Trucks and to repeal §178.04 Outdoor Mobile Vendors Located on Private Property and enact a replacement §178.04 Outdoor Mobile Vendors Located on Private Property. This ordinance was left on the First Reading at the November 19, 2013 City Council meeting and tabled to the December 17, 2013 City Council meeting. This ordinance was left on the First Reading at the December 17, 2013 City Council meeting and Tabled to the January 21, 2014 City Council meeting. Jeremy Pate, Director of Development Services: We would like to table this item. It is going to the February 5, 2014 Ordinance Review Committee meeting. We request this be tabled to February 18, 2014. Alderman Petty: I think we should table it, but we have a couple of members in the audience tonight who would like to address the full Council. Suzanne Clark, Fayetteville Resident and Lawyer for the Yacht Club: The Yacht Club is located at 617 North College. As the ordinance is currently drafted, this ordinance will put the Yacht Club out of business. There are three things I would like for you to consider in terms of how it is drafted. First, the requirement that these permits be granted to both mobile vendor and the property owner jointly be decoupled. Also, to ensure that the language imposing obligations on the property owner are reasonable based on the use of the property. Finally, consider whether or not it is appropriate to include language regarding the American with Disabilities Act in this particular section of code. Imposing obligations on the property owner as that section of the ordinance reads it is exceptionally broad and allows the Planning Commission as a condition of granting a permit to a mobile vendor to impose requirements for permanent or semi-permanent improvements on the property owner that may include sidewalk improvements, permanent bathrooms, and landscaping. At the whim of what the Planning Commission may decide to impose, it opens the door to any manner of obligation that will put the Yacht Club out of business. At the December 9, 2013 Planning Commission meeting there was discussion about what obligations potentially should be imposed specifically on the Yacht Club. A vacant lot with temporary structures is not the same as a large scale development. There has been a lot of discussion about that particular 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 accessfayetteville.org Telecommunications Device for the Deaf TDD/TTY (479) 521-1316 City Council Meeting Minutes January 21, 2014 Page 6 of 12 issue and there are some Commissioners on the Planning Commission who believe they should be treated identically. Alderman Petty: I agree with everything you said. Some of the things that the Planning Commission has required, that I actually think are okay, are temporary landscaping improvements. Do you think that crosses the line? Suzanne Clark: Not at all. In fact, Ms. Morris did temporary landscaping entirely voluntarily. This is something she wanted to do to spruce up the property. Alderman Petty: I was at the Planning Commission meeting where we discussed the ordinance. In talking with other Commissioners, I know that some of them think that vendors at the Yacht Club are practically permanent. They don't move every night like a food truck might. Can you explain why we should consider them strictly temporary? Suzanne Clark: When you can hitch a trailer up to it and move it off and it is no longer an operational business there, it is temporary. It is not a brick and mortar business. It is not something the owner has invested in as a permanent operation. It can be moved off sight in a day. Alderman Adams: In your research, is there any other time that we drive up and down College and say we need you to improve your property? Do we have any other examples of that? Suzanne Clark: No and that is part of my concern with the language. Paragraph C (3) opens up the door to let's decide what we want the property owner to do. It doesn't reference any specific code. I don't see that there is any other surrounding business that is under the same requirement. The comparisons I think unfairly have been made to say that this is a business operation that should have to comply with what the brick and mortar businesses are doing, this even goes beyond that and is requiring things that those brick and mortar businesses are not seeing. We don't say you have to show up before Planning and we decide if there are some other improvements we need you to make this year. City Attorney Kit Williams: I agree with many of the comments that Mrs. Clark has stated. The thing that the city has that's most comparable to the Yacht Club is a mobile home park. The city can place requirements on a mobile home park for certain infrastructure improvements in order to be able to have mobile homes placed on the pads and pay rent. Everything must be proportional. I share a lot of concerns with some of the things that have been talked about, especially restrooms which seems to be kind of contrary to mobile vending. Most mobile vendors don't contemplate having restrooms. If they have food they need to have a place to wash, but that is required by the Health Department, not us. A lot of this is a matter of degree. They were asked to dedicate right of way to the city. The city is going to use the right of way that was dedicated to build new sidewalks there and increase the value of their property by taxpayer money to build the sidewalks. That would have been more difficult if we had not got this dedication. We appreciate the dedication, but I don't think that was an onerous burden. I do agree that there are problems with the way this particular ordinance has been drafted and that is why it is up before Ordinance Review Committee. I would encourage you to look at section 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 accessfayetteville.org Telecommunications Device for the Deaf TDDITTY (479) 521-1316 City Council Meeting Minutes January 21, 2014 Page 7 of 12 178.04 very carefully. There are some things that I would like to change in it and will suggest at the Ordinance Review Committee meeting. I hope this will be one of the provisions that you will be looking at as well as the food trucks. Alderman Tennant: There is a RV park in south Fayetteville that I consider a recreational vehicle that you can go in and stay for a week. Do we put the same burden on the owner of that RV Park as we would on somebody with a trailer park? City Attorney Kit Williams: I doubt it. I would have to defer to our Planning Department to give you the firm answer. I think what Planning Commissioners look at when they talk about permanent is not whether it can be moved or not, but whether they are moved. Year after year there are these airstream trailers that are sitting at the lots. They aren't exactly the same as an RV or mobile home. I think they are in between. I would ask Jeremy if he knows about what we require if there is an establishment of an RV park in Fayetteville. Jeremy Pate: We haven't seen one in many years. The Planning Commission did approve one several years ago that was never constructed. We looked at the traffic generated by that and looked it as a Large Scale Development. Alderman Petty: The way we regulate mobile home parks, is that a use unit or a conditional use permit? Jeremy Pate: It is a use unit and it has its own specific chapter. Most of them now are federally regulated and we have very little oversight in terms of the construction. We don't issue building permits for the homes. However, in connection to our utility systems, ADA accessible requirements we do inspect. That is part of our parking and building code. Alderman Petty: Is it fair to say that the Council regulates mobile home parks in zoning decisions? Jeremy Pate: It is both in zoning decisions and development. You can have a Large Scale Development that we look at and require improvements. We haven't had one of those since the 70's I think. We have them and there have been improvements required of them as part of the development process. Generally there aren't requirements for later tenants, which is what the point here is. The improvements are made up front. Like a retail strip center along College Avenue, each tenant we don't look at for future improvements because the decision was made for those improvements at the time when the use and development was established. Alderman Petty: That is exactly the point I wanted to make. If we want to treat them similarly to mobile home parks, for the property it is a zoning decision and development decision. Beyond that it is just checking to make sure the vendor is putting together the right application, that they have gone to the Health Department and have gotten their business license. Beyond that, I am not sure what the city needs to be looking at. I know there are Commissioners that feel differently, but if you go back and watch the video, seven out of nine of them were adamant that the ordinance that proposed had these sorts of problems and needed to be fixed. They passed it to us the same night with the understanding that we were going to send it to Ordinance Review and 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 accessfayetteville.org Telecommunications Device for the Deaf TDDnTY (479) 521-1316 City Council Meeting Minutes January 21, 2014 Page 8 of 12 address these things. I am pleased to hear some of these concerns being brought up in such a clear manner. Suzanne Clark: In regards to the ADA compliance. The accessibility issues under ADA require access that is readily achievable. In terms of how these businesses operate, the ADA specifically contemplates circumstances where providing that access could put that particular business operator out of business and allows for those exceptions. If that language is included, I ask that there also be language that specifically says that it is not intended to detract from or remove any exceptions that also exist within the ADA. Cynthia Morris, Property Owner of the Yacht Club at College: Back in March 2012 1 purchased this as a vacant lot. There were already three airstream trailers on the property when I purchased it. The money that I have received from rent I have put back into the property for improvements. I have added water, more electricity and movable landscaping. On Friday, January 10, 2014 I got a message from the city that in order to renew the soup girls' permit on that Monday night I had to agree to take up concrete in front of my parking lot and add trees. I was given a 24 hour notice to get this done. I had no time to talk to the Urban Forester to see what they would want. There was no way to get a bid to know what kind of cost we were talking about. If I didn't say that was okay, then they would not renew her permit. That was also the kind of thing that happened when I deeded the property over to the city. I was given 30 days to get that completed. Mayor Jordan: You had a 24 hour notice to take out your drive and plant trees? Cynthia Morris: I had to agree to it. I got the notice on Friday morning, January 10, 2014. The Planning Commission meeting was going to be that Monday night. I had a person up to redo their permit. When there's a permit up, they think of what they want to tell me I have to do next. I feel that was an unreasonable amount of time for me to make a business decision. Jeremy Pate: What improvements have the Planning Commission required on that property? Cynthia Morris: I have done everything myself. I have tried to stay ahead of the curve. I have kept them informed on what I have done. The deeding of 2,000 square feet of my property to the city has been the biggest thing. They have discussed what kind of awning should be on the trailers, what kind of materials they should be made out of, should they use the original airstream fabric. They are always coming up with ideas off the cuff at Planning Commission. This is not the way a Planning Commission should work. There has been a lot of micromanagement items that have been unique to our lot and not to other businesses in the city. Mayor Jordan: We will look into that. A discussion followed on the proposed improvements to the property that were requested by the Planning Commission. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 accessfayetteville.org Telecommunications Device for the Deaf TDD/TTY (479) 521-1316 City Council Meeting Minutes January 21, 2014 Page 9 of 12 Clayton Scott, Best Frickin Chicken in Town: When I filed for my extension and was awarded that by the Planning Commission it was imposed upon me to put in two bicycle racks. At the meeting, bicycle racks was the term. I got online and ordered two bicycle racks, but what Planning Commission meant was city coded bicycle racks. I was shut down until I found the correct bicycle racks. A discussion continued about bicycle racks. Clayton Scott, Best Frickin Chicken in Town: I think the Planning Commission and City Council need to come up with ways to help the process be easier and economically fair so that we can keep this thing going in our city. Mayor Jordan: That is the reason why we trying to table this and take it to the Ordinance Review to look at some of these situations. Clayton Scott, Best Frickin Chicken in Town: It would be nice to have representation from people who have properties as well as mobile vendors and bring us together as a committee. Mayor Jordan: All of our meeting are open to the public. When they meet, you can express the same concerns that you are doing now. Your input is welcome. Alderman Long: Mr. Clayton, we will be having a meeting on February 5, 2014 at 5:15 p.m. in Room 326 and please come. Alderman Tennant: I am one of the first to praise our Planning Commission on occasion for things that they do, but this one troubles me. To expect business owners to put in permanent bathrooms and treat vacant lots the same way that you treat other things bothers me a great deal. A lot of people have told me for years to change the way North College looks. If we want vacant lots to be used car lots and self -storage units, then by all means let's follow the Planning Commission idea here. I don't want that. I think this is a great idea for our city to have these creative places where people can try a business and if they are successful, then move to brick and mortar. This is a classic case of over legislating something. Jeremy Pate: This is one of the very reasons that we wanted to bring this ordinance forward. The current language that you all have adopted, that the City Attorney drafted, is much broader. We were trying to add specificity about what type of improvements. Right now the ordinance says when granting a variance, the Planning Commission may require semi-permanent or permanent improvements to the property. That could be just about anything they dream up. The objective was to try add some more specificity and that was feedback from mobile vendors. City Attorney Kit Williams: I don't think they have turned down a variance for a mobile vendor permit to have it renewed. Jeremy Pate: That is correct. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 accessfayetteville.org Telecommunications Device for the Deaf TDDrM (479) 521-1316 City Council Meeting Minutes January 21, 2014 Page 10 of 12 City Attorney Kit Williams: The only permanent improvement that has been requested was the dedication of the ten feet of right of way along College Avenue. If this property was ever sold and going to be developed, then it would have to be dedicated at that time. Now it won't have to be dedicated again and in fact now it will have a sidewalk built by the city taxpayers. I know there has been some confusion on this. I am sorry the Frickin Chicken man did not realize when he agreed to the conditions of approval for the two bike racks it meant two bike racks as described by the city code. In fairness to the Planning Commission they have always approved these requests. The City Council long ago passed a provision that if anything that our city Unified Development Code requests of a landowner is more than what should be requested, they have a right to ask the Planning Commission to review that and reduce the amount the code would normally ask for to the constitutionally allowed amount. I would like the Ordinance Review committee to consider is if you are going to put requirements on a vendor's court it seems like it should have the same right as you do with a mobile home court. The individual vendors shouldn't have to come in and get permits all the time. If this is a mobile vendor's court, then people should be able to sell just like if it is a strip center. Alderman Adams: Could we make clear who speaks and participates at Ordinance Review meetings? A discussion followed about the procedures and participation in an Ordinance Review Committee meeting. Alderman Kinion: I talked with Cynthia after she purchased the property. I think we need to be sensible and not over restrictive. If anyone recalls what was at the corner of Trenton and College it was undesirable and it is now very desirable. It has become a destination in the neighborhood I live in and the Ward I represent. I think this is an excellent model to look at as we move forward in what could happen to any lot, to improve an area rather than have a vacancy. Alderman Adams moved to table the ordinance to the February 18, 2014 City Council meeting. Alderman Long seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. This ordinance was tabled to the February 18, 2014 City Council meeting. New Business: ADM 13-4565 (UDC Amendment: Large Scale Development/Parkland Dedication Applicability): An ordinance to amend the definition of Large Scale Development in §151.01, amend §157.02, §166.01 (D) and §166.02 (13)(2) and (3) and to repeal §94.06 Flammable and Combustible Liquids of the Fayetteville Code to clarify what developments are considered Large Scale Developments. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 accessfayetteville.org Telecommunications Device for the Deaf TDDlrrY (479) 521-1316 City Council Meeting Minutes January 21, 2014 Page 11 of 12 Jeremy Pate, Director of Development Services gave a brief description of the ordinance. The Parks & Recreation Board and the Planning Commission both voted unanimously in favor of the request. Alderman Petty moved to suspend the rules and go to the second reading. Alderman Tennant seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Alderman Petty moved to suspend the rules and go to the third and final reading. Alderman Tennant seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Mayor Jordan asked shall the ordinance pass. Upon roll call the ordinance passed unanimously. Ordinance 5653 as Recorded in the office of the City Clerk Amend §157.04: An ordinance to amend §157.04 of the Unified Development Code to require notification for Planned Zoning District amendments. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Jeremy Pate, Director of Development Services gave a brief description of the ordinance. Staff supports this request. Alderman Adams: Thank you to Jeremy for working on this and Kit too. We have seen a couple of examples where this would have been a good thing to have our citizens notified. Any time we can do something to make sure our citizens are notified of changes that have an impact on their neighborhood, then we should do all we can as a city to notify them. Alderman Gray moved to suspend the rules and go to the second reading. Alderman Long seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Alderman Gray moved to suspend the rules and go to the third and final reading. Alderman Adams seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Mayor Jordan asked shall the ordinance pass. Upon roll call the ordinance passed unanimously. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 accessfayetteville.org Telecommunications Device for the Deaf TDDfrrY (479) 521-1316 City Council Meeting Minutes January 21, 2014 Page 12 of 12 Ordinance 5654 as Recorded in the office of the City Clerk City Council Agenda Session Presentations: National League of Cities Report presented by Alderman Sarah Marsh City Council Tour: None Announcements: Jeremy Pate: The Municipal League meeting is next week. It is in Northwest Arkansas. I urge you to attend if at all possible. I want to thank all of the elected officials. The State of the City is sound and we could not do it without your support. Alderman Gray: There will be a Ward 1 meeting Thursday at 6:00 p.m. at the Senior Center on College. Alderman Adams: There will be a Ward 4 meeting Monday night at 6:00 p.m. in Room 111. Alderman Long: Today is a special day. I want to wish Alderwoman Gray a very Happy Birthday. Mayor Jordan: I leave tomorrow for Washington D.C. for the U.S. Conference of Mayors. I sit on two committees. One is Urban Housing and the other is Arts, Parks and Tourism. It is always a good learning time. Sondra E. Smith, City Clerk/Treasurer 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 accessfayetteville.org Telecommunications Device for the Deaf TDDMY (479) 521-1316 I State of the City January 21, 2014 Mayor Lioneld Jordan Ladies and Gentlemen of the City Council and my fellow citizens of Fayetteville, I am proud to announce that the state of our City is sound. Fayetteville is a unique community with a rich history and a wonderful story. I love this City, and I love to tell our story. Our achievements and successes this year have been the result of an excellent partnership between my administration and our City Council and the dedication and the efforts of our outstanding staff and City employees. Among our shared principles and goals receiving special focus this year have been: (1) to spend wisely and save taxpayers' money while increasing public services; (2) making City services more convenient for our residents; (3) increasing public information about and awareness of those public services; and (4) assuring the inclusion of all residents in the benefits of the services and projects that enhance the quality of life in our community. Internally, we have made special efforts to secure state and federal funding, reduce waste, improve sustainability, update infrastructure, and maintain a safe and productive working environment for our employees. Fayetteville is blessed with a strong municipal workforce. One City employee who frequently praised the fact that he was a City of Fayetteville employee was Judge Rudy Moore, Jr. Judge Moore honorably served with distinction as the Fayetteville Municipal Judge and then the Fayetteville District Court Judge for over 22 years, until his death on April 11, 2013. We recognize his service to Fayetteville tonight as we look at 2013 and lead into 2014. We also recognize Fayetteville District Court staff who banded together and took a positive approach to dealing with this immense loss while succeeding in the many transitions that occurred in an already -existing high-volume work environment. 1 2 Fayetteville is growing, the number of jobs here are consistently on the rise, and we are nationally recognized for our community's innovative initiatives. The University of Arkansas has dramatically increased enrollment and is further establishing itself as one of the top public research and academic institutions in the nation, while the City and University's relationship continues to strengthen. We have the best schools in the State, our medical facilities are outstanding, we are blessed with excellent local businesses and a loyal customer base that supports our local economy, and we are in the midst of one of Fayetteville's most rapid expansions of infrastructure in our history. We focus on becoming a community of livable neighborhoods that meets present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Despite our rapid growth resulting in increased demand for public services, we have been good stewards of the taxpayers' money and again adopted a balanced budget, reduced our outstanding debt, and strengthened our financial reserve funds. Economic growth is reflected in total sales tax collections up 3.8% compared to 2012 as of the end of October. Based on the strong operating results of 2012, the City Council approved a salary package based on a 2013 survey of the market, which works to assure that job compensation for our municipal workers is more consistent with the marketplace. The Fayetteville economy continues to recover from the great recession of 2008, and we are optimistic of continued economic vitality. We added over 800 new private sector jobs in 2013. Existing manufacturing firms have announced planned investments of more than 50 million dollars in plant and equipment expansions and upgrades, which will result in additional good -paying jobs for our residents. Another sign of our continued economic recovery from the recession of 2008 is that 805 building permits were processed last year, more than 2,800 mechanical, electrical and plumbing permits were processed; and over 20,000 inspections were made—which is a 151% increase from 2012. 911 calls increased last year by 13.44%, and calls for service increased 2%. There has been a 6% increase in calls for fire service over last year and a 20% increase in calls for service since 2010. We have had a continued increase in the number of calls for fire service, which amounts to a 54% increase from 2003 through 2013, such that the Fayetteville Fire Department is handling close to 3,000 more calls each year—an addition of 8 calls per day. But, even with that increase, the Fayetteville Fire Department still makes house calls, including free fire inspections and installation of free residential fire alarms. Our Fire Department is working to expand awareness of the benefits of public safety service, focusing on an increase in diversity in our fire service workforce. Our community fire education program engaged 7,400 children and 2,600 adults last year in education programs. We held our first Fayetteville 2 3 Family Fire Safety Day, and expanded and improved the fire training program with over 17,000 staff -hours of formal training in 2013. The Police Department has expanded recruiting efforts through various resources and is dedicated to reaching high caliber recruits, including additional women and minorities. The agency is partnering with community and academic organizations, which it believes to be rich in potential candidates. Police Administrators earned their Certificate of Leadership in the UA Diversity and Inclusion program. CALEA Accreditation is just one example of the Fayetteville Police Department's commitment to its pursuit of professional excellence. We are the only city in Arkansas to have adopted the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code for residential construction, including a HERS rating, which serves as the model for the State. The Fayetteville Municipal Airport took the Fixed Base Operation in house last year. Our airport was the third -busiest airport in the State of Arkansas last year. We hosted the Air Race Classic and the Annual Cross Country Air Race for Women Aviators, and twice during the year we hosted the Commemorative Air Force's flying bombers. Our citizens voted to authorize bonds to expand the Walton Arts Center and develop the Fayetteville Regional Park, and we selected the company to provide design and engineering services for the Regional Park Master Plan. We made many improvements to our parks in 2013, including renovation of the concession and restroom at Walker Park Baseball Complex, Wilson Park Tennis Court Renovation that included ADA accessible parking and access in conjunction with the project, Mount Sequoyah Gardens Improvements and ADA accessible parking and access and replacement of the existing asphalt entry drive, and completion of the Wilson Park Pool Renovation. Working with regional partners, we also instituted our advanced wayfinding signage program. A major initiative undertaken in 2013 was the migration of our old and outdated email system to a new system to help standardize technology and equipment at the City. We instituted technological improvements to enhance communication internally and between the City and the public and to make customer payment options more efficient and user-friendly. We instituted a paperless agenda item management system in 2013. Moreover, Fayetteville was named the Number 2 Digital City in the Nation for our population category at the National League of Cities Conference. Our Transportation Division started a program to supplement the traditional asphalt overlay process by utilizing a method called Micro Surfacing, a more cost-efficient and time -efficient way to resurface roadway pavement. In 2013, approximately 4.7 miles of City streets were resurfaced using this new c El method, and 6 miles of hot mix asphalt was applied for a total of almost 11 miles of pavement resurfacing. We installed new drainage infrastructure, curb and gutter, sidewalks, retaining walls, and approximately 11,000 feet of sidewalk were constructed City wide. Several other infrastructure projects included video detection upgrades at Sycamore and College, Drake and Garland, Leverett and Maple, and Shepherd and College. We replaced a failing bridge at Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard between East Avenue and South College Avenue, and renovated the old Railroad trestle bridge and the installation of the adjacent tunnel structure under the existing Railroad overpass for the Tsa-La- Gi Trail. We have continued to facilitate sidewalk connectivity in Fayetteville to enhance walkability. Moreover, the City Council addressed public concerns by enacting new booting/wheel clamp regulations for private parking lots. We constructed 5.5 miles of new trails in 2013—the highest mileage total in the history of our trails program. This includes approximately 3.8 miles constructed by approximately 5.2 million dollars in grant funding. We began construction of the Highway 71B flyover bridge project and completed construction on Cato Springs Road, the City's first roundabout, and Highway 265 between Mission and Joyce Boulevards. We continued development of the new Drainage Criteria Manual, which will include a Chapter on Low Impact Development and new requirements for water quality and protection of property downstream from developments. In 2013, staff provided approximately 30 tours to nearly 500 people at our waste water treatment plants, the Woolsey wetland, and the Biosolids Management Site. Attendees included students from elementary, middle, and high schools; college students; educators; bird watchers; and other professionals. In July, Arkansas Audubon designated Woolsey Wet Prairie as Arkansas's 32nd Important Bird Area (IBA). With less than 1% of our state's original wetland prairies remaining, this milestone highlights Woolsey's value as a natural resource not only in Northwest Arkansas but statewide. Adjacent to the Woolsey Wet Prairie, we also initiated a plan for restoration of the historic Woolsey Farmstead. We completed the Lake Sequoyah dredging project and performed dam maintenance at Lake Fayetteville, Lake Sequoyah, and Lake Wilson; and performed a record high amount of hydrant maintenance and upgrades. The City Council approved form -based code amendments, which will make the use of more traditional town development patterns, mixed use, and pedestrian friendly development more developer -friendly and feasible. This includes modification to accommodate recent market demand for single family homes on smaller lots. Several city events benefitted our community, including the tree and shrub give-away at the annual Celebration of Trees, National Kids to Parks Day 11 r Parkapalooza, Fest-of-All, Yvonne Richardson Community Center 2nd annual Celebrate Our Kids Banquet that raised $30,000 for the Center, the Senior Giving Tree, Lights of the Ozarks and the new Ozarks Holiday Walk, and our many City recreational opportunities. Over 30,000 people participated in recreation events through our Parks and Recreation Department programs last year. The Yvonne Richardson Community Center was able to make major facility renovations to the Center through grants and donations from many community donors. We have installed park, trail, and parking lot interpretative signage and location maps of each park. We expanded Adult Recreation Programming to offer more recreational opportunities for adults, including a new Incrediball League, as well as nearly doubling participation levels in Adult Coed Kickball and Volleyball. Our Community Development Block Grant program last year led to 17 housing rehabilitation projects, assistance to 146 residents with transportation needs, and 7 grant awards to non-profit entities. Ranger's Pantry garnered 17,000 pounds of dog and cat food that helped 677 dogs and cats stay with their families. We instituted the Energy Efficiency & Weatherization Kit program and have already distributed 377 weatherization kits. We also completed the final Wedington Corridor Plan, sold the old Tyson Mexican Original plant site and we plan to bank that money for additional community advancement, and worked on a master plan for the East Gate Plaza area with input from the public. In 2013, we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the City of Fayetteville Television Center. We continued our Television Center upgrades, including more cost-efficient service at higher technical quality for viewers and we are providing higher quality Internet streaming for both The Government Channel and Public Access Television, as well as improving the usability of the studio production area. We enhanced Public Access services by expanding class offerings to both basic and advanced levels and expanded hours of operation. City Media Services designed, specified, and installed a remote recording system in Room 326 that improved meeting coverage, increased safety for staff assigned to meeting coverage, and decreased staff time necessary to record and prepare meeting video for distribution. New Digital Signage displays to enhance civic awareness of city services were added at the Solid Waste Division building and the New Accounts area of City Hall. Our outstanding Fayetteville Public Library continues to increase its collections and its services to the public. This has been the fifth consecutive year of increased participation in the Fayetteville Public Library's summer reading program, workshops, speakers, and events. The Library acquired new digital services to increase accessibility, including a music downloading service, 5 rl digital magazines, and downloadable audio -books; all in addition to growing ebook collections and offering iPads, eReaders and laptops for checkout. In 2013, well over half -a -million people visited our public library, there were over 1.3 million online visits to the library last year, there were 1,467 library programs with over 70,000 program attendees, over 1.2 million physical materials were checked out, and there were over 100,000 digital downloads. Animal Services successes are notable, including a reduction in the euthanasia rate to 7%, and we increased the amount of pets returned to owners by 8% over 2012. Staff also initiated free training and behavior classes for the public. The public is instrumental in these successes, and we thank the many residents who gave so many homeless animals a loving home last year. The people of Fayetteville are our greatest asset, and we are blessed with many residents who contribute to our community in a variety of ways—whether it is volunteering time with the City of Fayetteville or local non -profits, or contributions to strengthening our school district, the University of Arkansas, or one of our hospitals. Our citizen innovation rests in our minds, our hands, and our hearts. Fayetteville, Arkansas, last year was again recognized as a Volunteer Community of the Year in Arkansas—making it the fifth year in a row that the People of Fayetteville have been honored with that recognition to dedicated public service. Last year over 38,000 volunteers contributed over 657,000 hours of service and made a volunteering economic impact of over fourteen and a half million dollars. The USAA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation's Hiring Our Heroes program announced the top 10 "Best Places for Veterans: Jobs" list with Fayetteville earning the number 7 ranking. Wise Money Management In our ongoing efforts to save taxpayer money, we have engaged in extensive research and filed applications for Grants to fund the fire department, purchase wildland firefighting protective gear, receive cost recovery for Hazardous Materials incident responses, and engaged in an Interlocal Agreement for hazmat service fees. The Fire Department received an Assistance to Firefighters Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a Forcible Entry Simulator Equipment and Training Grant Award from Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation, a Carbon Monoxide Alarms Equipment Grant Award from Kidde Corporation, a Firewise Community grant, and joint receipt of a grant from the Arkansas Fire Prevention Commission for the Youth Fire Intervention Taskforce. The Police Department saved approximately $100,000 of its 2013 overtime budget by utilizing time trades and creative scheduling and staffing procedures, as well as the receipt of approximately $200,000 in reimbursed salaries and overtime expenses for special events. The Police Department was also recently 3 7 awarded a COPS Hiring Program Grant for the funding of three police officers, which includes a four-year 75/25 matching grant for a maximum of $375,000 by the Department of Justice. These officers will be utilized to expand our School Resource Officer (SRO) program, and they will be responsible for providing security and crime prevention services to our schools. Through an award of a $198,000 2013 STEP Grant, the Police Department worked over 822 hours of patrol directed toward impaired driving and provided funding to the department's Community Oriented Policing Division to take part in a number of presentations and community events during which 215 child safety seats were given to citizens who otherwise could not afford them. Even small changes bring cost savings, such as our conversion of seven mowers to propane, which saved over $5,200 last year. City of Fayetteville Parks and Recreation has a superior volunteer program and volunteer network that worked on a variety of projects that included trash pick-up, wood debris removal, invasive vegetation removal and planting of native trees, shrubs and grasses. Parks and Recreation volunteers logged over 7000 hours last year, equivalent to $132,000 and 875 work days. We received a total of $381,000 in grant funding for construction of active transportation infrastructure, received a $260,000 Transportation Alternatives Program grant through the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission to create a bikeway, and received an $81,000 grant from the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department's Safe Routes to Schools Program for construction of a sidewalk and trail bridge over Clabber Creek. We received a $40,000 grant from the Endeavor Foundation for the construction of three bikeways that link the Razorback Greenway to public parks and schools. The City received a $10,000 matching and $15,000 in-kind Grant from the Curbside Value Partnership, which was used to kick off the Recycle Something marketing campaign. We received a $30,000 ADEQ/Boston Mountain Recycling Grant for indoor recycling containers for apartments, a $25,000 ADEQ/Boston Mountain E -Waste Recycling Grant for continuation of the e -waste coupon redemption program, and a $1,000 Keep America Beautiful Cigarette Litter Prevention Program for Dickson Street. Production of in-house, high-level television spots for our Recycle Something campaign saved the City well over $40,000. We managed completion of an energy efficient lighting upgrade at Fire Station 2, which will save $1000 per year in electricity cost. And, our purchase of Utility Bill Management Software will better enable the City to track our utility usage. The City received approximately $1.3 million in new federal aid transportation funding for 2013. Other grants include a State of Arkansas Historic Preservation Grant from the Governor's Office for $1,200 and a $100,000 award by the National Endowment for the Arts for a pedestrian and 7 t] art -centered redesign of School Avenue. In the removal of the Tyson industrial facility on Huntsville Road, we saved over $100,000 by selling the building in an on-line auction rather than paying a contractor to remove the structure, and our Utilities Department saved over $268,000 by using in-house design and construction management staff. An energy-efficient upgrade to the second level of the Meadow Street Parking Deck netted a rebate check of almost $4,000. Staff is also continuing the upgrade project of rebuilding, powder coating, and reassembling all parking meter housings. Performing this work in-house resulted in a total savings of over $20,000. The sale of obsolete meter bodies through GovDeals resulted in over $57,000, which was $42,000 more than through normal metals recycling methods. Recognition and Honors Fayetteville can tout many honors in the last year, and I will highlight a few. First, two long-time volunteers with the City of Fayetteville were recognized this past year for their excellence — Jim Cherry was awarded the honor of Arkansas State Soccer Association Volunteer of the Year, and Dave Bowman received the honor of Arkansas Recreation and Parks Association Individual Volunteer of the Year. We have several City staff who have been elected to state association leadership positions. The City Clerk of Fayetteville, Sondra Smith, is the President of the Arkansas City Clerks, Recorders, and Treasurer's Association. City Fleet Director Jessie Beeks is President of the Arkansas Public Fleet Managers Association. Harlan Henson is President of the Backflow Prevention Association of Arkansas. Fire Chief David Dayringer is President of the Northwest Arkansas Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association. Vel Moses is Secretary -Elect of the Code Officials of Arkansas. The Southeast Fayetteville Community Center received the Arkansas Recreation and Parks Association Group Volunteer of the Year in 2013. Last year, the City was awarded a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Governmental Financial Officers Association. The City was also awarded a Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for its 2013 Budget from the Governmental Financial Officers Association. This is the 24th consecutive year that these two awards have been made to the City and demonstrate the meritorious work performed by the City's Accounting and Budgeting Divisions. The City won the Arkansas Recycling Coalition Government Recycler of the Year Award. The Arkansas Wildlife Federation in cooperation with the National Wildlife Federation presented the City of Fayetteville with the 2013 Rex Hancock Wildlife Conservationist of the Year Award for outstanding contributions to the 2 9 wise use and management of the Nation's natural resources. The City of Fayetteville Fleet division was again awarded recognition as one of the 100 Best Fleets in North America. Fayetteville received four honorable mention recognitions in the Arkansas Business 2013 City of Distinction Awards—these honors recognize Fayetteville for our Center of Excellence in the Workforce Development category; our Streamside Protection Ordinance and Low Impact Development Manual in the Green/Energy Conservation Initiatives category; Block Avenue improvements in the Main Street, Downtown and Historic Preservation category; and our City staffs work on our City website is honored in the category of Technological Advancements. YRCC received a Community Service Award from The Kappa Kappa Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Underwood's Fine Jewelers chose YRCC as one of their Fab Five organizations. Wilson Park was awarded the best public park by Citiscapes Magazine and Gulley Park was a runner up; Wilson Park Tennis Courts were a runner up for the best tennis courts in Northwest Arkansas by Citiscapes Magazine; and The Fayetteville Multiuse Trail network was voted the Best Municipal Trail System in Northwest Arkansas by Citiscapes Magazine. The City of Fayetteville has been awarded national America in Bloom honors, including five blooms in 2013 and special recognition for environmental efforts. Last year was the eighteenth year that Fayetteville has been honored as a Tree City USA, and we received the Outstanding Achievement Award by the U.S. Conference of Mayor's Livability Awards Program for our City's BioSolids Program. The Fayetteville Public Library was awarded the 2013 Best of the Best Library Winner by NWA Media and the 2013 Best of Northwest Arkansas Best Library by Citiscapes Magazine. The Fayetteville Historic Commission awarded the Mayor's Award for Outstanding Service in Historic Preservation to The Government Channel for The Fayetteville History Minute series. The Fayetteville Police Department was successful in achieving a national accreditation last year from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. Last year our Central Dispatch Center received Project 33 Recertification with the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials and is currently the only dispatch center in Arkansas to be Project 33 certified. The City of Fayetteville was awarded a Keep America Beautiful/UPS Foundation Community Tree Planting Grant to establish a community orchard for local consumption in an underserved area. At the time of the application in early 2013, Arkansas ranked 1st in the nation in percentage of food insecure households, and 37% of Washington County children were food insecure. This 0 10 project was approved by the City Council, and the apple, pear, and pecan orchard will be planted in February 2014. Ecological Measures We continue to work in ways responsible to improving our environment by integrating sustainability efforts throughout our organization, knowing that even multiple small measures count up for overall ecological success. The use of water fountains and reusable bottles, adding hybrid vehicles to our fleet, increasing the use of electronic documents to reduce paper waste, establishing an employee Sustainability Working Group, performing an energy upgrade at our city's television center, installing Save -A -Watt timers at City facilities, and participating in a building energy audit through the GrccNWAys initiative all add up for savings for our City and taxpayers. In exchange for easements for the Frisco Trail Southern Extension, the City crews demolished a concrete block building owned by the Farmer's Cooperative and over 700 tons of concrete slabs and blocks from the building were crushed and recycled as base material on site. The City of Fayetteville was actively involved in the E -cycle Clean-up and coordinated a community campaign with the State of Arkansas to encourage the recycling of electronic equipment, and we actively engage in reuse options through our auction program that, in turn, puts more money in the municipal system for additional public service needs. Our water treatment plant's beneficial reuse of treated effluent through irrigation kept approximately 66.2 pounds of phosphorus from entering the White River. This program kept nearly 98% of biosolids from being put in a landfill and reduced a total of 200,000 fewer miles in truck travel than 2010. We sold approximately 2,460 tons of fertilizer, collecting almost $40,000. Our trail and sidewalk crews saved topsoil to reuse and our overlay crew reclaimed approximately 3,000 tons of asphalt millings that were sold back to the vendor and used in the production of new asphalt. Our street sweeping program resulted in approximately one million pounds of debris collected last year to reduce pollution entering the storm water system, and brush and tree limb trimmings are chipped and reused as mulch in landscaped areas. Fleet converted four pickups to propane, with small pickups saving 36% over gasoline and bigger trucks saving 20% over diesel and 33% over gasoline. Our conversion of 11 units to propane will displace 5,135 gallons of gasoline and 4,526 gallons of diesel each year, and 64,400 fewer pounds of greenhouse gases will be emitted. Central Dispatch has changed their dispatch log review to an electronic process. The use of electronic measures over paper ones just in our Police Department has resulted in a 12% reduction in their paper usage, and 10 11 this and other departments' procedural changes to digital instead of paper have enhanced public service and accessibility. The Fayetteville City Council passed an ordinance creating Arkansas's first Property Assessed Clean Energy District for the entire city. The City worked with many stakeholders on Uniform Development Code upgrades supporting urban agriculture, installed 41 Bicycle Racks last year along Dickson Street and in and around the Downtown Square, and partnered with Feed Fayetteville to collect 1,428 pounds of food for our community members in need. We added additional Green Your Life programs that are broadcast on the Fayetteville Government Channel, installed the first electric vehicle charging station in a parking lot near City Hall, and we developed the "Recycle Something" campaign to increase community commitment to recycling. We opened the new Marion Orton Recycling Drop Off Center last year, increased service levels for the Apartment Recycling Program, and expanded the Commercial Glass Recycling Program in the Entertainment District. Habitat for Humanity of Washington County received over 14,000 square feet of insulation donated by Owens Corning based upon the amount of glass the City of Fayetteville recycled from this Commercial Glass Recycling Program. 2014 This year, the City of Fayetteville will be adding a new content management system that will not only improve our City's website, but improve our work product and ability to continue to assure an informed citizenry. We will be increasing public awareness of programs, services, events and other offerings. We have added and will continue to add more public services on our City's website and increase outreach to the public through social media. The City's website will add a "My Government Services" site this year that will be an interactive map allowing users to pinpoint services available to a specific address. We will be replacing the outdated audio-visual and presentation technology in City Hall meeting rooms and converting the City of Fayetteville Television Center from a standard definition analog video system to a High Definition SDI system. We will also conduct an intensive campaign to further increase awareness and use of Public Access Television services. The Fayetteville Public Library made an offer for the old city hospital site and in 2014 will begin the Master Plan Phase II design and public input activities. The Library will also be replacing 145 aging public use computers and upgrading its public internet services. 11 12 The City will increase sidewalk production in 2014, continue excellence in needed infrastructure improvements and additions, establish and implement a plan for Boulevard Median Maintenance, identify additional priority drainage projects, implement measures to best manage storm water run-off, and further develop our Traffic Coordination System through the use of more sophisticated control and monitoring elements. We plan to convert additional Fleet to propane, explore electric or hybrid vehicles to patrol the City's Multi -use Trail System, and consider hybrid or other alternative fuel vehicles when replacing or expanding vehicle fleet. We will continue to work with the University of Arkansas to move forward on the goal of rebuilding Fire Station 2, create a carbon monoxide detector program, have a courtroom automation and security system upgrade, and conduct the Regional Park design and engineering. Construction of the Fayetteville Regional Park is predicted to begin during the 41h Quarter of 2014. Parks and Recreation has the framework in place for a Tennis Program for youth and adults to be implemented in phases in 2014. Lake Fayetteville Softball Complex will be updated, including correction of field drainage, improved irrigation and turf, and updated restrooms and concession stand. Improved parking at Veterans Memorial Park is also planned. We will begin construction of the Entertainment District Spring Street parking deck and will complete the Wastewater Long Range Master Plan and Collection System Model. We will continue updating the City's Growth and Development Policies, including City Plan 2030 and adopted neighborhood master plans, update the City's Downtown Design Standards, evaluate new zoning districts for parks and open space, evaluate a new smaller -scale Institutional Zoning District for neighborhood -scale institutional uses, audit our codes for sustainable practices and rules, and evaluate future neighborhood plan locations and other long range planning programs. Fayetteville continues to grow and prosper. We are a destination city—one in which people desire to stay and raise a family. Fayetteville is, simply, a great place to live, work, study, play, and raise a family. The biggest challenge facing us is the state of increased public service demands and resulting increase in workload and staff time. While our population has grown, and we have added many new programs and services, we have held the line on costs. The question is how long our existing numbers of employees can keep that pace. Our staff has done a superior job of employing creative measures and time balancing to meet the needs of all our residents, but a well-functioning government always looks to make sure that we have proper staffing to serve our City and public. We will be looking next year at our workload -to -staffing ratio to further assess the public service needs of Fayetteville. 12 13 We will increase our energy efficiency of city buildings and identify additional cost-effective opportunities and potential incentives, and our Utility Bill Management Software will better enable the City to track utility usage for over 400 monthly City utility accounts. We will move toward the next complete neighborhood planning process and continue to evaluate the feasibility on The Houses at Willow Bend project— an environmentally sensitive, energy efficient, owner occupied, affordable housing project located in an infill neighborhood with convenient access to work, education and cultural amenities. The City will put a plan in place for increasing diversion of materials from the waste stream and will be expanding our trash and recycling facility. In 2014, we will begin construction on the Van Asche Drive Extension, design plans for the Rupple Road extension, and complete the restoration of the Maple and Lafayette Street Historic Bridges. We will construct 4 miles of trails, open all Fayetteville segments of the Razorback Regional Greenway, and complete revisions to the Drainage Criteria Manual and the Minimum Street Standards. We will complete the West Fork of the White River stream restoration project, will begin the EPA Wetlands stream assessment project, and apply for the FEMA Community Rating System to reduce flood insurance costs to residents. Partners for Livable Communities designated Fayetteville in the Top Ten nationally for "America's Most Livable Communities" for cities under 100,000 population. It is clear why Fayetteville ranks on several lists as a top city in the nation, including Livability.com's ranking of Fayetteville as the 63rd top livable city in the United States, as well as the 9th top college town. Parade Magazine highlighted Fayetteville, Arkansas, as one of the most beautiful cities in the nation, and Southern Living selected Fayetteville as one of "The South's Best College Towns" for 2013. During the 2013 International Compassion Games, Fayetteville came in first in the Random Acts of Kindness category, placed fifth with the number of volunteers participating, and fifth in the number of hours showing compassion. Ours is truly a great city, a historic city, a vibrant and academic city, an innovative city, an environmentally -conscious and compassionate city, and a city in which our people make us who we are. As Walt Whitman wrote so well, "A great city is that which has the greatest men and women, where the citizen is always the head and ideal," and where elected public officials are their faithful agents and servants. 13