Threat of Litigation Forces SouthPass Approval

This is rich. The City Council approved the annexation and the Planned Zoning District for the SouthPass Development LLC. The main argument last night was not about sprawl, nor environmental consequences, nor cost of infrastructure, nor even whether the city needed a huge regional park. "If the city council refuses to annex the property or approve the PZD, SouthPass LLC could sue the city for millions of dollars," said Kit Williams, Fayetteville City Attorney. That would have been good advice four years ago.

Imagine that. The same bunch of developers who got the advantage of the $3.7 million Tax Increment Financing subsidy to build a magnificent hotel in downtown Fayetteville and gave us a big hole in the ground, filled to make a parking lot just before an election, might sue the city for failing to follow through on a contract is . . . ironic at best.

Ward One Alderman Adella Gray was the biggest supporter of approval, but everyone else seemed resigned to voting for it. Ward Two Alderman Nancy Allen said, "Every single, solitary person that I've talked to, or gotten an e-mail talking about (SouthPass ), is not in favor of this project, and I speak for them." Ward Three Alderman Bobby Ferrell admitted, "I'm gonna vote for this, but I really don't want to. I feel like I've been forced into it by the threat of litigation." Only Ward Four Alderman Lioneld Jordan voted against all three measures, which passed 6-2.

Who signed that contract? Who signed that contract to take ownership and liability for the old landfill before the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality completed its study of what the dump contained and the potential cost of closing and sealing to stop toxic leakage? Who signed that contract four years before the city staff produced a report that it would cost the city $39 million to provide infrastructure? If the city staff had provided that information before someone signed a contract, we might not be under duress and in this situation.

Who did sign that contract, anyway? Do they still work for the city?

SouthPass Regional Park Landfill UPDATE

"The mayor said ADEQ reports show the landfill site is not a problem."
Northwest Arkansas Times, September 14, 2008


Mike Robinson, Chief, Solid Waste Management Division, Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, to Connie Edmonston, Parks and Recreation Director, City of Fayetteville, November 5, 2008:

"To date, site closure assessment work has been conducted by ADEQ – SWMD’s environmental consultant in order to evaluate the condition of the closed landfill. These activities included, but have not been limited to, sampling of soils, groundwater, surface waters, sediments, seeps, and leachate outbreaks. Several landfill seeps and leachate outbreaks have been identified. Sample results indicate these waters are contaminated with metal, volatile organic and mineral compounds which are of potential concern, especially for ecological impacts. ADEQ – SWMD’s environmental consultant is conducting supplemental water sampling to better define the contaminants in the old landfill seeps and leachate outbreaks. Additional water samples are also being collected to further define the offsite surface water conditions.

"The need for corrective action at the old landfill has not yet been determined. Likewise, a corrective action plan has not been developed. However, efforts are continuing every day toward a decision on this project. The site closure assessment will be finalized in the near future, and the ADEQ Director will determine whether there is a need for corrective action. Should it be decided contaminants pose a hazard to public health or contaminants endanger the environment, corrective action may be deemed necessary."

Enthusiastic Republican Voters

The Grand Prize for greatest turnout in Fayetteville goes to Precinct 39. According to the preliminary and unofficial count by the Washington County Election Commission, 54 of its 49 registered voters cast ballots on Tuesday, a record turnout of 110.2%. Precinct 43 was First Runner-Up at 106.7%, and the Show Box was Precinct 40 at 103.2%.

In case your are wondering, John McCain carried all three boxes with majorities ranging from 77.8% to 56.3%

Rogers Mayor Womack Makes It Work

Rogers City Treasurer Jerry Hudlow is only projecting a $300,000 increase in sales-tax revenue, a more conservative projection than usual, but Rogers' employees will still be getting the same generous raises they were given last year and the city will continue its plans for expanding parks and trails.

Mayor Steve Womack yesterday told the City Council Finance Committee that the 2009 budget will include a 5% raise for all city employees except those making less than $41,600. City employees below that threshold will each earn $2,080 more in 2009 than they did in 2008, representing a $1 per hour raise, which is greater than a 5% boost. In addition, the cost of living index in Rogers is 4% lower than it is in Fayetteville.

The 2009 Fayetteville city budget submitted by Mayor Dan Coody reflects a $535,000 deficit and again includes no cost of living raises for city employees.

Responses and Reflections on Character

Certain events, including winning and losing elections, bring to light the essential character of those on whom the light shines at that moment. Perhaps run-off elections where final victory is on vacation and the future is uncertain presents a situation that is even more telling about the person and their values. Dustin Tracy, the reporter for the Northwest Arkansas Times seems to have captured such comments from Mayor Dan Coody and Vice Mayor Lioneld Jordan, the two candidates who will be facing off again on November 25th.

Dan Coody led the field of six with 37% of the vote. “Coody said he was not surprised with the results, stating that he knew a runoff was in the future. ‘I just didn’t know who was going to be in it,’ he said. He added that he was happy with his high percentage of votes. …’It’s quite the affirmation of all the work we’ve been doing.’ Coody, who’s served as mayor for eight years, has told Fayetteville to vote for him and 'keep a good thing going.'"

Coody's response, like his whole campaign, was focused on himself and his claim of agency for everything good that has happened in Fayetteville during the last eight years. All of the hiccups like the $68 million sewer debacle and his consistent budget deficits were not his responsibility but the fault of someone else. It is a view of reality that let's one engage in self-affirmation when 63% of the voters choose someone else.

According to the same article, Lioneld Jordan, who finished second, said, "'I just want to thank the people of Fayetteville for allowing me to be in this runoff.' Jordan has been a Ward 4 alderman for eight years and has served as the city’s vice mayor. He’s campaigned on the platform that he’s a man of the people and is working specifically for them. He’s stated that his top priorities are restoring the people’s trust in government, taking responsibility for action and assuring accountability to the people for the performance of their government."

"'I think Steve Clark and Walt Eilers were absolutely great competitors and had great ideas,' Jordan said. He said that Sami Sutton and Adam Fire Cat showed great community involvement and he respected them. He also applauded Jeff Koenig, who dropped out of the mayoral race at the end of April because of health issues." Jordan appeared to acknowledge that everyone can contribute to the future of our community, and he seems willing to listen to their ideas and appreciate those contributions.

The two candidates probably agree on many issues. However, they have quite different views on what the election is about and who is most important.

And the Winners Are . . .

Fayetteville voters expressed their opinions and made some wise choices. The winners should be congratulated, and those with fewer votes should be commended for having the courage and interest to join the public dialog about our shared future.

Washington County government was a big winner. State Representative Marilyn Edwards (58%) will be our new County Judge, the first woman to hold that position. Candy Clark (61%), Barbara Fitzpatrick (unopposed), and John Firmin (unopposed) will bring new energy, ideas, and enthusiasm to our Quorum Court.

In Fayetteville, Brenda Thiel (58%) was reelected to the City Council from Ward One. Matthew Petty (52%) and Sarah Lewis (65%) emerged from a strong field and will be sworn in on January 1st. There will be a mayoral run-off election on November 25th between Mayor Dan Coody (37%) and Vice Mayor Lioneld Jordan (28%).

State Representative Jim House (54%) significantly increased his margin of victory from 2006, winning by more than 1,300 votes this year. He will be returning to represent us at the state capitol, along with Representative Lindsley Smith and Representative-elect Uvalde Lindsey, both of whom were unopposed.

Green Party Congressional Nominee and UA student Abel Tomlinson got 19,575 votes in Washington County. That's 30%, and probably much higher in Fayetteville, against the incumbent Republican John Boozman.

Fayetteville voters also supported the HOPE Scholarship Lottery, which passed. We voted against Initiated Act 1, as did all of Washington County, but it unfortunately passed statewide. Locals voted by 66% to make arrests for weed possession a low priority in our town.

All in all, it was a good day for the people.

Arkansas Audubon Nature Center

Audubon Arkansas planned to open its first nature center in Arkansas in 2005, but they finally will break ground this month for the 425-acre Little Rock Nature Center that includes Gillam Park and Granite Mountain, named by The Nature Conservancy as the most ecologically significant area in Pulaski County. The land contains rare exposed igneous rock called nepheline syenite; a rare, endangered plant, the small-headed pipewort; and a stand of old white oak trees that borders the Fourche Creek bottoms wetland. It will be managed as grassland and returned to natural habitat.

The Little Rock Audubon Center will adapt and reuse a former community center as a L.E.E.D. certified visitors' center. It will play a critical educational role in helping school children and their parents understand and enjoy their "natural home" through well-guided, out-of-doors learning experiences, employing a staff of five or more teacher/naturalists who will lead residents and students in hands-on, exploratory activities. The 2,000 acres eventually available for use by the Nature Center offer a vast and richly diverse "lab" for young people to learn about conservation, restoration, wildlife and plants. Trails designed for a variety of learning experiences will surround the Center.

It is an excellent example of a public-private partnership. The City of Little Rock owns the property, and Audubon has a 99-year lease. Audubon Arkansas will raise $1.1 million in private funds for the project, and the city will contribute $50,000 and assign $148,500 in federal Housing and Urban Development funds for the project.

Audubon Arkansas had proposed a similar partnership in 2003 with the City of Fayetteville to construct and operate a Nature Center on the Wilson Spring property owned by the City. A Task Force that included the late John Lewis recommended the partnership, and the City Council unanimously approved it. Then Mayor Dan Coody scuttled the plan and negotiated a deal to sell the property to a Benton County developer; the City Council went along 5-2. Although there was talk about a smaller Audubon Nature Center on the remaining wetlands unsuitable for development, nothing has come of it in the five years since the deal.

Get Your Bulldog Britches On

The Fayetteville Bulldog Marching Band is scheduled to represent our community in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, but it will take more than a song. Each of the 210 band members was responsible for raising $1,250 individually to attend, but the fundraising deadline this weekend came up short.

Three years ago, the Band Boosters were able to collect $97,000 from 180 corporate and individual sponsors for the trip to the Rose Bowl Parade. This year, only about 6o donors have helped out with cash contributions of $13,000. Blame George Bush, the meltdown of corporate greed, or a Superintendent who doesn't care, if you want, but please help support our outstanding and dedicated band students with the trip expenses.

Don't leave our Band Books in the red. Go to the Bulldog Band website for more information, or just mail your donation to Fayetteville Band Boosters, P. O. Box 9623, Fayetteville, AR 72703.

Conventions and Convictions

We earlier noted that Fayetteville Mayor Dan Coody and North Little Rock Mayor Patrick Henry Hays had much in common, especially their penchant for frequent out-of-state junkets, paid for by someone else. Sometimes the taxpayers picked up the tab without their knowledge, and sometimes it was a special interest group that knew full well what they were buying.

One of the trips that Mayor Coody and Mayor Hays enjoyed was when they hopped a jet flight to Alaska in 2006, where they listened to speakers talk by satellite videoconference about global warming and perhaps mentioning that burning a gallon of jet fuel to attend a conference produces 21.1 lbs of CO₂. The conference was held at the Alyeska Prince Hotel in Girdwood, rated in the top 25 ski resorts in North America by Skiing Magazine America.

When asked by the Fayetteville Flyer about his love of travel on “city business,” Mayor Coody was quick to dodge the charge that he was milking the taxpayers for his exotic vacations. “Almost all of the trips have been paid for by those who do the inviting. My favorite was the trip to Alaska (paid for by the mayor of Anchorage, Mark Begich (D), who is challenging Ted Stevens (R) for his Senate seat) with about 20 other mayors to see the effects of global warming first hand. That gathering was filmed by and is shown on the Sundance Channel.” Whether it was Dan’s favorite because of the wonderful spa experience or because it was shown on television, he did not say.

The meeting at the ski resort was actually funded by private foundations, corporate sponsors, and tax dollars from the citizens of Anchorage, not “paid for by the mayor of Anchorage.” Additional funding was provided by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which gets a portion of its budget from the considerable membership dues of more than $5,000 a year paid by Fayetteville taxpayers. You can understand why Dan Coody wants to keep such a good thing going for himself.

Mayor Coody does have one thing in common with Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich. They are both running against convicted felons this year. Begich is running against Republican Senator Ted Stevens, who was convicted on seven felony counts last week for violating federal ethics laws by failing to report tens of thousands of dollars in gifts he received. If Stevens wins, which we think unlikely, he would be the first convicted felon ever elected to the Senate. Coody is running against Steve Clark, who could be the first convicted felon ever elected mayor of Fayetteville. Clark was convicted of felony fraud for false expense claims and resigned from office, but he was pardoned by Governor Mike Huckabee and his record was expunged. Unlike former State Rep. Dwayne Dobbins, who resigned after his plea bargained conviction for fondling a teenager, Clark is not barred from seeking or holding the Mayor's office.

One big difference between Mayor Coody and Mayor Begich is that Begich is willing to admit when he makes mistakes. In a recent debate, Begich said, "The issue ... is, not only is it important that you acknowledge mistakes that you make, but it's what you do with it, and what you learn from it." Specifically, pointing up another difference with Coody, Begich said he learned from his mistakes that "not only is it important to hear and listen to constituencies, but also to get out there with these ideas ... and get as much input as possible from both sides of the equation." Coody thinks getting citizen input at Ward Meetings shows a lack of decisive leadership and that Public Comment period at Council meetings is a waste of time that tries his patience.

Nor is Mayor Begich meddling in the political campaigns of other candidates running for county or municipal office in the local city-borough.

Studs Terkel, 1912-2008

On Friday, America lost one of its greatest treasures, as Louis "Studs" Terkel died at his Chicago home. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1985 for The Good War, a collection of World War Two memories. His most intriguing book was Working: What People Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do (1974), a volume that reflected his working class background and his respect for people who get up and go to work everyday. Other notable works include Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression (1970), Race: How Blacks and Whites Think and Feel About The American Obsession (1992), and the forthcoming PS: Further Thoughts From a Lifetime of Listening, due out next month. "If I did one thing I'm proud of," Terkel said last year, "it's to make people feel that together, they count." He did that well.

Best known as a writer, oral hiistorian, and as host of a Chicago radio program, Studs Terkel had a brief TV career beginning in 1949 when he was the star of a national TV show called Studs' Place, set in a fictional bar much like the later Cheers. That came to a halt in 1952 when Terkel's liberal views and support for labor unions got him blacklisted by McCarthyites. Yet, he prevailed and overcame the Red-baiting and union-baiting of those dark times and lived on to be one of our nation's greatest storytellers.

The Washington Post obituary is titled, "An Ear for the Lyrical Voice of Everyman." That is high tribute for anyone. Let us hope it is never a lost art among the politicians, journalists, and bloggers in the America shaped by Carl Sandburg and Studs Terkel nor in the Fayetteville informed by Miller Williams and Richard Drake.