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Vote tonight on special election for annexation |
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Tuesday, 24 June 2008 |
The Bryant City Council is expected to vote tonight on whether to hold a special election concerning a proposed land annexation south of Northlake Road.
The Bryant Planning Commission will present first readings on four ordinances for the areas of Springhill, Midland/ Hilldale, Wilkerson/ Airport and a special election for the Northlake area.
A public hearing was held June 9 concerning an annexation proposal that could expand the Bryant city limits by nearly 16 square miles — almost doubling the city’s size — and extend the city’s boundary to the Pulaski County line.
However, on June 5, Benton Mayor Rick Holland sent a letter to Bryant Mayor Larry Mitchell stating opposition to including the Northlake area in the Bryant annexation proposal. Holland said the area is under Benton’s territorial jurisdiction and asked to speak with Bryant over the issues.
“Benton ... strongly objects to Bryant annexing the unincorporated territory in Sections 7, 8, 17 and 18 of Township 1 South, Range 14 West,” Holland’s letter states, adding that Benton and Bryant city officials should meet “as soon as possible to discuss a resolution to our concerns.”
On June 9, the Bryant Planning Commission voted unanimously during its public hearing to recommend that the council place the annexation proposal on the Nov. 4 general election ballot. That same day, Benton City Council adopted an ordinance calling for an Aug. 12 special election to decide whether to annex land south of Northlake Road.
Bryant responded at a June 12 council meeting with Mitchell, Bryant Planning Commission Coordinator LaVenia Jones and aldermen, contending that Benton is basing its understanding of an agreement on a 2005 planning map agreed upon between Benton and Bryant. However, city leaders said Benton broke that agreement in 2006.
“When I actually started working on this annexation [in March] I was going by the 2005 agreed upon map,” Jones said.
“I had Metroplan to pull up the county planning jurisdiction so we could look at were our planning areas are and we noticed that surprisingly, Benton had changed their planning jurisdiction. We were originally working on that 2005 agreed upon planning area map, but we discovered that the city of Benton adopted a new one two years ago in 2006.”
Jones sent a memo to Bryant city leaders explaining the process she followed after discovering that Benton designed a new planning map in 2006. The memo said Metroplan, a regional planning commission, was asked to redraw a planning map “in accordance with the statutes” and that Jones immediately contacted Marsha Guffey, director of community development for the city of Benton, about the issue.
“I informed her Bryant would be adopting a new planning map in accordance with the statutes and that she might want to advise the Benton Planning Commission,” Jones’ memo said. “She told me she would bring it to their attention.”
Mitchell asked Bryant City Attorney Nga Mahfouz at the close of the June 12 meeting to draft a ordinance seeking a special annexation election that will be presented today.
“It’s a timing issue with Benton,” Mitchell said. “They have set up a special election and we have to hold ours within 30 days of theirs. If both annexation ballots pass, a third election will be held for people in that area to see which city they would like to be a part of whether it be Bryant or Benton.”
Specific details about the areas in the proposed annexation and a master street plan can be found on the city Web site, www.cityofbryant.org. For more information, call Jones at 847-5559 ext. 227.
The council is also expected to hear an update from Bryant Public Works Director Richard Penn on the status of the FTN watershed project and the Arkansas 5 bridge replacement. Bryant Water/Wastewater Department Superintendent Monty Ledbetter will update the council on the 20-year wastewater master plan.
Councilman Ken Green will present a list and costs of projects for bond issue concerning the Bryant Street Committee.
Tonight’s meeting will start at 7 at Boswell Municipal Complex, 210 SW Third St. in Bryant. |
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