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Benton voters to decide on $26.5 million park proposal |
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Monday, 09 April 2007 |
The fate of a proposed $26.5 million park complex for the city of Benton will be determined Tuesday when voters visit the polls in a special election that has been an emotional issue with people on both sides of the plan.
Voters are deciding on a pair of bond initiatives that would fund the park plan in the form of a half-cent sales tax.
Close to 1,500 people had cast early votes by the close of business Thursday, Saline County Clerk Freddy Burton said.
County offices were closed on Good Friday.
Early voting ends at 4:30 this afternoon at the Saline County Voting Center on Main Street in Downtown Benton.
Burton said he predicts that about 4,000 people will vote in the special election.
“Early voting started off heavy, but it’s dwindled,” Burton said.
That’s different from previous elections, he said,when the number of early voters steadily increases.
“I don’t see as much interest now as much as when we started early voting,” he said.
Burton declined to predict an outcome for the election, but noted: “What I’m hearing from a lot of people is that this is an emotional issue.”
Polls will open at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday and close at 7:30 p.m.
Alderman David Sparks, who until recently headed the Benton Parks Commission, earlier predicted a large voter turnout.
One bond initiative on the ballot is for 1/8 of a cent. Revenue from this tax would fund operation and maintenance of the proposed park complex.
The other initiative is for 3/8 of a cent. Revenue from this tax would be used to finance the sale of municipal bonds through Stephens Inc., a Little Rock-based investment firm.
The bonds would have a life of 25 years.
The park complex would be built on a 218-acre site on the southwest edge of the city.
Duke Family Properties, administered by Mike and Stephanie Demuth Duke of Benton, wants to sell the land to the city at a cost of $2.5 million.
Affiliated Real Estate Appraisers of Little Rock issued an appraisal recently listing the value of the 218-acre tract at $3.2 million.
Sparks said he is not surprised that the appraisal lists the value of the property at more than the asking price.
“I kind of expected that the appraisal might be higher because of the commercial frontage property on the land,” Sparks said. “I thought all along the city was getting a good price on the land.”
The frontage property along Interstate 30 and U.S. 67 increases the value of the property, Sparks noted.
The land also is bordered by the Saline River.
Access to the park would be gained off U.S. 67, not far from I-30 exit 114.
The property would be annexed into the city of the proposal is approved by voters.
According to the appraisal, the property contains 15 acres of commercial land, or frontage acreage, that is valued at slightly more than $2 million, or $137,214 per acre.
The appraisal lists 60 acres of so-called residential land valued at $712,680, or $11,878 per acre.
The remaining 143-plus acres is considered timberland and is appraised at a value of $430,200, or $3,000 per acre.
Less than 100 acres of the 218-acre tract would be used for the park, Sparks said. The remainder of the land would serve as green space.
Sparks and others, including Curtis McCormack, director of the Benton Parks Department, have acknowledged that all but about 80 acres of the 218-acre tract rests in the 100-year flood plain.
Sparks said he and Mike Duke negotiated the asking price of $2.5 million. Both are real estate agents.
Sparks has said that the two also would negotiate any land sale on behalf of the city and Parks Commission, but that no sale commissions would be involved.
Sparks is a real estate agent and Duke is part owner of Phillips Moudy Duke Real Estate of Benton.
The appraisers acknowledged that the appraisal contains “extraordinary assumptions” because the property has not been surveyed by a certified engineer.
“I have said that there isn’t any reason to have the property surveyed yet by an engineer until we know whether voters are even going to approve the park plan,” Sparks said.
The park would contain a number of amenities, including youth and adult athletic fields, walking and jogging trails, an aquatic park, and a two-story, 60,000-square-foot community center. |
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