Conway mayor gets director's job at Metroplan

The new leader for Metroplan is an old hand on the central Arkansas long-range transportation planning agency's board of directors.

The board, meeting in a special session Wednesday afternoon, tapped a member of the board, Conway Mayor Tab Townsell, to replace Jim McKenzie, who is retiring as executive director at the end of the year after 28 years at the agency.

Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher, the board president, said he called Townsell after the vote and Townsell accepted the position.

Townsell was one of two finalists the board interviewed. The other was Andrew Gast-Bray, a planning consultant from Mooresville, Ind. They were among four candidates a board search committee interviewed Tuesday. That committee recommended Townsell and Gast-Bray to be interviewed by the full board.

Some board members said given the choice between two excellent candidates, they decided to stay local.

"We had a fairly easy decision to make because both of our final applicants were very good, very qualified," North Little Rock Mayor Joe Smith said after the meeting. "My philosophy in hiring in a situation like this is if all these are equal, then stay local.

"In this particular situation, I think Tab and Andrew both were very qualified, very personable, very professional. Tab was local, so that is the best decision."

"He's a known factor," Faulkner County Judge Jim Baker added. "That's probably where I'm at the strongest. We know what he has done and I feel like the known factor pulled my preference instead of an unknown."

Townsell, 55, has been mayor of Conway since 1999, a period that saw the population of the Faulkner County seat grow 40 percent. He didn't seek re-election and his fifth and final term ends Dec. 31.

Townsell holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Central Arkansas in Conway and a master's degree in business administration from Texas Christian University.

He has been a member of the Metroplan board during his years as mayor and was board president from 1993 to 1995.

Townsell cited his membership on the board as helping spark his interest in regional issues.

"I'm excited about it," he said. "It was an exciting possibility when I heard that Jim was leaving. I've always been interested in regionalism. To have it actually materialize ... is an exciting professional step for me."

Townsell said he was encouraged to spend "what time I can with Jim between now and the end of the year."

"There is certainly a large learning curve going from the governing board to the professional staff," he added. "I have a lot to learn. I'm looking forward to jumping in it."

During his time as mayor, Townsell has focused on urban planning, transportation improvements, and community and economic development, Metroplan said in a news release announcing Townsell as the new executive director.

During Townsell's tenure, the city has become known for its traffic circles. The city now has 15 operational with another seven under construction.

Among other accomplishments, he now is helping direct a $33 million street-improvement program, the largest in Conway history. All the projects have medians and include either separated bicycle lanes and sidewalks or multipurpose side paths.

Townsell also spearheaded efforts for the city to adopt a Complete Streets ordinance for all new street construction and redevelopment.

Complete Streets "are designed and operated to enable safe access for all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit riders of all ages and abilities," according to Smart Growth America, which bills itself as "the only national organization dedicated to researching, advocating for and leading coalitions to bring smart growth practices to more communities nationwide."

Townsell also is credited with approving the Hendrix Village new urbanism project, which is a mixed-use development that combines single-family homes, town houses, apartments and commercial and office space in what Metroplan called a "highly livable and walkable space."

He also created an economic-development fund for the city, aided in the recruitment of Hewlett-Packard, purchased or acquired more than 350 acres of new parkland and increased the starting salaries at the police and fire departments as well as other public safety-related initiatives.

Townsell's salary remains to be negotiated. McKenzie draws an annual base salary of $152,600. The salary range for his successor was advertised as $90,000 to $165,800.

The posting for the job drew 53 applicants. The search committee picked Townsell and the other four applicants from a list of nine that search consultant Jim Mercer of Santa Fe, N.M., submitted and who said best fit the criteria the board established for the applicants it wanted.

The other candidates interviewed Tuesday were Donald Galligan, a planning consultant from Marsing, Idaho, and Sungman Kim, development services director for the city of South Padre Island, Texas.

A fifth candidate, Kenneth Hall, executive director of the Central Arizona Governments in Apache Junction, Ariz., withdrew after he was named one of the five finalists.

Metro on 09/01/2016