Greenwood OKs two bond issues

Funds to address traffic relief

Arkansas 10 Greenwood bypass project
Arkansas 10 Greenwood bypass project

FORT SMITH -- Greenwood voters on Tuesday gave the city a green light to issue bonds for a project designed to relieve traffic congestion.

Complete but unofficial results showed:

Refunding bonds

For 611

Against 201

Street improvement bonds

For 617

Against 193

The bonds will finance Greenwood's share of a traffic relief project between the city and the Arkansas Department of Transportation, Greenwood Mayor Doug Kinslow has said.

On Tuesday night, he said that the city is excited about the results and the good voter turnout.

"I think we probably got some of the better numbers that came out to vote in a special election in several years in Greenwood," Kinslow said.

Kinslow said the city would notify the state Transportation Department of the election results. The bond attorneys will be notified as well, thus beginning the process of getting the bonds sold.

"And we understand that that'll take about two months to get that turnaround," Kinslow said.

"But I'm anxious to hear back from ArDOT," noting that the highway agency has been surveying the area in anticipation of the project.

Greenwood Finance Director Thomas Marsh has said that voter approval of these two issues would not result in a tax increase. Instead, there would be an extension of a tax that is already in place.

The first question on the ballot, the one labelled "refunding bonds," gives the city permission to retire a 2014 bond that is already in place to generate funding for a new police station by allowing it to issue bonds in the maximum principal amount of $2.6 million, according to Marsh.

The second question, the one pertaining to street improvement bonds, addresses whether to extend the quarter-percent sales and use th tax from the 2014 bond for 35 years to generate the funds necessary for the traffic relief project, with bonds being issued in the maximum principal amount of $6.5 million, according to Marsh. This would generate about $4.5 million of available funds after the city retires the debt service for the 2014 bond, which amounts to about $2.2 million.

Marsh has said the original maturity date on the 2014 bond was 2039, although additional revenue generated from the average growth of the quarter-percent city sales and use tax of 3.4% since the 2014 bond that was originally issued has been put into an escrow account to reduce the maturity date and retire it early.

The traffic relief project is divided into two phases, the mayor has said.

The first phase would entail building about one mile of new highway from the intersection of Arkansas 10 and Coker Street to the intersection of Arkansas 10 and Arkansas 96 that would then be added to the state highway system. Greenwood would then assume ownership and responsibility for the portion of Arkansas 10 between Arkansas 96 and Bass Street.

For the project's second phase, about 2 miles of Arkansas 10 between Coker Street and U.S. 71 would be widened, Kinslow said. Afterward, Greenwood would assume ownership and responsibility for the portion of Arkansas 10 between Bass Street and Elm Street, as well as the portion of Arkansas 10 Spur between Arkansas 10 and U.S. 71.

Upon completion of the project, Kinslow said, Greenwood would take over about 3 total miles of Arkansas 10 and 10 Spur. The total cost of the project is currently estimated at about $33 million, with the city of Greenwood to provide 20% of the construction costs for each phase, about $5 million.

The city will also provide the right of way, or easement, on property owned by Greenwood resident James Burgess for phase I of the project, with Kinslow saying the department of transportation would be responsible for the remaining easements. Burgess' property will be the main site for the construction of phase I.

Kinslow said on Tuesday that the sale of the easement for Burgess' property would be dependent on these two issues passing.

State Desk on 12/12/2019

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