FORT SMITH -- Greenwood voters gave the city a green light to issue bonds for a project designed to relieve traffic congestion.
Complete but unofficial results showed votes for refunding bonds at 611 and 201 against. Street improvement bonds proposal saw 617 vote for it with 193 voting against.
The bonds will finance Greenwood's share of a traffic relief project between the city and the Arkansas Department of Transportation, Mayor Doug Kinslow has said.
On Tuesday night, he said 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 today. The bond attorneys will be notified as well, thus beginning the process of getting the bonds sold.
"And we understand that'll take about two months to get that turnaround," Kinslow said.
"But I'm anxious to hear back from ArDOT," saying the Highway Department has been surveying the area in anticipation of the project.
Finance Director Thomas Marsh said voter approval of the issues wouldn't result in a tax increase. Instead, there would be an extension of a tax already in place.
The first question on the ballot, the one labelled "refunding bonds," gives the city permission to retire a 2014 bond already in place to generate money for a new police station by allowing it to issue bonds for $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 tax from the 2014 bond for 35 years to generate money necessary for the traffic project, with bonds being issued for $6.5 million, according to Marsh. This would generate about $4.5 million of money 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 was originally issued has been put into an escrow account to reduce the maturity date and retire it early.
The traffic project is divided into two phases, the mayor said.
The first phase would entail building about a mile of highway from the intersection of Arkansas 10 and Coker Street to the intersection of Arkansas 10 and Arkansas 96 to be added to the state highway system. Greenwood would 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 miles of Arkansas 10 and 10 Spur. The cost of the project is estimated at $33 million, with Greenwood providing 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 Tuesday the sale of the easement for Burgess' property would be dependent on the two issues passing.
NW News on 12/11/2019