June 14, 2002

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for volunteering to participate in this assessment of the City of Fayetteville’s proposed business park.  There are many issues to evaluate within the scope of this assessment.  These include the protection and enhancement of the habitat of a species that may become listed as endangered; the economic viability of the business park development; public/private partnerships in the development of this business park; the need for local government to be involved with job creation and business investment; and other issues that your assessment team will discuss within the scope of your work.

The purpose of this assessment is to evaluate the costs and benefits of development of the Wilson Spring Business Park.  This assessment will include an evaluation of all costs and benefits of the project including development and environmental costs as well as all benefits including job creation and environmental preservation and protection and other issues that the assessment team feels are relevant to an unbiased appraisal of this project.

As I am sure you are aware, there are several public goals that have been established for this project.  These goals are:

• Recover investment in the property, both purchase and all development costs.  Additionally, the profits from the sale of land could be utilized to fund other environmental activities, such as trail development, acquisition of sensitive lands, and promotion of other quality of life issues, which otherwise could not be funded.
• Diversify the local economy and create additional tax base for the community.  This goal is inherent with the creation of jobs that will attract and retain the human capital that we currently export each year to Dallas, Austin, Kansas City, and the other leading edge economic engines of the nation.  We must create the type of business infrastructure that will permit and encourage the creation of those jobs that can and will utilize the talented resources that each year leave Fayetteville and the State to find adequate, high paying and satisfying employment.
• Encourage an environment for business/home office development in Fayetteville. 
• Preserve 100 acres of land surrounding the environmentally sensitive habitat of the Arkansas Darter, a candidate for listing as an endangered species.
• Develop a model of business coexisting with ecological preservation and enhancement. This model can serve as a demonstration of the manner in which growth and environmental conservation can both be promoted.

The assessment team will establish its own process and procedure for conducting this assessment.  I hope that the assessment team can report their findings to the City Council by August 6, but in any event not later than August 20, 2002.

The Assessment Team membership is a balance between various groups who have expressed interest in this project or who have particular expertise in evaluating environmental or economic problems.  The Assessment Team has been established by the Mayor’s Office and is, in my opinion, an objective group representing a variety of interests.  I have asked two individuals to co-chair the Assessment Team; these are Jeff Collins, PhD, from the Walton School of Business, and Mike Fuhr, Director of Aquatic Conservation, Arkansas Chapter of the Nature Conservancy. 

The remainder of the team is of similar stature.  I feel that there is a balance between various “stakeholder” groups, banking, development, environmental, and professional/technical.

The Assessment Team is comprised of:

Jeff Collins Co-Chair	575-4151	Mike Fuhr Co-Chair	501-614-5076
Jim Lindsey	521-6611	Phil Stafford	575-8411
George Faucett	521-0220	John Lewis	444-4444
Cathy Foraker	571-6604	Pete Heinzelmann	W521-2752 H521-8973
Duane Woltjen	521-7032	Tom McKinney	839-8571
Jon Johnson	W575-6227 H634-2014

I am excited about the opportunities before us.  I am also confident that this process will bring forward a consolidated assessment of this project so that the community can move forward either toward this development or toward other activities that demand the public’s attention.

Gary Dumas, General Services Director for the City of Fayetteville, will be my contact for this effort.

The first meeting is tentatively set for Thursday June 20, 2002, at 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. in the  Reynolds Center Room 108 at 145 N. Buchanan on the University of Arkansas Campus.  Gary will be contacting you early in the week to confirm this date and time.

Thank you for volunteering your time toward this important but difficult task.

Sincerely yours,

 

____________________________

Dan Coody, Mayor

City of Fayetteville