Conway committee reviews proposed sales-tax bond to fund public safety, streets and new visitor projects

Jamie Gates, a presenter at a Conway City Council committee meeting, outlined a proposal to use a local sales‑tax bond to pay for public‑safety capital, street maintenance and several visitor‑oriented projects intended to grow Conway’s sales‑tax base.

Gates said the package is framed as two parts: roughly three‑eighths of a cent to cover essential capital needs (“protect, pave, and prepare”) and another three‑eighths of a cent to build destination‑quality civic infrastructure. “Three eighths of a cent to protect, pave, and prepare,” Gates said while describing the funds’ uses and the rationale for growing Conway’s taxable trade area.

The presentation included construction budgets and consultant estimates for four priority projects: a Central Arkansas Music Pavilion (presented as a $35 million build with a 12,000 capacity, and a conservative year‑one direct‑spending estimate of about $26 million for 24 promoted shows), a Lake Conway North Shore Boardwalk (phase 1 estimated at $10 million and a conservative 50,000 annual visitors), a Grand Theater renovation (about $8 million for a 320‑seat live performance venue), and a 40,000‑square‑foot Conway Convention Center (about $25 million construction budget; the presenter’s year‑one model projected roughly 52,000 visitors and $15 million in indirect spending).

Gates summarized the consultant estimates for the four projects combined as roughly 312,000 visitors and $43 million in direct spending in…