Arkansas Green Development Committee approves claims, schedules April 30 bid opening for downtown parking and declines immediate developer subsidy

The Arkansas Green Development Committee approved its minutes and $75,010.83 in monthly claims at a meeting in which members discussed recent property acquisitions on Ohio Street, a private developer’s request for city funding, and plans to open bids for three public parking lots later this month.

Committee members recorded that the city’s share for a group of parcels on Ohio Street (referred to in the meeting as “69 there on Ohio Street”) amounted to $37,210; Wallace Construction is finishing curbs and sidewalks on those properties. The claims list also included a billing from Joe Bell for a first-quarter invoice, a smaller bill from Franklin Peters, and a legal notice in the local newspaper.

During the engineering report, a committee member identified as Gary said the committee has completed property acquisitions tied to a planned parking lot and removed two houses on the site. Gary also reported he is working with a developer and referenced a separate property owned by John Field, roughly 70 acres east of town, for which an annexation application is expected. The committee discussed technical constraints for developing the parcel, including a retention pond and access alignment that would require coordination with an adjacent gas station and likely infrastructure work.

Committee members said a private developer has approached the city seeking a financial contribution toward developing the parcels on U.S. 69/Ohio Street. The developer reportedly indicated a willingness to contribute $2,000,000, a point that the committee discussed; members said they were reluctant to commit city funds at this stage and favored waiting for stronger developer commitments and clearer plans before contributing public money.

On immediate project work, the committee agreed to advertise and solicit bids for paving three lots on Morgan and Wayne streets and scheduled a special meeting to open and accept those bids at 4:30 p.m. on April 30. The committee said the lots are intended for public parking and estimated a future configuration of roughly 52 parking spaces tied to a courthouse/ downtown plan. Members clarified the parking lots are for city use and not being developed specifically for nearby restaurants.

Other items on the agenda included distribution of deed-related paperwork to the city council to place the newly acquired lots back under city control and a brief update that new windows have been installed on the north side of the downtown square. The meeting concluded with no additional formal motions beyond the approvals of minutes and claims and the scheduling of the special bid-opening meeting.

The committee did not adopt any formal funding commitment for private development; members said they will revisit the developer’s proposal as more concrete plans and negotiated infrastructure solutions are presented.