Fayetteville-area PACE board weighs pause or closure as two cities consider withdrawal

The PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) district’s board heard on Sept. 12 that two founding cities are considering withdrawal and that the board will review whether to pause or close the district at a December meeting. Chris (speaker 4) told members that Springdale intends to pull out at year-end and that the City of Fayetteville is also considering withdrawal "without any projects coming forward before the end of the year," and asked the board to prepare for a December discussion on closing procedures and regional options.

Why it matters: the board’s continued existence depends on city participation and on projects materializing to justify staff and city resources. Steve (Administrator, speaker 5) said the district was created by ordinance and that formally terminating it would require acts by both city councils; he added that bylaws would likely need amendment to allow temporary deactivation rather than full termination. "This district was created by ordinance," Steve said, "to discontinue the district ... would also require an act of the 2…