Committee votes to send proposed Resolution 2603, a Metrop Plan grant for Baker Wheels Parkway design, to full court

A Faulkner County committee voted by voice to send proposed Resolution 2603, a Metrop Plan grant application to advance the Baker Wheels Parkway engineering design to 60%, to the full court.

Tom Anderson, who addressed the committee at its meeting, said the Metrop Plan grant would fund engineering work that would allow the county to begin right-of-way work once the environmental review is complete. Anderson told members the application was submitted about a week and a half before the meeting and that the grant is structured as an 80/20 match, with the grant covering 80 percent and the county providing a 20 percent local match.

Committee members asked whether the city was a co-applicant. Anderson said the county is the sole applicant for this Metrop Plan grant; he noted the city did join the county on a separate build grant submitted several months earlier and has expressed support for the project.

Members and staff also discussed project phasing and alignment. Anderson said phase one would reach Old Military and phase two would extend to Dave Ward; he said the ongoing environmental review will determine the final alignment, including whether the route will pass east or west of a school that was constructed in the originally proposed corridor.

After the staff presentation and a brief public-question check, the committee conducted a voice vote to refer Resolution 2603 to the full court. The chair called for those in favor to say "I," recorded no opposition, and stated the resolution passes to the full court for consideration.

No specific vote tallies or individual votes were recorded in the transcript. The committee did not record further announcements or a date for full court consideration in the meeting record.