Down but not out

The City of Conway Blog has experienced a computer failure in our research, story development, and posting computer and as such we have not been able to post. We are however keeping a close eye on a couple of stories and will post more again soon.

We like to thank all of our readers for their patience in this matter and ask you to keep send us you thoughts and comments.

The push to reinstate the Civil Service Commission has begun.

In other news from the city we find a renewed effort to reinstate the Civil Service Commission that had existed for 43 years in the city. Here is the press release for this movement,

January 18,2006

(Conway, AR) – Larry Rathjen, a resident of Conway, Arkansas, is leading the initiative to reinstate the Civil Service Commission; which is an independent Board of appointed, non-partisan volunteers whose job it is to hear and decide appeals of public employees. The Commission is to ensure that employment decisions (hirings, firings, and promotions) are based on the relative ability, knowledge and skills of the public employee and that all individuals receive fair and impartial treatment.

Civil Service Commissions are designed to monitor the local government against perceived, or real, illegal political protection, intimidation, coercion or fraud. The Civil Service Commission was created in Conway in 1957 and existed for 43 years. Mayor Tab Townsell successfully led the charge to revoke the Commission in a Council meeting on December 12, 2000.

Mr. Rathjen has retained the services of local attorney Charles Finkenbinder who will defend the petition if the city challenges its validity. Mr. Finkenbinder just recently successfully defended two Conway Police Officers from wrongful termination.

Amendment 7 of the Arkansas Constitution allows the citizens of Conway to initiate laws. In this case, the signatures of 1,824 registered Conway voters must be collected on a valid petition. If the requisite numbers of signatures are collected, the city must place the initiative on the ballot at the next General Election, scheduled for November 7, 2006.

According to Mr. Rathjen, “Civil Service exists not only to protect the rights of the Police and Firefighters, but also the common citizen who can utilize the Commission to make sure complaints are investigated. The Commission protects citizens by ensuring that good Officers are not fired, or forced to resign, on the whim of the Chief or Mayor. When we lose good officers for no good reason our city becomes weaker and more vulnerable.”

When asked if he thought obtaining the requisite number of signatures would be difficult, Mr. Rathjen replied “During the December 12, 2000 City Council meeting, the courtroom was packed with Fire Fighters and Police Officers who were trying to save the Commission. They had collected over 2,000 signatures that the Mayor would not allow them to present. I’ll never forget the comments made back then by Theo Jones, a current City Councilman, who was a Civil Service Commissioner then. He said that decision was really going to hurt the employees because they need help and some recourse. I agree with Alderman Jones. They do need help and I’m confident we’ll see this issue on the ballot next November.”

Mr. Finkenbinder stated that “The current system creates an inherently intimidating environment for an employee to file a complaint. Six years ago the Police and Fire Departments fought like crazy to keep the Commission. If I’m right about the current environment, the same Police and Fire Fighters will now be too intimated to speak out in favor of the reinstatement of the Commission for fear of retaliation.”

We here at the City of Conway Blog support the effort and will keep you informed as to it’s progress.

The academic village, 10 years from now. . .

The 10-year plan for Hendrix College’s Academic Village is posted at the Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company’s website and we have to say that what is envisioned is far worse than we could have imagined. It is also not a matter of traffic / pedestrian safety as it has been touted by some of the city’s leaders; it is completely about Hendrix College’s growth and nothing more.

Have the planners and developers of Hendrix hoodwinked our city’s mayor and aldermen or are the Mayor and the supporters of this proposal the ones who are hoodwinking the people of Conway. Because clearly this plan is not how the city and the press have presented it. You can’t tell me that this plan will not cost the taxpayers any extra tax dollars or that it is being done in the interest of public safety, Jamie Gates feel free to post your comments.

Not only are they planning a roundabout at Siebenmorgen, reducing the speed to 27 MPH, and adding parallel parking along Harkrider, they also are going to divert the main northward flow of traffic into the village itself making it a traffic nightmare. Interesting enough is the lack of a roundabout at Winfield but in its place is a massive and confusing oval road that offers little in the way of traffic safety.

This 10-year vision of Hendrix to expand its campus is simply not in the best interest of the average citizen and definitely not one the taxpayers should be funding. If the college must expand the let them do it without choking off a main artery of traffic in Conway and at there own expense.

We urge you the citizens of Conway to look at these pictures and decide for yourself what is really going on. If you feel as we do then call or write your state legislators and tell them you don’t want your tax dollars spent to expand a private institution.

Plans, plans, who’s got the plans. . .

Where are the plans for the proposed academic village and roundabouts, still on the drawing board I’m told. Yet in a split decision Mayor Townsell voted in a request from Hendrix College for a roundabout along Harkrider at Winfield and Siebenmorgen Roads. This after only seeing the conceptual drawings with no idea what the finished design will look like.

What is the actual daily traffic at these intersections? All we get is old and/or estimated data. How can you know the feasibility of these roundabouts without knowing the amount of traffic and the patterns that it takes? What will be the total cost of these roundabouts? Again all we get is that it will not cost any additional money than what has already been set aside for the proposed divided highway. But how do they know this if the final plans have not been submitted.

The fact is that they are not even sure if this idea is feasible, in fact when asked what would the city do if this proposal didn’t work the reply was they’d put the traditional traffic lights back up. This would mean that the designers, the Mayor, and the alderman who voted for this idea are not even sure this plan would work.

Jamie Gates of the Mayor’s office recently commented that the roundabouts will accommodate traffic as well if not better than a signalized intersection. If this were true then why have the back up plan? He added that it would be much more attractive and safer for the rising Hendrix student population who will be going to their new Health and Wellness Facility and athletic fields. Once again we see that the main push for this project is to benefit the expansion of a private institution and not the public in general.

So why do this idea you may ask? Well the answer could be found in the remarks left by an anonymous person who commented on this blog, the poster writes,

Has anyone considered the fact that Hendrix students and alumni, while small in number, tend to be fairly affluent and have disposable income to spend in our fair city?

Maybe cutting the college a break, when it and its students and alumni spend so much money here, might not be a bad idea...

This blogger suggests that since the students and alumni of Hendrix College are affluent with a lot of disposable income to be spent in the city we should cut the college some slack, that sounds like something Alderman Adam Weeks would say. But hasn’t the city already done too much of that? Is it not time for the city to think about the needs of all its citizens and not just the wants of the higher echelon.

Drum roll please. . . And the number is...

The Arkansas Times Blog reports the city’s population at 52,262 people, a 21% growth from 2000 and doubled since 1990. This would mean that Mayor Townsell’s term as mayor will be 2 years longer as well as 4 “lucky” alderman. The Times Blog writes,

The new number means an additional $2.8 million in state turnback funds for the city between now and 2010. More significantly, a source at Conway City Hall says it will automatically extend Mayor Tab Townsell's term by two years. He was scheduled to run for re-election in 2006, but Arkansas law ties elections in cities with over 50,000 people to presidential election years.
City council terms will go from two years to four years for the same reason, but four of the eight current council members will have to run for another two-year term, and they will draw lots to determine who that will be.

I wonder who will be holding the lots…

Speaking of the Arkansas Times an anonymous poster at this blog who is disgruntled over a deleted post claims to have had lunch with Max Brantley of the Times and discussed the entertaining quality of this blog. While we’d have to say we didn’t think this was true, we did find it funny that a person would actually do something of that nature. Boy it really does get crazy in this blogspere doesn’t it. By the way Mr. Brantley says that it was news to him…

Reply from the Mayor's office

Max Brantley of the Arkansas Times Blog saw fit to include this blog's entries on the proposed roundabouts on Harkrider which sparked a discussion that included assistant to the Mayor Jamie Gates. Gates writes,

As Hendrix's plan began to evolve it was obvious that more students would be crossing Harkrider. (their Health and Wellness Facility will be on the other side as well as expanded athletic fields) The roundabout offers a safe way to cross Harkrider. It will accomodate the traffic as well if not better than a signalized intersection. It will be much more attractive. It is literally hundreds of times safer to the motorist. Finally, it's not going to cost the taxpayers of Conway, Faulkner County, or Arkansas any additional money. (The project was already funded)
The city could do these more often were right-of-way costs not often prohibitive. Where traffic counts permit and geometrics allow they are the best way to intersect traffic. Hendrix was willing to donate the right-of-way to get the preferred roadway product. I wish more "developers" would follow their lead.
[. . .]
I am aware of the existing pedestrian bridge. I am aware that it is sorely underused thanks to its design and location. I am also aware that it leads to the very fitness center that is being torn down and rebult several hundred feet south.

Gates' position is that these roundabouts will make it safer for students to cross so they will not have to use the existing pedestrian bridge is exactly what we are complaining about. This project will only benefit Hendrix by allowing them to stifle traffic so they can expand their campus. We seriously doubt that planning, feasibility studies, right-of-way acquisitions, and the building of something as big as these roundabouts will not cost any additional monies as Gates is suggesting.

In the early planning of this project is was reported that not only would Harkrider be divided as it goes through Hendrix but there would also be parallell parking along the right side of the street. From the Log Cabin last January 30th

The final master plan for Hendrix includes creating tree-lined medians on Harkrider as it goes through the college, with two-lanes on each side and parking along the street.

Architect Andr's Duany, co-founder of DPZ, said the speed would be reduced to 27 miles per hour, so cars drive closer together and it is "more efficient."

So not only will drivers have to contend with the roundabouts and a speed reduction to around 27 MPH, they will have to dodge cars pulling out of the parking lane or backing in to park.

In two articles, {1} {2}, from the Profile, the Hendrix College newspaper, it is confirmed that the only purpose for this addition of roundabouts and on-street parking will to benefit the college.

President Cloyd was reported saying "This slower traffic will make it much easier and safer for students to cross Harkrider without using the footbridge," and of the Academic Village which, according to the articles, is keyed on 'taming' Harkrider, Cloyd added. "I think it will be a great thing for students," Cloyd said. "It will have all of the amenities that are attractive to students."

So again we ask why is our tax dollars being used to fund a project that will only benefit a private institution and can only harm traffic throughout the city.

Public money to fund the expansion of a private learning institution.

Another observation we would like to point out is the purpose for the roundabouts on Harkrider. It is not to solve a problem with traffic; it is to improve the look of Hendtrix and to solve the problem of lack of space on the campus. The ultimate goal on this project is to re-route Harkrider so the college can expand. They want to use our tax dollars to fund the college's expansion while disrupting the traffic patterns throughout the city of Conway.

Is this something we want or need our tax dollars spent on? To fund the expansion of a private, undergraduate institution so they can build more housing for alumni, student, and faculty? Last January Hilary Hilliard, an Arkansas Democrat reporter and Hendrix alumni, wrote,

At the heart of it is a complex center of alumni, student and faculty residences, as well as a range of stores, restaurants, cafes and even a charter or private elementary school. "What's happening now is that urban living is back," Duany said. "What used to be cool in 1970 is now part of the college experience again. Places like Brown [University], which used to have a problem with Providence, now uses their cities as a selling point. Students associate college with an urban experience."

More tax dollars going for the development of private entities while the city is supposedly broke and can't buy new equipment or hire more personnel for its police and fire departments. The writer also comments on one of the city's alderman's position, it should come as no surprise who that would be, our favorite Alderman Adam "I'll bend over backwards for developers" Weeks,

Also involved in the project will be Conway city officials. One Conway alderman, who likes the idea of working with the college, has some reservations about destroying the green space. "Any time you cut down such a large expanse of trees like that, you're going to have concerns, but what we get in return, I think, is a good trade," said Alderman Adam Weeks. "The community Hendrix is talking about building sounds wonderful."

In addition at a public meeting about this academic village proposal the question of how it would affect the city's development and layout was raised to wit the developer replied, "We haven't been asked to stir up that dog." So it seems that the only consideration in the planning of this village has been to the benefit of Hendrix College and not the average citizen. Hendrix College President Cloyd has even speculated on the possibility of re-routing Hwy 64 to the interstate.

Duany said his team will have suggestions in later meetings to make Harkrider, a U.S. highway, "pedestrian-friendly so you can cross that street as you would in a town." Cloyd said it possibly could be re-routed to go "out by the interstate."

Duany acknowledged there will be a conflict between people who "want to get through it fast and people who want to cross it."

Student Mark Hengel asked how the suggestions would affect the development of Conway and change how the city is laid out.

Duany said, "We haven't been asked to stir up that dog."

So what we really have here is a private entity using its political influence to spend our tax dollars to fund their expansion and a mayor along with several aldermen who would do anything, even sacrifice public safety, to accommodate this endeavor. Isn't it time for the average citizen to receive the attention of its government?