Johnson officials still discussing possible de-annexation
Posted on Wednesday, May 14, 2008
JOHNSON - Mayor Lonnie Barron on Tuesday night told aldermen that he has met with Fayetteville officials three times to discuss the potential de-annexation of a significant chunk of property.
"We haven't made any commitments to them, and they haven't made any commitments to us," Barron told aldermen.
On March 18, the Fayetteville City Council approved extending Van Asche Drive through south Johnson. A key property owner, the WG Land Co. Ltd. Partnership, told Fayetteville officials in a letter that it would de-annex from Johnson and enter Fayetteville, allowing the city to receive sales tax generated from businesses opening along the expanded roadway west of Gregg Avenue.
Johnson officials have concerns about property owners annexing into Fayetteville. Gary Dumas, director of operations for Fayetteville, has proposed additional fire coverage and street expansions as a tradeoff for 300 acres that would be annexed into Fayetteville.
Barron said City Attorney Danny Wright and Tom Kieklak, a lawyer hired by the city for this matter, have met with Fayetteville officials a couple of times. Barron said officials are still in the negotiation stage. "I think negotiation is the optimistic way to look at it, but yes," Wright said. Anything officials agree on will have to be approved by both cities' councils, he said.
Final plat tabled The City Council tabled final plat approval for a commercial subdivision Tuesday because the public road improvements are not completed. Alderman Buddy Curry, who serves on the Johnson Planning Commission, said he did not have enough information to approve the final plat.
"Generally, when we do a final plat, the streets are in and everything," he said.
The final plat approval was requested by Johnson South, a limited liability company that was represented at the Planning Commission and City Council meetings by Richard McKeehan of McKeehan Engineering Inc., for Hawks Landing Development. The development is south of Main Drive and east of Hawks Landing Street.
The Planning Commission approved the final plat with an April 25 letter from Engineering Design Associates in Springdale - which contracts with the city for engineering work - that outlined items to be completed, according to tentative minutes of the April 28 commission meeting.
But Curry said the Planning Commission approval did not include accepting a completion bond McKeehan brought up Tuesday night in lieu of completing public road improvements, particularly the widening of Main Drive.
McKeehan explained that the completion bond - approved by Engineering Design Associates - was for a year and totaled $ 100, 740, and that it ensured infrastructure will be in place within a year. He said there is a pending sale for a new business to move into Johnson and that is why he needed final plat approval as soon as possible.
Curry, though, said the final plat was contingent on having work done and that the City Council has the final say.
Wright talked to the council about final plat approval.
"Once you approve a final plat, the public property is yours," he said. "A bond is a fallback position. It's not as good as having everything done."
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