OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Fayetteville City Council Meeting Summary - August 19, 2025

City Council — Tuesday, August 19, 2025
BodyFayetteville, Arkansas
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, August 19, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 4:22:56

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

All right.

0:02

Good evening, everyone.

0:03

And I'm going to call to order the Tuesday, August 19th meeting of the Fayetteville City Council.

0:10

Clerk Paxton, will you please call the roll?

0:12

Ms.

0:13

Moore.

0:14

Here.

0:15

Mr.

0:15

Wheaker.

0:16

Here.

0:17

Mr.

0:18

Burnett?

0:18

Here.

0:20

Here.

0:21

Ms.

0:21

Tart?

0:22

Here.

0:23

Minister Jones.

0:24

President.

0:25

Mr.

0:25

Stafford.

0:26

Here.

0:27

Dr.

0:28

Jones.

0:28

Here.

0:29

Mayor Ron.

0:30

Here.

0:31

Please join me as we recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:35

I pledge allegiance to the flag.

0:54

Okay.

0:54

We are going to begin with our sales tax and monthly financial report presented by CFO Stephen Dodson.

1:04

Good evening, Mayor and Council.

1:06

So this is the May Sales Tax Report.

1:09

I'm just going to begin as I usually do with an overview of the taxable sales in that month.

1:15

In May, taxable sales in the city totaled approximately 287 million, which was an increase of nearly 5.5% or 15 million compared to May of 2024.

1:26

This increase was led by the construction sector, which was up 3.4 million, as well as the information sector, which was up 2.8 million, and transportation and warehousing, which was up 2.5 million.

1:41

Retail trade, the city's largest source of taxable sales was up 2% in May or around 2.2 million.

1:49

Food services and accommodation sectors were they were flat in May.

1:53

And we did see traveler accommodations down 17.7, 17% or around 1.5 million from last year.

2:01

However, all in all, we did note a 5.5% gain in taxable sales compared to 2024.

2:07

And now to move on to the actual sales tax collections for Fayetteville.

2:12

As a reminder, this is the six months and sixth month in the fiscal period for 2025.

2:18

And I'm going to start off with a comparison of May 25 to May of 2024, so a month-to-month comparison.

2:25

The City 1 penny sales tax collections were up 5.4% or approximately 143,000.

2:32

The county portion to the city was up 5.63%, resulting in a total combined sales tax collection increase of 5.5%, or approximately 261,000 compared to May of 2024.

2:46

Year to date, the combined city and county sales tax are up approximately 5.44% or roughly 1.5 million compared to last year at this time.

3:08

So that was a comparison of May 25 to May 24.

3:12

And now I like to provide a comparison of May 25 to what was budgeted for the year.

3:18

The city one penny uh was up around 2.3% compared to budget.

3:23

The county portion was up around 2.55% compared to budget for a combined total for the month of May up 2.4% compared to budget.

3:33

That will put the city on a year-to-date basis compared to budget up or up a combined 2.37% or $688,000 for sales tax.

3:43

So that's good news.

3:55

So when I'm telling you that we're up a combined 2.37% compared to budget for the year for sales tax, basically what we're doing is we're reducing that deficit amount for the year, uh meaning we're reducing the amount of general fund balance that's going to be required to make up for that three million dollar budgetary deficit over the course of the year.

4:16

So these are good numbers.

4:18

We're just kind of making up some some ground as to uh where we were at budget-wise when we started off the year.

4:25

Any uh questions I can answer for you all about the sales tax report?

4:29

Councilperson Moore, thank you, Mayor.

4:31

Uh, thanks, Stephen, for that information.

4:33

Thank you also uh for pointing out that we did plan to ban a deficit um for the year.

4:39

Um I'm hoping.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning And Land Use███████████████████19%
Short Term Rentals█████████████████17%
Public Engagement████████████████16%
Waste Management███████████11%
Procedural█████████9%
Water And Wastewater Management█████5%
Fiscal Sustainability████4%
Public Safety████4%
Parks and Recreation████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Fayetteville City Council Meeting Summary - August 19, 2025

The Fayetteville City Council met on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, to address a full agenda including financial reports, consent agenda items, several ordinances, and multiple resolutions. Key topics included a sales tax and financial report, establishment of a Firefighters Bill of Rights, vacation of a right-of-way, rezoning city park properties, a proposed residential planned zoning district, short-term rental appeals, and a resolution regarding recycling program changes.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Firefighters Bill of Rights (Item C1): Jimmy Vanier Proud (Ward 4 resident, representative of Local 2866, Fayetteville Firefighters) expressed support, stating the ordinance will provide legal protections for firefighters and improve morale, recruitment, and retention.
  • Vacation 25-15 (Item C2): Kyle Smith (281 Dove Drive) opposed the right-of-way vacation, suggesting the alley could jog to the north to preserve future access for additional parcels.
  • RZN 2025-25 (Item C3): No public comments.
  • PCD 2025-002 (Item C4): Multiple residents spoke in opposition, citing concerns about narrow roads (Dot Tipton Road), flooding, traffic congestion, fire safety, lack of infrastructure, and insufficient community outreach by the developer. Specific speakers included Elizabeth Rumley (20 North Double Springs), Donna Treat (6187 West Dot Tipton), Katherine Harrison (speaking for Penny Tipton and her own concerns), Rusty Rumley (20 North Double Springs), Jim Gallagher, Sheena Reed (5605 West Dot Tipton), May Wetzel (5968 West Dot Tipton), and Diana Gallagher. Kyle Smith spoke in support, praising the design and density.
  • CUP 2025-25/26 Appeals (Items C5 & C6): Mark Kenyon (421 West Isla Street representative) presented extensive testimony opposing the short-term rentals, citing protection of neighborhood character, saturation of short-term rentals, traffic, parking, and safety concerns. He stated that over half of complaints received involve type-two short-term rentals. Michael Marsh (applicant) presented in support, highlighting his family's investment, property improvements, dedicated on-site parking, and a 4.97 rating as a Superhost for another property. Melinda Jones (408 West Isla) opposed, citing long-term character and saturation.
  • Resolution for Trash/Recycling Master Plan (Item C7): Several residents (Taylor, Leanne Dark, Nealie Ward, Sharon Acker, Lisa Orton, Alex Shirley on behalf of Louise Mann) urged the council to support the resolution, calling for more transparency, a proper master plan process, and caution against rushing the single-stream recycling transition. Concerns included contamination rates, glass handling, cost, and lack of detail.

Discussion Items

  • Sales Tax & Financial Report: CFO Stephen Dodson reported May taxable sales of $287 million (up 5.5% year-over-year), with construction, information, and transportation sectors leading. Year-to-date combined city and county sales tax collections are up 5.44% ($1.5 million) versus last year. The general fund is running a $3 million deficit, but sales tax is $688,000 above budget year-to-date, reducing the needed draw from reserves. Dodson noted positive signs but cautioned against projecting full recovery.
  • Consent Agenda (A1-A9): Approved unanimously via roll call vote.
  • Renters Committee Ordinance (B1): Dr. Jones moved to table the ordinance indefinitely to allow input from the incoming housing officer. The motion passed unanimously.
  • Salvation Army Emergency Solutions Grant (B2): The council tabled the resolution until the September 2, 2025 meeting to allow staff further time.
  • Firefighters Bill of Rights (C1): Chief Harden explained that the ordinance codifies protections recommended by Act 686 (2025). The council suspended rules and passed the ordinance unanimously (8-0), making Fayetteville the first city in Arkansas to adopt such a measure.
  • Vacation 25-15 (C2): Staff recommended approval. The council voted (8-1, Councilperson Turk dissenting) to vacate the alley right-of-way, with conditions for utility relocation at owner expense.
  • Rezoning City Park Properties (C3): Planning staff presented the rezoning of 180.84 acres of park properties to P1 Institutional. Councilperson Moore inquired about removing short-term rental uses from P1; staff noted this would require a code amendment. The council approved the rezoning (8-0).
  • PCD 2025-002 (C4): Staff recommended denial due to infrastructure concerns (narrow roads, potential sprawl, auto-dependency) and lack of non-residential services. The applicants (Jenny Burbage, Will Kelstrom) presented a revised plan with 267 units, 17 acres of open space, and native landscaping, emphasizing alignment with city plans. Following extensive public comment and council deliberation, no motion was made; the item will automatically appear on the September 2, 2025 agenda as old business.
  • Short-Term Rental Appeals (C5 & C6): The council considered appeals of conditional use permits for two properties on West Isla Street.
    • For 421 West Isla (C5): The motion to grant the appeal (denying the CUP) failed (4-5-1). The mayor declined to vote, so the planning commission's approval stands.
    • For 463 West Isla (C6): The motion to grant the appeal (denying the CUP) passed (5-4), overturning the planning commission's approval.
  • Resolution on Trash/Recycling Master Plan (C7): Councilperson Turk introduced a resolution to commission an updated master plan before implementing single-stream recycling. After debate, no second was offered to the motion, so the resolution failed.
  • Purchase of Recycling Trucks (C8): Staff requested approval to purchase six Peterbilt automated side-loading recycling trucks for $2,510,052. The council passed the resolution (8-1, Councilperson Turk dissenting).

Key Outcomes

  • Approved: Consent agenda, Firefighters Bill of Rights (first in state), Vacation 25-15 (8-1), Rezoning park properties (8-0), Purchase of six recycling trucks (8-1).
  • Tabled: Renters Committee Ordinance (indefinitely), Salvation Army grant (until Sept. 2).
  • Appeal Failed (421 West Isla): The motion to deny the short-term rental CUP failed (4-5-1), so the planning commission's approval remains.
  • Appeal Granted (463 West Isla): The council voted to deny the short-term rental CUP (5-4), overturning the planning commission.
  • No Motion/Continued: PCD 2025-002 will automatically appear on the September 2, 2025 agenda.
  • Failed (No Second): Resolution for a new recycling master plan (C7).
  • Next Meeting: The next regular meeting is scheduled for September 2, 2025.

Meeting Transcript

All right. Good evening, everyone. And I'm going to call to order the Tuesday, August 19th meeting of the Fayetteville City Council. Clerk Paxton, will you please call the roll? Ms. Moore. Here. Mr. Wheaker. Here. Mr. Burnett? Here. Here. Ms. Tart? Here. Minister Jones. President. Mr. Stafford. Here. Dr. Jones. Here. Mayor Ron. Here. Please join me as we recite the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag. Okay. We are going to begin with our sales tax and monthly financial report presented by CFO Stephen Dodson. Good evening, Mayor and Council. So this is the May Sales Tax Report. I'm just going to begin as I usually do with an overview of the taxable sales in that month. In May, taxable sales in the city totaled approximately 287 million, which was an increase of nearly 5.5% or 15 million compared to May of 2024. This increase was led by the construction sector, which was up 3.4 million, as well as the information sector, which was up 2.8 million, and transportation and warehousing, which was up 2.5 million. Retail trade, the city's largest source of taxable sales was up 2% in May or around 2.2 million. Food services and accommodation sectors were they were flat in May. And we did see traveler accommodations down 17.7, 17% or around 1.5 million from last year. However, all in all, we did note a 5.5% gain in taxable sales compared to 2024. And now to move on to the actual sales tax collections for Fayetteville. As a reminder, this is the six months and sixth month in the fiscal period for 2025. And I'm going to start off with a comparison of May 25 to May of 2024, so a month-to-month comparison. The City 1 penny sales tax collections were up 5.4% or approximately 143,000. The county portion to the city was up 5.63%, resulting in a total combined sales tax collection increase of 5.5%, or approximately 261,000 compared to May of 2024. Year to date, the combined city and county sales tax are up approximately 5.44% or roughly 1.5 million compared to last year at this time. So that was a comparison of May 25 to May 24. And now I like to provide a comparison of May 25 to what was budgeted for the year. The city one penny uh was up around 2.3% compared to budget. The county portion was up around 2.55% compared to budget for a combined total for the month of May up 2.4% compared to budget.

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