OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Springdale City Council Regular Meeting – April 1, 2026

City Council Meetings — Wednesday, April 1, 2026
BodySpringdale, Arkansas
SessionCity Council Meetings
DateWednesday, April 1, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:19:53

Transcript — Verbatim
0:10

Good evening.

0:11

Like to welcome you here tonight.

0:13

Before we begin the meeting, I'd invite you to stand and join me in the pledge.

0:16

And then Councilman Brian Powell will bring the invocation.

0:36

Father, thank you for a beautiful day.

0:41

And we just ask for your guidance tonight.

0:43

We ask your hand to be on our residents.

0:46

You would continue to protect us and bless us to where you have and be with us as we deliberate today and have them help us to make a right decisions that would honor you, honor the city.

0:58

We ask you to be with our military who are in harm's way that you would bless them, protect them, be with our president, our leaders.

1:05

They make the decisions they need to make.

1:07

Thank you, Lord, for your love for us, for your hand of protection in Jesus' name.

1:11

Amen.

1:16

All right, thank you, Brian.

1:17

I'd like to again invite uh welcome everyone to uh to tonight's regular meeting, the Springdale City Council.

1:25

This is Tuesday, March 31st, 2026.

1:28

And we'll start things off by asking uh my deputy chief of staff, Anna McKinney, to call the roll.

1:34

Mayor Sprouse.

1:35

Here.

1:35

Brian Powell.

1:36

Here.

1:37

Amelia Taldo.

1:38

Here.

1:39

Jeff Watson.

1:40

Mike Overton.

1:43

Mike Lawson.

1:44

Here.

1:45

Aaron Huntley.

1:46

Here.

1:47

Randall Harriman.

1:48

Here.

1:48

Mark Fujreus.

1:50

Here.

1:51

Garrett Hartland.

1:52

Here.

1:53

All right.

1:54

Thank you, everyone.

1:55

We do have a quorum.

1:57

And we're at item four on the agenda.

2:00

This is the agenda item that's on each regular city council meeting where the council uh invites residents to come and and uh bring items before the council that are not already on tonight's agenda.

2:13

Uh we ask that if if you have such a an item you'd like to bring forward that you come to the podium, please clearly state your name and address, keep your comments brief no longer than three minutes.

2:23

We will time those and uh and remember that nothing you bring forward tonight will be addressed by the council tonight.

2:31

Is there anyone that would like to address the council concerning an item that is not already on tonight's agenda?

2:39

All right, good deal.

2:40

We'll move on then to item five, the approval of minutes.

2:43

Council, you've had an opportunity to look those over.

2:45

If there are no changes or additions, I'd entertain a motion to approve the minutes as presented.

2:49

So we do have a motion and a second to approve the minutes as presented.

2:53

All those in favor, please say aye.

2:55

Aye.

2:55

Any opposed, same sign?

2:57

All right, thank you very much.

2:59

And item six is a public hearing.

3:02

Let go of my let go of my button to turn my page.

3:06

Public hearing, and I'm gonna turn this over to Garrett Harlan, our city attorney.

3:10

Garrett.

3:12

So item 14 is an ordinance vacating a portion of utility easement on Moose Hollow Terrace, and that requires a public hearing, which is set currently for right now.

3:23

Um, is there anybody here to be on that here?

3:27

Is there anybody here that's present to be heard on that hearing?

3:32

Okay, so we're gonna close the hearing and then we'll take this ordinance back up as item 14 on the agenda.

3:37

All right.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural███████████████████19%
Community Engagement███████████████15%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████████13%
Budget Equity Analysis██████████10%
Fiscal Sustainability█████████9%
Economic Development██████6%
Personnel Matters██████6%
Homelessness██████6%
Parks And Recreation█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

Springdale City Council Regular Meeting – April 1, 2026

The Springdale City Council met for a regular meeting on April 1, 2026, at 20:22:06 UTC. The transcript's opening remarks give the date as "Tuesday, March 31st, 2026"; this summary uses the provided timestamp. The council approved the minutes, several rezoning ordinances and a waiver, budget and grant resolutions, the 2026 CDBG action plan, and a utility easement vacation, and received quarterly financial, economic development, and community provider reports.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No residents spoke during the non-agenda public comment period.
  • A public hearing was opened for the ordinance vacating a portion of utility easement on Moose Hollow Terrace; no one appeared to be heard, so the hearing was closed and the ordinance was taken up later as item 14.

Quarterly Financial Report

  • Chief of Staff Colby Fulford and Finance Director Cody presented the quarterly financial snapshot.
  • Preliminary fund balances included: street fund about $6 million; library/Shiloh Museum fund $3.6 million; advertising and promotion about $1 million; ballpark fund $428,000; airport fund $15 million with $4 million in cash and the remainder in grants and insurance proceeds; sanitation about $600,000; and the employee health fund. The total unrestricted general fund was about $25 million as of the last day of February.
  • January expenditures were front-heavy, leaving expenses about $2 million above revenues, partly due to vehicle purchases; the city expected to catch up as tax revenues arrive.
  • Councilman Watson asked for a historical trend chart of the unrestricted general fund and information on amounts added to it; Fulford agreed to provide it.
  • Sales tax was negative for three consecutive months, with March down 8.36% against a record March last year (up 18%); another city, transcribed as "Benville" [likely Bentonville], was down 20%. The city budgets conservatively at 2.5% growth and spends about 95% of budget, so staff expected a surplus.
  • The payment-in-lieu reserve was reduced from over $900,000 to $331,000 after reimbursing the street/general funds for past qualifying projects; about $37,000 will be refunded to payers for projects no longer planned. Cody described the tracking and annual review process.

Chamber of Commerce Quarterly Report

  • Jay Seago, VP of Economic Development, reported that the chamber's top three supported projects added nearly 600 new jobs and $72 million in capital investment in 2025; the city ended 2025 with more than 2,100 new jobs created in 12 months and a 3.4% unemployment rate as of December. The city processed 44 commercial and 443 residential permits.
  • He highlighted 2026 Tyson investments in the former Fuller building downtown and the former Cargill facility, upcoming ribbon cuttings (Tesla Software on April 9; Ozark Point Place on April 16; UAMS clinic topping April 24; Fire Station 4 around April 24), downtown projects (AQ's, Emma, Sundry Hotel), chamber support for the city's EDA grant for the airport, and Freeman Health System's acquisition of Northwest Health.

Appointments, Rezonings, and Waivers

  • Item 10A: Council approved the appointment of Kevin Owenby to the Springdale Water and Sewer Commission by a 7-0 vote. The mayor praised the commission as one of the best water utilities in Arkansas.
  • R26-06 (2544 Butterfield Coach Road): Rezoned from A1 to MF-12 and C1; passed 7-0; emergency clause passed 7-0.
  • R26-07 (West Gibbs Road, Benedetto Phase 3): Rezoned from A1 to SF-2; the ordinance vote was recorded as "six one ... one abstention"; the emergency clause passed 7-0.
  • R26-08 (East Emma Avenue school district property): Rezoned from C2 to P1; passed 7-0; emergency clause passed 7-0.
  • R26-09 (1400 West Robinson Avenue): Rezoned from P1 to O1 for counseling office use; passed 7-0; emergency clause passed 7-0.
  • R26-12 (1804 Powell Street): Rezoned from MF-12 to C2; passed 7-0; emergency clause passed 7-0.
  • W26-11: Council approved a full waiver of street improvements, drainage, curbs, gutters, sidewalks, and street lights for Tract One, with option one, by a 7-0 vote. Planning commission had already approved a two-year bill of assurance for Tract Three. Discussion noted Tract Two would receive full improvements, Tract One may be sold, and the 100-foot power line makes the property difficult to develop. A council member praised the developers for working on the site.

Finance Committee Resolutions

  • 12A: Budget amendment for City Attorney Ernest Kate's retirement option under the 251 fund; the administration line item increased by $53,720 from $136,368. Passed 7-0.
  • 12B: Engineering services contract with Garver for Dean's Trail Phase 3B environmental clearance, $59,100. Passed 6-0 with one abstention.
  • 12C: Federal aid application for Watkins Trail design from 48th Street to the youth center; $125,000 grant with 80/20 match ($25,000 local). Passed 7-0.
  • 12D: TAP grant application for $500,000 construction from Highway 412 to the library, with $100,000 local match. Passed 7-0.
  • 12E: Grant application for East Emma Streetscape, estimated $5.2 million request with $1.04 million local match from bond funds, potentially freeing about $4 million in bond funds. Passed 7-0.
  • 12F: Co-applicant with City of Johnson for Gene George Phase 3 (city limits to Johnson Mill Boulevard); $3 million in existing STBG funds plus $4.08 million request, with $1 million match from Johnson. Passed 7-0.

2026 CDBG Action Plan and Nonprofit Presentations

  • Dean Allen, CDBG program manager, presented the 2026 action plan. Representatives from BTX Sports, Compassion House, Feed 479, CASA of Northwest Arkansas, Northwest Arkansas Continuum of Care, Freedom Finder, Samaritan Church, Family Network/Diaper Collective, and the VFW described their services and requested continued funding.
  • Notable figures included Feed 479's 275 food distribution services in Springdale in 2026; CASA's 642 children served by 333 volunteers; Continuum of Care serving about 70–80 individuals in Springdale; the Diaper Collective serving about 1,600 children per month; and VFW assistance to 1,430 people, seven families moved into permanent housing, and 37 new veterans connected to disability benefits.
  • Council members discussed the 15% public-service spending cap, with one council member suggesting deeper review of allocations; Dean Allen explained the application timeline, 501(c)(3) requirement, public comment periods, and that CDBG public service funding rose from 9% before COVID to the cap after COVID money. A council member asked for earlier updates at committee; Allen agreed.
  • The resolution approving and adopting the 2026 action plan passed 7-0.

Utility Easement Vacation

  • Item 14: Ordinance vacating and abandoning a portion of utility easement on Moose Hollow Terrace passed 7-0, and the emergency clause passed 7-0. City Attorney Garrett said the emergency relates to pending construction and the meeting being rescheduled from spring break.

Council Administrative Matters

  • Mayor Sprouse said Civil Service Commissioner Bob Downham's second term expires the next day. Two resumes were provided for the vacancy; additional applicants will be accepted until the agenda for the April 14 council meeting is published. The council plans to interview applicants in executive session that night, and a council member moved to set that cutoff.
  • The mayor gave a "heads up" about upcoming council vacancies from members moving out of districts. He outlined state rules on appointments versus special elections, noting appointments would run through 2028, the 70-day special-election timing restriction, and the August deadline for the November ballot. Council discussed but took no action.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved minutes and procedural motions A/B (7-0).
  • Approved all zoning and waiver items; most votes were 7-0, with the West Gibbs Road ordinance recorded as 6-1 with one abstention and the Dean's Trail contract as 6-0 with one abstention.
  • Approved all finance resolutions and grant applications.
  • Approved the 2026 CDBG action plan and utility easement vacation.
  • Set an April 14 executive session interview process for the Civil Service Commission vacancy.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening. Like to welcome you here tonight. Before we begin the meeting, I'd invite you to stand and join me in the pledge. And then Councilman Brian Powell will bring the invocation. Father, thank you for a beautiful day. And we just ask for your guidance tonight. We ask your hand to be on our residents. You would continue to protect us and bless us to where you have and be with us as we deliberate today and have them help us to make a right decisions that would honor you, honor the city. We ask you to be with our military who are in harm's way that you would bless them, protect them, be with our president, our leaders. They make the decisions they need to make. Thank you, Lord, for your love for us, for your hand of protection in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, thank you, Brian. I'd like to again invite uh welcome everyone to uh to tonight's regular meeting, the Springdale City Council. This is Tuesday, March 31st, 2026. And we'll start things off by asking uh my deputy chief of staff, Anna McKinney, to call the roll. Mayor Sprouse. Here. Brian Powell. Here. Amelia Taldo. Here. Jeff Watson. Mike Overton. Mike Lawson. Here. Aaron Huntley. Here. Randall Harriman. Here. Mark Fujreus. Here. Garrett Hartland. Here. All right. Thank you, everyone. We do have a quorum. And we're at item four on the agenda. This is the agenda item that's on each regular city council meeting where the council uh invites residents to come and and uh bring items before the council that are not already on tonight's agenda. Uh we ask that if if you have such a an item you'd like to bring forward that you come to the podium, please clearly state your name and address, keep your comments brief no longer than three minutes. We will time those and uh and remember that nothing you bring forward tonight will be addressed by the council tonight. Is there anyone that would like to address the council concerning an item that is not already on tonight's agenda? All right, good deal. We'll move on then to item five, the approval of minutes. Council, you've had an opportunity to look those over. If there are no changes or additions, I'd entertain a motion to approve the minutes as presented. So we do have a motion and a second to approve the minutes as presented. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed, same sign?

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