Arkadelphia sales tax renewal heads to March election

By JOEL PHELPS | arkadelphian.com

It’s full speed ahead in Arkadelphia for a campaign to renew a 1-cent sales tax for “general purchases of city government.” The City Board of Directors gave its unanimous nod Tuesday to a pair of ordinances setting a March 5 election and continuing the tax for an additional 10 years.

The tax, passed in 2019 with a five-year sunset clause, is set to expire at the end of 2024; should the tax issue pass, it will sunset in 2034. Sixty-six percent of Arkadelphia residents supported the issue in a special election in September 2019, with collections beginning in 2020.

Meeting with a quorum of 5 members present, directors heard the final readings before proceeding to adopt the ordinances. Mayor Scott Byrd asked fellow directors for comments or questions; Ward 5 Director Jason Jones made a simple statement: “This is necessary,” he said.

Tax talks underlined other portions of Tuesday’s meeting, as well. The city’s communications director and events coordinator touted a full lineup of 10 city-hosted Christmas events that begin with this week’s Christmas Parade and end on the week of the holiday.

Ward 2 Director Chris Porter said it was because of the tax that community culture has improved, and that events likes those planned for the Christmas holiday are a “direct product” of the tax.

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Ward 4 Director Reo Cummings encouraged residents to take advantage of the city-hosted events. Noting that there are often complaints of “nothing to do” in Arkadelphia, Cummings said the events give people an opportunity to get out and fellowship. “Use the resources that you provided by voting for this tax,” Cummings said, “and enjoy the memories that we’re providing to your family.”

At the conclusion of the meeting, Byrd asked residents to consult with members of the city board in search of facts relating to the tax issue rather than seeking them out on social media.

To date, there is no known organized opposition to the tax issue.

In other business, the board: 

• Approved the spending of $98,152 from city funds to match a grant from the Arkansas Department of Aeronautics to purchase a 3-bay hangar at the airport. Total cost of the project is $731,236. The hangar measures 45’x41’ and will be able to house small-engine aircraft.

• Set into motion the rezoning of 115.25 acres west of W.P. Malone Drive for the development of North Ridge Estates. The landowner, Nikki Goff d/b/a Good Ole Boys Holding Co. LLC, has been pursuing the rezoning of the property for residential use. Following a public hearing that attracted no comment, directors heard the first of three readings of an ordinance rezoning the property.