Most of the time a meeting of the Alexander Planning Commission consists of members either talking to an empty room, or dealing with the occasional rezoning or development issue. This time the courtroom wasn’t empty but there weren’t enough commission members present to hold a meeting.
The lack of a quorum kept the only two planning commissioners present from holding a regular meeting. The required number for a quorum is three and two out of the four commissioners could not attend. Present at the February 8 meeting were Chairman Michel Huck and commission member Juanita Wilson. Wilson is also a member of the Alexander City Council.
Normally, the meeting would have been canceled and rescheduled for a later date. But, Bernadette Rhodes, Community Planner from Metroplan, was present to give an orientation for members of the newly formed Citizens Advisory Committee. Also present was local businessman Walter Burgess who has offered to join the advisory committee.
The committee was formed to provide planning commission members with opinions to aid in the writing of the new Master Development Plan. The current plan dates back to 1982.
Since everyone else was present, it was decided to have an informal public meeting. Walter Burgess was allowed to speak first to explain why he should be allowed to sit on the Citizens Advisory Committee.
Burgess is part owner and Vice-President of Sales & Engineering at Power Technology, Inc. in Alexander. Power Technology has been in Alexander 22 years and is located along Highway 111 south of the I-30 interchange.
Although he lives in Bryant, Burgess has volunteered to join the advisory committee as a, “Business resident of Alexander, not as a citizen of Alexander.”
“I care about what happens here in Alexander,” he said.
Burgess said he is currently working on his professional certification for economic development through the International Economic Development Council, which he pointed out might be helpful as a member of the advisory committee.
He is the current Vice-Chairman of the Bryant Planning Commission. He emphasized he would not serve, “[I]n any official capacity related to (the) Bryant Planning Commission.”
He also serves on
the board of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and is
Vice-Chairman of the Arkansas Science & Technology Board where he
helps to administer approximately $2 $4.5 million annually to support
entrepreneurs, small businesses, growth and job creation.
Since first contacting Planning Commission Chairman Michael Huck about joining the advisory committee, Burgess announced his run for the Arkansas House of Representatives for District 81. The district includes a portion of Bryant, the Saline County portion of Alexander and Shannon Hills.
“For clear disclosure, just so there’s no confusion and nothing sinister, I’m also running for House of Representatives to represent Bryant, Shannon Hills and Alexander,” he said. “Conversations (with chairman) about (joining) this committee predate any considerations I had running for office. This is a rather recent development late last year.”
Burgess summarized by saying he feels all of his experiences make him “Uniquely qualified” to serve on the advisory committee.
Huck noted that under the circumstances of not having a quorum, no decision can be made as to placing Burgess on the advisory committee. Huck said he will try to schedule a special meeting in March to make up for the February meeting. The planning commission has regularly scheduled meetings in February, April, June, August, October, and December.
Besides Huck, Wilson, Burgess, and Rhodes; others attending the meeting were advisory committee members Angela Griffin and Lorinda Peoples; Ward-1 Council Member Joe Pollard; Cheryl Kindervater, Administrative Assistant for the City of Alexander; and Casey Covington, Metroplan Deputy Director and Director of the Central Arkansas Regional Transportation Study (CARTS).
“We are here to support the planning commission and the city,” Rhodes began. “We were requested to assist in the comprehensive plan update.”
Rhodes began the orientation with a run-down of the steps accomplished to date. As required under state law, the first step was the writing of the Planning Studies Report. The report provides details about the city including the type of government, the various city departments, available utilities, amenities, educational opportunities, available employment, what types of commercial and residential housing is available, and a breakdown of the residents based on recent census data.
“It’s an effort to understand where the city’s at right now,” Rhodes said. “And then, the comprehensive planning process is an attempt to look into the future, to get citizens’ involvement. That’s where the Citizens Advisory Committee comes in. Working hand-in-hand with the planning commission to identify some concrete goals.”
The next step was the community survey. The survey was a list of questions allowing residents to provide input on a range of topics including development priorities, traffic and city amenities, among others.
“Step number three is to create a Citizens Advisory Committee,” Rhodes said. “And, step number four is for the commission and that committee to get together; organize, promote, promote, promote. Get people together to do a public involvement meeting.”
The public meeting will involve exercises to draw opinions out of people, allowing everyone the opportunity to participate. Rhodes said the idea is to not allow one person to “Dominate” the conversation.
“It’s not the planning commission’s plan, or the council’s plan, or one neighborhood’s plan,” she said. “It’s the entire city’s plan.”
Where and when to hold the public meeting is the next issue. Since the hope is for a large turnout, and room will be needed to breakup into smaller groups, the two options are the metal building at the former Human Development Center, or a church hall. During the daytime on a Saturday was suggested in order to not have this meeting on a school night.
Rhodes said once all the information and comments are collected they will write a first draft of a comprehensive development plan. That initial draft will be reviewed by the planning commission and the citizens advisory committee for feed-back and possible changes.
Eventually, a proposed final draft will be presented at a public haring. At that time residents will be given the opportunity to comment on the plan.
Metroplan is a quasi government agency dedicated to providing general planning, mapping, and technical assistance to local governments in Central Arkansas. It’s major role is to work with local governments, the Arkansas Department of Transportation, and local transit providers to determine transportation needs and funding priorities for Federal transportation investments. Alexander pays an annual fee to be a member of Metroplan, allowing the city to take advantage of its services.
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