Why Jeff Koenig quit the mayoral race

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Koenig drops mayoral bid

Northwest Arkansas Times

Posted on Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Jeff Koenig has ended his candidacy to become Fayetteville’s mayor due to a non-life-threatening, health-related issue, according to a statement issued Tuesday from his campaign.

Koenig’s assistant campaign manager, Katherine Skordal, confirmed the decision. She said Koenig was out of town Tuesday and unavailable for comment.

In the release, Koenig said he decided not to seek office at this time after consulting with his doctor, and instead will concentrate on recovering.

The statement did not provide any details about the ailment that prompted Koenig's decision.

Read tomorrow's Northwest Arkansas Times for all the details on this story!

Or read The Morning News

Morning news says Koenig abandons race to be Fayetteville mayor

West Side Sewage Treatment Plant schedule

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Earth Fest in Rose Garden during 2008 Springfest in Fayetteville, Arkansas

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Vice mayor Jordan supports Meals on Wheels

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Alderman Nancy Allen and her husband, sportswriter Nate Allen, attend the Senior Center's fund-raiser

The packages for the silent auction starting at 5:30 p.m. today at the Senior Center are great

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Senior Center, Meals on Wheels fund-raiser needs you Wednesday night

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The group who got the contract a couple of years to manage the Senior Center are in need of help to raise money for the senior center.

The center manager has collected some really nice items for a silent auction and the music is guaranteed to please. Almost everyone is a potential beneficiary of Meals on Wheels and the grand Senior Activity Center in south Fayetteville.

Photo set from Sunday's Earth Day Celebration at World Peace Wetland Prairie will grow until complete

Please see first 33 photos in set of

Earth Day 2008 photos from World Peace Wetland Prairie and return later to see more!

Please see

Earth Day 2008 NWA TIMES story on World Peace Wetland Prairie

Don't bother to call police if you see uncovered load of red dirt — they can't ticket trucks for this

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Tall Japanese cherries replace smaller trees recently planted on square

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Planning Commission passes Aspen Ridge/Hill Place plan on to City Council

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Expatriate in Texas praises square redecoration

LETTER TO EDITOR of NORTHWEST ARKANSAS TIMES:

"Square renovation was necessary
"Hats off to the City Council and mayor for the renovation of the sidewalks around the Square. They had become an eyesore, hazard and an embarrassment to our beautiful town. In my opinion, the Square is the heart of the city, with Dickson Street being the gateway. A beautiful downtown makes us all proud. Thank you for recognizing these needed repairs. Regards,
Hayden McIlroy / Dallas, Texas"

I have looked back at a couple of hundred photos of the Fayetteville square from summer 2007 and can't find one showing evidence that the square was anything but beautiful. Surely, if Hayden McIIlroy is right, there would be a shot of something really in need of repair. But I can't find it. I do have photos made after the work was started and the place pretty quickly was made to appear to need total replacement.

McIlroy remains financially able to pay for the work done there and doesn't share the majority view of people using the square. Most of us don't have a dime to spare for redecorating. And the waste of resources that could have fixed some very bad sidewalks within a short walk of the square is apalling. Where is the old sidewalk now? In the landfill? Dumped in the city-owned wooded wetland area southeast of the new fire station? Or the city-owned wetland southeast of the Animal Shelter?
Could be hidden in the big hole where the hotel was removed?

Sometimes, beauty is in the pocketbook of the beholder? Word on the street is that the final cost of the work on the square may be closer to $2 million than the projected $1 million. I hope that a list of the big donors reimbursing the city for getting rid of the "eyesore" soon will be published.

The McIlroy family has been among the leaders of the community for a long time and deserve credit for many things. If the work on the square is secretly a gift from them, we should thank them publicly. Otherwise, people are going to keep asking why this work was started at the very time the City Council and various department heads were struggling to balance the new year's budget. Once the destruction began, the council had to support it to avoid being blamed for what the square suddenly had become.

How much taxpayers' money did A&P pay to the city or directly for work on the square? Is that the difference in its budget this year?

Times reports Advertising and Promotion Commission funding low

Aspen Ridge/Hill Place and other controversial plans on Planning Commission Agenda for April 14, 2008

FINAL AGENDA

113 W. Mountain St. Fayetteville, AR 72701 Telephone: (479) 575-8267

AGENDA FOR A MEETING OF THE
PLANNING COMMISSION
Monday, April 14, 2008, 5:30 p.m.
Room 219, City Administration Building

The following items will be considered:

Consent Agenda:
1. Approval of the minutes from the March 24, 2008 meeting.

2. CCP 08-2918: (STADIUM CENTRE COTTAGES, 557): Submitted by H2 ENGINEERING, INC. for property located at LOTS 12-14 OF THE STADIUM CENTRE COTTAGES. The property is zoned R-PZD, RESIDENTIAL PLANNED ZONING DISTRICT and contains approximately 2.45 acres. The request is to amend the approved R-PZD 06-2212 with a replat of Lots 12-14. Planner: Jesse Fulcher

3. VAC 08-2951: (SHOPPES AT WEDINGTON, 401): Submitted by MCCLELLAND CONSULTING ENGINEERS for property located at N & W OF WEDINGTON AND SALEM ROAD, W OF THE BANK OF THE OZARKS. The property is zoned C-1, NEIGHBORHOOD COMMERCIAL and contains approximately 2.24 acres. The request is to vacate 5,997 square feet of a utility easement within the subject property.
Planner: Jesse Fulcher

4. LSP 08-2950: (SHOPPES AT WEDINGTON, 401): Submitted by MCCLELLAND CONSULTING ENGINEERS for property located at LOT 2 OF ELDER APTS., N OF WEDINGTON DR. AND W OF SALEM DR. AND THE BANK OF THE OZARKS. The property is zoned C-1, NEIGHBORHOOD COMMERCIAL and contains approximately 3.40 acres. The request is to divide the subject property into two tracts of 2.24 and 1.16 acres. Planner: Jesse Fulcher

Unfinished Business:
5. CUP 08-2922: (LIGHT TOWER, LLC & VERIZON, 400): Submitted by TRACY WOODEN for property located at 1363 N. RUPPLE ROAD. The property is zoned C-1, NEIGHBORHOOD COMMERCIAL and contains approximately 1.11 acres. The request is for a wireless communication tower. Planner: Jesse Fulcher
STAFF HAS RECOMMENDED THIS ITEM BE TABLED INDEFINITELY.

6. RZN 08-2934: (NEWELL/MORTON, 404): Submitted by JAKE NEWELL & CLAY MORTON MNI, LLC for property located at 1141 HENDRIX. The property is zoned RSF-4, SINGLE FAMILY - 4 UNITS/ACRE and contains approximately 0.37 acres. The request is to rezone the subject property to RSF-8, Residential Single Family, 8 units per acre, subject to a Bill of Assurance. Planner: Andrew Garner

New Business:

7. ADM 08-2978: (SCAIFE, 100): Submitted by KEVIN NALLEY/KINAX CONSTRUCTION for property located at 3826 MONTE VALLO MANOR (LOT 42 COPPER CREEK S/D.) The request is for a variance from circle driveway separation requirements. Planner: Andrew Garner

8. LSP 08-2948: (DAVIDSON, 482): Submitted by JOHN DAVIDSON for property located at 1614 SAWYER LANE. The property is zoned RSF-4, SINGLE FAMILY - 4 UNITS/ACRE and contains approximately 0.69 acres. The request is to divide the subject property into two tracts of .45 and .24 acres. Planner: Dara Sanders

9. LSD 08-2903: (SHOPPES AT WEDINGTON, 401): Submitted by MCCLELLAND CONSULTING ENGINEERS for property located at WEST OF THE SALEM ROAD AND WEDINGTON DRIVE INTERSECTION. The property is zoned C-1, NEIGHBORHOOD COMMERCIAL and contains approximately 2.24 acres. The request is for a 15,750 s.f. commercial/retail building with associated parking. Planner: Jesse Fulcher

10. CUP 08-2942: (NATURAL STATE HEALING ARTS, INC., 524): Submitted by LISA FOGEL for property located at 534 HUNTSVILLE ROAD. The property is zoned RSF-8, SINGLE FAMILY - 8 UNITS/ACRE and contains approximately 1.46 acres. The request is for a home occupation for two in-home professional offices. Planner: Dara Sanders

11. CUP 08-2944: (CARSON, 755): Submitted by SANDY CARSON for property located at 3940 S. SALLY'S PLACE, S OF BAILEY DRIVE. The property is zoned R-A, RESIDENTIAL-AGRICULTURAL and contains approximately 2.17 acres. The request is for an accessory structure with 50% greater floor area than the principal structure. Planner: Dara Sanders

12. CUP 08-2955: (MONTEREY APARTMENTS, 483): Submitted by COMMUNITY BY DESIGN, LLC for property located at 615 WEST LAFAYETTE STREET. The property is zoned RMF-40, MULTI FAMILY - 40 UNITS/ACRE and contains approximately 0.27 acres. The request is to allow a reduction in the number of on-site parking spaces below that required by Chapter 172. Planner: Dara Sanders

13. CUP 08-2954: (PERSIMMON NURSING HOME, 477/478): Submitted by JORGENSEN & ASSOC for property located at S AND E OF PERSIMMON AT 46TH AVENUE. The property is zoned RSF-4, SINGLE FAMILY - 4 UNITS/ACRE and contains approximately 11.18 acres. The request is for a nursing home on the subject property. Planner: Andrew Garner

14. R-PZD 07-2793: (FOREST HILLS, 440): Submitted by MORRISON SHIPLEY ENGINEERS, INC. for property located at WEDINGTON DRIVE, S OF SALEM ROAD. The property is zoned R-A, RESIDENTIAL-AGRICULTURAL and contains approximately 82.39 acres. The request is for Zoning and Land Use approval for a Residential Planned Zoning District with a maximum 600 dwelling units and 206,102 s.f. of non-residential space. Planner: Jesse Fulcher

15. R-PZD 08-2915: (HILL PLACE, 561): Submitted by APPIAN CENTER FOR DESIGN for property located at THE SW CORNER OF THE 6TH STREET AND HILL AVENUE INTERSECTION. The property is zoned R-PZD, RESIDENT. PLANNED ZONING DISTRICT (ASPEN RIDGE) and contains approximately 27.10 acres. The request is for zoning, land use, and large scale development approval for a Residential Planned Zoning District with 288 multi-family dwelling units, a community building and associated parking. Planner: Andrew Garner

16. VAC 08-2916: (HILL PLACE, 561): Submitted by APPIAN CENTER FOR DESIGN for property located at THE SW CORNER OF THE 6TH STREET AND HILL AVENUE INTERSECTION. The property is zoned R-PZD, RESIDENT. PLANNED ZONING DIST. and contains approximately 27.10 acres. The request is to vacate various utility easements and right-of-ways within the subject property. Planner: Andrew Garner

17. R-PZD 06-2170: (VILLAS AT STONEBRIDGE, 645/646): Submitted by APPIAN CENTRE FOR DESIGN for property located S OF HWY. 16E AND E OF GOFF FARM ROAD. The property is zoned R-A, RESIDENTIAL-AGRICULTURAL and contains approximately 53.03 acres. The request is for zoning, land use and preliminary plat approval for a Residential Planned Zoning District with a maximum of 354 dwelling units and 65,000 s.f. of non-residential space. Phase I development approval consists of 91 single family lots. Planner: Jesse Fulcher


All interested parties may appear and be heard at the public hearings. A copy of the proposed amendments and other pertinent data are open and available for inspection in the office of City Planning (575-8267), 125 West Mountain Street, Fayetteville, Arkansas. All interested parties are invited to review the petitions. Interpreters or TDD for hearing impaired are available for all public hearings; 72 hour notice is required. For further information or to request an interpreter, please call 575-8330.

You say you don't have room to plant an oak? Here are clearcut public places that need them

Call Central AR Sierra Club at 479-530-8328 to get oak trees.

Please click on images to enlarge photo above of Scull Creek Trail viewed from south of Maple Street and photo below of Town Branch of the West Fork of the White River west of the Ladyback Soccer Field.

Please volunteer April 19 to help give away oak trees in Fayetteville and Rogers

From Dina Nash of the Arkansas Sierra Club:
The Arkansas Forestry Commission asked if the Sierra Club would like to do a tree give-away project: They have 50,000 extra 3-foot-tall oak trees (Willow oaks, Water oaks, Shumard oaks, and Pin oaks) and they'd like to give them away.  I said yes, and we very much need your members to volunteer some hours to help take these little trees out of the paper bundle of 100 trees, put 1 or 2 in a bag, tape the top of the bag with masking tape, and give them to people who will promise to water them once or twice a week for several months so they will get a good start.

So if you have 3 or more hours to help give away trees to help global warming, please email or call me ASAP, so I can plan who'll be there to take care of the give-away table:

    Location:  Wal-Mart on Mall Drive at Joyce Street, a block west of College.
                   Near the Garden Center
                   10 AM-4 PM  (3 hour shifts, 10-1 and 1-4, or the whole 6 hours)
                   Three people per shift, some bagging, some taping, and some
                     handing out trees and putting the planting info sheet with them

                   An easy way to green up some bare places you may know of, too.
                   Take some home to your yard, church, school, or farm!  Give some
                   to neighbors who lost a tree in a storm, etc.
There are also openings at the Rogers Wal-Mart on Walnut Street on the l9th!!
Thanks so much for making this a success: please call me at 530-8328 My cell phone is in the 479 area code so Fayetteville friends don't need to make a long-distance call to reach me in Little Rock.  Or you can email me at Dina_Nash@yahoo.com .

Thanks,
Dina Nash, Vice Pres. Central AR Sierra Club
479-530-8328 
Little Rock

If you can't reach Dina, you may call Aubrey Shepherd at 479-444-6072 for information. You need not be a Sierra Club member to participate.

Walker Park neighborhood rezoning plan available for inspection

WALKER PARK NEIGHBORHOOD PROPOSED REZONING ON DISPLAY

FAYETTEVILLE, AR - The proposed rezoning for the Walker Park Neighborhood will be on display in the Planning office from April 14 to April 22 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The rezoning proposal was developed during a charrette held in the fall of 2007 and will be heard by the Planning Commission on April 28, 2007. The display will allow property owners and stakeholders to ask questions and give informal comments to planners before the first public hearing.

Over 200 residents, business owners and other stakeholders participated in the week-long charrette in September of 2007 to create a master plan for the neighborhood roughly bounded by 15th Street, Huntsville Road, the Downtown Master Plan boundary and South School Avenue. Among the recommendations made in the plan was a proposal to change the zoning to reflect existing uses and encourage appropriate infill development. The mostly single-family residential area is currently zoned for multi-family dwellings, 24 units per acre.

The proposed zoning changes the residential areas to Neighborhood Conservation and Downtown General. Neighborhood Conservation allows single- and two-family dwellings, and Downtown General allows cultural and recreational facilities, offices, eating places, neighborhood shopping goods, home occupations and multi-family dwellings in addition to the uses allowed in Neighborhood Conservation. The intersection of South School Avenue and 15th Street, which is currently zoned as Commercial Thoroughfare, has a proposed rezoning of Main Street Center. The uses allowed in both zoning designations are similar, but Main Street Center allows for reduced setbacks and requires internalized parking, creating a more pedestrian-friendly streetscape."

CONTACT: Karen Minkel
Senior Long Range Planner
479-575-8267
kminkel@ci.fayetteville.ar.us

Farmer's market 2008 under way on redecorated square

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Tracy Hoskins and daughter enjoy first Farmer's Market of 2008 on Fayetteville square

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Join Planet Works to Advise Legislators on climate-change issues

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List of trees available free on Saturday

List of trees to be offered free on Saturday

Progress of work on square draws attention all week

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