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Fayetteville To Use $2.1 Million In Reserves On Downtown Parking Deck

FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) – The City of Fayetteville will take $2.1 million out of its reserve funds to help pay for the planned downtown parking deck, whose cost has...

FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) – The City of Fayetteville will take $2.1 million out of its reserve funds to help pay for the planned downtown parking deck, whose cost has risen to $12.2 million.

"We need the deck," said Martin Schoppmeyer, a city council member. "It is hard to park [in downtown Fayetteville.] So, when we have the deck, there is going to be a lot more opportunity for people to come, and feel assured that they have a place to park."

The Fayetteville City Council on Tuesday night approved of dipping into reserves to cover the cost shortfall by a vote of 7 to 1.

Alderman Justin Tennant was the lone vote against the measure.

Tennant said he was in favor of the parking deck, but wanted to keep the reserve funds intact for any potential future emergencies.

Mayor Lioneld Jordan said the downtown area needs the 245-space parking deck to allow businesses to thrive.

“If you don’t get that deck, the downtown area will die,” he told the council members. "This is not the staff's fault, it is not the citizens fault, it is my fault. I take responsibility."

A memo released last week by the city’s development services director states a recent estimate pegged the project’s deficit at $5.3 million. That brings the total cost of the project to a proposed $12.2 million, more than 77 percent higher than the Spring Street Municipal Parking Deck’s original estimated cost of $6.8 million.

The city will now cover some of the rising costs with the $2.1 million in reserve money.

The parking deck memo suggested several options to lower the project’s expenditures, including saving more than $1 million by having the main contract team manage the concrete work themselves instead of paying for a “turn-key” contractor. Development services director Jeremy Pate also suggested the city re-bid several aspects of the project because several packages either came in over budget or were never bid on.

Even with the savings, though, the project would still be left with a $3.6 million funding gap. That gap is set to be filled by city reserve money and $1.5 million from funds “received from the Walton Arts Center Governance amendments,” the memo states.

City officials began pushing the parking deck plans in 2012 to help alleviate parking problems near Fayetteville’s entertainment district. The deck is slated to be built near the intersection of Spring Street and School Avenue.

The project was initially set for a groundbreaking ceremony last month, but officials canceled the event to focus on how to deal with the parking deck’s costs. The parking deck is expected to be completed about a year after construction begins on the project.

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