After sitting empty for the past few years, the old post office building in downtown Siloam Springs is set to host a new tenant in coming months.
Members of the Siloam Springs Board of Directors voted 5-1 to approve a resolution that will lease the old post office building to Phat Tire, a Bentonville-based bicycle shop.
The resolution prompted several comments from the public, both for and against the proposal.
Tim Robinson, one of the founders of Phat Tire, spoke first, explaining some of the values of the business and the way it plans on being involved in Siloam Springs' community. Phat Tire would help support biking among the city's youth, in addition to investing in the old post office, which is currently under some renovation to modernize some mechanical components.
Ben Jones, owner of Dogwood Junction, a bike shop in Siloam Springs, spoke next. Jones said he wasn't opposed to Phat Tire moving into the market because he appreciated competition. But Jones was concerned with the lease rate proposed by the city, which is four percent of expected sales, or $866 per month for the first year.
"I think that the lease rate puts an unfair competitive advantage to Phat Tire to get into a place where I have clawed my way to where I am," Jones said.
Terry Devor, a downtown building owner, said the lease rate should be four times the proposed rate to be fair to other landlords and expressed concern at the city's plan to get into real estate.
Rick and Caroline Robinson, owners of Cafe on Broadway, stood to voice their support of the project. The lower price of the rent reflects the risk Phat Tire is taking by renting an older building in a new market, Rick said.
Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Wayne Mays said he had been surveying business owners, primarily along Broadway Street to gauge their response to the proposed resolution. Most of those he interviewed agreed that adding business along Broadway would be beneficial to downtown, he said, and that while there may be other options for the building, the proposal seemed to be a good fit. Phat Tire was the only business to express real interest in the building in the last six years it has stood vacant, Mays said.
Director Lucas Roebuck followed the public comments by making a case against the proposal. Roebuck said his problem with the resolution wasn't that he was against Phat Tire, but that he disagreed with a few aspects of the agreement. First, Roebuck said he was concerned with the unpopularity of the proposed rent rate for the company.
Roebuck said he had spoken with a few developers who said they could make an offer on the building. Given more time, he said, the city might be able to find a better answer that wouldn't take the city into the real estate business, which most of the assembled directors agreed wasn't the city's job.
"This is something I think we need to spend a little more space and time on," Roebuck said.
Director Steve Beers said one aspect of the proposal that made him feel more comfortable with a "yes" vote was that the agreement had a 30-month term and wasn't permanent. Beers said the amount of rent reflected the unique situation of the post office building. In the long term, Beers said, the city should stay out of the rentals business. But as a solution to a problem 19 years in the making, Beers said he supported the resolution.
"It's a unique situation," Beers said. "And to apply a general rule to a unique situation maybe isn't always a good idea."
As for the timing, Beers said the city had followed appropriate protocol by sending out a Request for Proposal, and Phat Tire had been the only company to send an official response.
"I just don't know what two weeks is going to do," Beers said.
Director Carol Smiley said she agreed, and that the rent reflected the amount any tenant of the building will have to spend to make it a good place to do business. Smiley said she wanted to see a vote that night, and opposed delaying a decision because she said interested developers had had plenty of time to make proposals to the city.
Director Amy Smith said she was more undecided on the issue. On one hand, Smith said she thought the numbers didn't add up for the city, but everyone who has contacted her about the issue was highly supportive of the resolution.
"What will allow me to sleep at night is that there has been time for others to come forward with ideas, and none have done so, until recently," Smith said.
Smith said the term of the lease would allow time for potential buyers to come up with proposals and approach the city at the end of the 30-month lease, prepared to purchase the building.
Director Coleman said he thought the proposal was a good chance for the city to rescue a historic building that had been left to disrepair.
"I'm pleased to hear that my fellow constituents on the board do not want to get into the real estate business," Coleman said.
"I think we have an opportunity to not only restore the building that has been on the derelict rolls for a long time, but to get a business that will encourage participation from other areas... of Northwest Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma," Coleman said.
Coleman also said he thought developers had had more than enough time to approach the city with proposals.
"They've had 19 years, six for sure," Coleman said.
Roebuck countered that sending out a Request for Proposal was insufficient because the request was specifically for a lease, and not for a developer to purchase the building, and at the time developers didn't know how low the rent rate could be. Given a month, Roebuck said a developer could choose to buy the building at market value, relieving the city of the need to rent it.
"Are we in such a hurry that we don't want to give it two weeks?" Roebuck asked.
Smiley said she still believed developers had had enough time to express interest in the building, and motioned for a call to end debate and vote on the resolution. The motion failed, but Coleman made a motion for approval about a minute later, which did go to vote. The measure passed 5-1, with Roebuck voting against and Director Brad Burns absent.
The board also:
• Approved an amended surplus declaration list of items to go to auction.
• Approved a construction contract that will replace landing lights and erect fencing at Cecil Smith Field.
• Approved and adopted an ordinance amending city code as it relates to the Planning and Zoning Commission. The ordinance was placed on its first reading during the May 16 meeting.
• Placed on its first reading an ordinance rezoning 2277 Dawn Hill Road from A-1 (agricultural) to R-2 (residential).
• Placed on its first reading an ordinance assigning a ward and a zoning designation to the Kayak Park and City Lake properties.
• Heard an overview on options before the city directors on medical marijuana. City Administrator Phillip Patterson received direction from the board to bring an agenda item that would establish a moratorium on medical marijuana facilities in city limits until the rules concerning such facilities are decided on a state level.
General News on 06/11/2017