Tuesday night, at the second regular September meeting, the City of Hope Board of Directors viewed the marketing video it had commissioned from SWARK.Today to promote approval of the three ballot items for the Hope for the Future capital improvement campaign and heard about other aspects of the plan to inform city residents about what will be seen on the November 5th ballot.
The meeting can be viewed in its entirety just below the photos that accompany this story.
Assistant City Director Daniel Shelman, as he has done for the past three meetings, was updating the board on the effort to inform citizens of Hope about their chance to approve the building of a new fire department headquarters, a recreation and aquatic center and major improvements to Fair and Northside Parks. These would be funded by a one-cent sales tax.
“Today's National Voter Registration Day. We're seven weeks out from the Hope for the Future vote November 5,” Shelman said. “Early voting is five weeks out and starts. October 21st.”
Shelman showed the video on the projection screen to the right of the city board’s meeting table. In nearly nine minutes, it provides specifics on what the three ballot items do, shows the on-camera comments of several Hope residents of all ages explaining at various Hope settings why they support the plan and then calling on viewers to cast their votes in favor of all three items with the slogan “Vote Yes Times Three; Be the Change You Want to See.”
He also showed the one-minute version that would be used in features like Facebook reels and Tiktok.
Shelman said the ads for the measures that will be running on various web pages will link to voter registration sites. He also urged those who have not voted in the past two elections to check their voter registration status before the registration deadline of October 7th passes.
The website devoted to the Hope for the Future campaign features a link to the ballot language used in the three items. The first, called Issue 4, approves with a majority yes vote a 1/8 cent sales tax to maintain parks and recreation facilities. The second, called Isssue 5, approves with a majority yes vote the sale of bonds to finance a new fire department headquarters. The third, issue 6, approves with a majority yes vote a 7/8 cent tax for the building of a recreation and aquatics center with both indoor and outdoor pool.
A Frequently Asked Questions page, Shelman said, is also available. He said it is a living document in that it will answer other questions in the future as they arise in the course of the campaign. There are also pictures on the Hope for the Future website of what the new fire station and recreation aquatic center will look like.
Large banners promoting the ballot measures will be placed at various sites around Hope. These were shown to the board during the meeting. There are also display boards in the hallway of City Hall where citizens can get a close-up view of the various improvements planned.
A series of public meetings have been scheduled, too, Shelman said. Presentations will be made at at Fair Park’s Community Center on the evening of October 3rd and at Northside Park’s Washington-Douglas Community Center on the evening of October 10th. The Rotary Club will hear a presentation at their Friday meeting. Hope Lions Club will be paid a visit October 21st and appearances at the other civic clubs are to be announced.
Postcards promoting first voter registration and then the measures themselves will be mailed in two installments to Hope residents. City Director Mark Ross asked about literature to bring while door-to-door canvassing. Shelman said this could be provided.
Mayor Still said an important point to make in promoting the plan is that the 7/8 sales tax will expire once the buildings are paid off. City Manager J.R. Wilson said this may take between 17 and 22 years but it’s possible with favorable economic conditions that the buildings could be paid off sooner.
“We may want to print that out on there,” Still said. Shelman said, “We’ll do that.”
Ross said both Issue 4, the 1/8 cent tax, and Issue 6 must pass by majority vote to assure the recreation and aquatics center and parks improvements are built and funds are provided so it can be maintained. After the meeting, Shelman clarified that if a voter wants to approve the building of the new fire department, but not the recreation aquatic center and parks improvements, a majority approval of Issue 5 and not the other ballot measures would build the fire department only.
Ross also urged the other directors to share the videos with their constituents on their social media accounts.
Just before the meeting, city directors and staff members were permitted a look at the newly purchased ladder truck the city has acquired. The ladder was extended over the roof of the two-story City Hall and one firefighter made climbing the ladder look easy.
In other business, the board approved the bid of 2L Enterprises of Foreman, Arkansas to build a new, large hangar at Hope Municipal Airport for $285,950. Thanks to a 90/10 grant from the Arkansas Division of Aeronautics, the cost for the city will be $32,045 with an in-kind share of $5,000.
Bonnie Raff, of the Daughters of the American Revolution spoke on the importance of September 17th in American history as the anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. The board voted in favor of the proclamation of September 17-23 as Constitution Week. The proclamation was read by City Attorney Randal Wright.
The board also approved the acceptance of a STOP grant from the federal government that the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration distributes to approved applicants that will provide Hope with $26,683 to fund 50 percent of the salary of a detective who investigates domestic violence cases. Twenty-eight percent of an in-kind match is required, bringing the total project cost to $37,643.
In the City Manager’s report, J.R. Wilson discussed future plans he will be bringing to the board for discussion and decisions over the next five to ten years. These include matters involving health care management—since Hope and Hempstead County hold the real estate for Hope’s hospital—energy conservation, especially the conversion to all LED lighting, affordable housing, which Wilson said is a great need in the area, annexation, economic development and attention to city infrastructure.
Vice mayor Kiffinea Talley suggested, because of her experience on the Planning and Zoning Commission, that an updating of the city building code will be needed to “add teeth” to prevent nonobservance of regulations. City Attorney Randal Wright said that compared with other towns, Hope is not overrestrictive in its building and land development code.
Wilson noted that the appearance of a sign at the turnoff to the Industrial Park has been attended to by city employees who mowed around it and cleaned it.
Wilson requested and received from the board approval to sign a lease with Dana Suttles for the use of city land as a parking and storage area for $1,500 a year, rising five percent each year after five.
The derailment this past Saturday that occurred on a city-owned rail span will finally cost around $20,000 to remove the cars. Wilson said it was caused by the breakage of a part that switches the train to a different track so that the wheels of the cars diverged in ways leading to the derailment.
In Citizens Comments, Marsha White praised J.R. Wilson for his “energy” in pushing for plans to improve quality of life for citizens. She also said she was especially pleased with his intent to focus on affordable housing.
The meeting, lasting just over an hour after a ten-minute delay to allow for the viewing of the new ladder truck, adjourned at about 8:10 p.m.
Below photos by Mark Ross (first three) and Jeff Smithpeters (last one).
