City may join NWA Regional Mobility Authority
Posted on Wednesday, July 16, 2008
GENTRY ó As a city of the first class, Gentry has been given the opportunity to join the Northwest Arkansas Regional Mobility Authority and have representation on the new government entityís board of directors.
The council will be considering the matter at its August meeting.
Mike Malone, executive director of the Northwest Arkansas Council, and Scott VanLaningham, vice president of NWA RMA, spoke to city council members July 7 to explain the reason for the new government agency and to answer the councilís questions.
VanLaningham described federal and state highway construction as ìthe perfect stormî at the July 7 meeting. ì The cost of highway construction is skyrocketing, and highway fuel consumption (which is taxed by federal and state agencies ) is down for the first time, î he said, because of the high price of fuel.
Since taxes are levied by the gallon rather than by a percentage of the price, the result is less money for federal and state agencies to build more expensive roads, VanLaningham said.
Since state and federal funding for highway construction cannot meet the ever-growing transportation needs of Northwest Arkansas, the NWA RMA was formed to help fund highway construction in Benton and Washington counties. Because highway projects are regional and cross county lines between the two counties, a regional entity was needed to obtain funding and move the projects forward, he said.
Current highway projects which the RMA hopes to move forward are the Bella Vista Bypass, which has a current $ 139 million funding shortfall; the Springdale Northern Bypass, which is estimated to cost $ 300 million but is not fully funded through 2030; improvements to Interstate 540, with identified improvement needs of $ 380 million, but not fully funded through 2030; and a western beltway, which is also not fully funded through 2030.
Possible funding sources for the highway projects include taxes, bonds and building the highways as toll roads. Voters would ultimately have the say on regional sources of funding and would determine which projects move forward.
All cities within the member counties of the RMA are eligible to hold membership in the government entity. Cities of the first class, when they join, would also become members of the board of directors, giving them voice and vote in the decisions of the RMA.
ì Bonds would rest solely on the RMA and cannot come back on member cities, î Van-Laningham said. ì Thereís no financial obligation which would come back on the city, î he told council members.
If the RMA funds regional projects, it would not mean losing state and federal funds, VanLaningham said. The funds raised for the projects would be in addition to state and federal moneys and would move the projects along more rapidly, meeting the needs of the region, he explained.
The RMA, as a government agency, has eminent domain authority and the authority to set and collect tolls. Taxing authority still rests with the counties and ultimately with the voters.
Cities may join the RMA by passage of an ordinance and are free to withdraw in the same manner.
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