PRAIRIE GROVE -- Prairie Grove City Council voted 6-2 on March 25 to purchase about one-half of the parking lot behind the downtown businesses for $72,000 from Larry Nelson, owner of Southern Mercantile.
Council members Brea Gragg and Sue Cluck voted against the motion to purchase the property with Gragg saying she believes the city has other needs it should meet first and Cluck saying she wants to see how much the bids will come in for the police department expansion.
"I don't want it to be a rash decision," said Cluck, who is married to Sgt. Mark Cluck with Prairie Grove Police Department.
The city will advertise for bids for the police expansion in about two weeks. The city is planning a full remodel of the police department and adding about 2,800 square feet. The budget for the project is $1.2 million.
Gragg said she has heard from people on both sides of the issue. That money could be used for a soccer field, restrooms, other recreational improvements, she said.
"I feel there are a whole lot of things that need to be done for the city," said Gragg, adding it was not a personal decision but that she felt convicted the money should go to other improvements.
Larry Oelrich, city administrative assistant, recommended the city use money from its sales and use tax fund to purchase the land, which includes about 50 parking spaces, a storage building and some green space.
The sales tax fund presently has a balance of $345,000 and is taking in about $45,000 per month, according to Oelrich.
For 2024, the city budgeted to use revenue from the sales tax to make payments on a loan for the police expansion for 12 months. The city will not start making payments on a loan until June so it will only be making loan payments for about six months in 2024, Oelrich said.
Mayor David Faulk added that using this money would not affect the police department expansion, even if bids came in $100,000 over the budget.
"It will have zero impact on the police expansion," Faulk said.
The City Council last month voted to authorize Faulk and Oelrich to try to negotiate a purchase price with Nelson, with a starting offer of $50,000.
Nelson previously told city officials the parking area appraised at $88,000 but he was asking $72,000, enough to pay for a new roof on his building and to pay off his building. Nelson gave the city the first option on purchasing the land.
One concern expressed last month was that if the city did not buy the parking lot, Nelson could sell it to someone who would build on it, with the result that the downtown businesses would lose those parking spaces.
Faulk said he and Oelrich had a "pleasant conversation" with Nelson about a purchase price, but Nelson continued to ask for $72,000.
Faulk told council members he looked downtown at the possibility of adding 50 spaces somewhere else and that could cost $120,000-$150,000 and the city would lose green space at the same time. It would cost the city about $20,000 to build a similar storage building that comes with the property, he said.
Council member Chris Powell made the motion to pay $72,000 for the property. He noted he was opposed to the idea at first but after talking to downtown business owners and other citizens and being assured it would not affect the police expansion, he thought it would be a "wise decision" for the city to buy the land.
Council member Rick Ault, who is director of Main Street Prairie Grove, shared a vote by the Main Street Board of Directors to recommend the city acquire the parking lot. The board extended its appreciation to Nelson for initially offering the lot to the city.
Ault said he also supported buying the parking lot, adding, "It's an amazing opportunity for the city."
Downtown business owners addressed the council before it voted on the motion. Damon Whetzel with Crescent Store noted there are 11 businesses on the south side of downtown, and businesses right now are being impacted by construction work on Buchanan. Losing 50 parking spaces would further affect those businesses, he said.
"As business owners, we feel it's a must," Whetzel said. "The city needs to do it."
Kay Shreve, owner of The Locals, a member of 2nd Saturday Trades Day and auxiliary member of American Legion Post 146, said losing 50 parking spaces would be "detrimental" to the downtown area.
Shreve reminded council members that some businesses had donated their portion of the parking lot to the city in years past.
The city already owns the other half of the parking lot, except for about eight spaces that belong to Daisies and Olives.