Council OKs Indian Mall measure
Jonesboro Sun
KEITH INMAN
8/24/2007
JONESBORO — Despite concerns raised by the city attorney’s office, the Jonesboro City Council voted 11-0 to approve a resolution Thursday that guarantees that city government won’t put obstacles in the way of redevelopment of the old Indian Mall property.
MBC Holdings Worldwide LLC wanted the resolution approved before closing on the purchase of the 32-acre site on Caraway Road between Highland Drive and Wilkins Avenue.
MBC owners Bruce Burrow and Marty Belz announced Aug. 6 they had entered into a contract to buy the mall property from the Warmack family but said the deal was contingent upon a guarantee from the city that it won’t hold up necessary permits.
Burrow complained in July about Mayor Doug Formon’s handling of drainage improvements to Turtle Creek as part of development of The MALL AT TURTLE CREEK.
He was particularly concerned with the lack of notification to neighboring property owners who may no longer need to purchase flood insurance.
Burrow also alleged that his company was “blackmailed by the city into doing a drainage project behind Kohl’s” that wasn’t necessary, not only costing more money but jeopardizing the deal with the retailer.
Assistant City Attorney Carol Duncan cautioned that some provisions appeared to circumvent the normal regulatory process. She was particularly concerned about the potential of bypassing the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission on some issues.
But Alderman Charles Frierson, also a lawyer, said MBC’s statement that the project will comply with existing laws addresses those concerns.
“You all know what he’s getting at,” Frierson said of Burrow’s proposed resolution. “He doesn’t want to run into what he encountered with Kohl’s.”
The resolution calls for the city’s support in allowing the developer to form a Municipal Special Improvement District, assurance that developers won’t be forced to mitigate stormwater drainage issues caused by surrounding development and the assurance that all necessary permits will be granted as long as the developers comply with laws that are now in effect.
The resolution also specifies that MBC is asking for no financial assistance from the city.
Kelly Panneck, the city’s chief engineer, said the preliminary sketch of MBC’s plans for the site indicate that redevelopment will actually improve drainage in the area. He said Burrow was concerned about a provision in the Stormwater Drainage Design Manual and Floodplain Compliance Guidelines that were adopted in 2004.
Because of the limited amount of space on the property, Panneck said the development will store stormwater in depressions in the parking lot, rather than with traditional detention ponds. Also, the redevelopment will add about 3 acres of green space, which also would reduce the amount of stormwater runoff, Panneck said. The mall redevelopment may even reduce stormwater flows on Whiteman’s Creek downstream from the mall.
MBC doesn’t want to be made responsible for correcting drainage problems created by the development of 138 acres upstream along the creek that occurred since construction of the mall began in 1966, Panneck said.
John Street, chairman of the council’s Public Works Committee, said the council had already committed itself to mitigating the drainage problem along Wilkins. It had been postponed until city officials could learn what was going to happen to the mostly deserted Indian Mall.
Formon said he was confident MBC Holdings will develop a high-quality project, and he said redevelopment is an urgent need.
“We’re already starting to see the area going down a little bit,” Formon said, noting that some grafitti has been spotted on the property, and there has been some problems in neighboring commercial locations. “We’d love to see it become ... a focal point again.”
Specifically what stores will be locating in the redevelopment area hasn’t been disclosed. And none of the developers was present for the meeting.
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