CALLING ALL Cave Springs Residents to SIGN this Petition!

PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A PETITION ONLY! PLEASE SAY NO THANKS IF ASKED TO DONATE - IF THERE IS NO OPTION TO SAY NO THANKS, THEN JUST CLOSE THE WINDOW!

The cities of Cave Springs and Rogers have approved ordinances to start the process of swapping land. Both cities are expected to hold public hearings in May followed by a final vote at their regularly scheduled Council Meeting in May. If approved, Cave Springs will detach land near Mt. Hebron Park that will immediately be annexed into Rogers. Rogers will simultaneously detach land west of Hwy 112 (which includes the Scissortail subdivision) that will immediately be annexed into Cave Springs. A majority of the property owners from both cities are opposing this swap.

We, the undersigned residents, strongly oppose the land swap and are advocating for a NO vote on the ordinance calling for the simultaneous detachment of land located in Cave Springs, Arkansas and annexation of land located in Rogers, Arkansas for the following reasons:

1. The lack of transparency is ALARMING.

Affected property owners never received notification that their property was included in the ordinance. Many learned of it through a local news story. Approving this land swap will set a dangerous precedent in which cities and developers can do as they please with private property.

2. This is NOT the typical annexation process.

The ordinance gives the City Council members the power to decide what will happen to the properties. The owners do NOT get to vote. This is fundamentally WRONG. A property owner's right to vote on something that directly involves his/her property SHOULD NOT be given to someone else.

3. The cost incurred from this swap will be significant.

Cave Springs will be required to provide water/sewer services to the annexed Scissortail subdivision within 5-7 years. In order to do this, Cave Springs will have to extend its utility infrastructure to make the connection.

As briefed at the April Cave Springs City Council Meeting, the estimated cost could be 11-12 million dollars (assuming everything goes as planned). However, Cave Springs does not have the available funds so they will need to finance the bill. Based on estimated loan terms that were also briefed at the meeting, the total cost of the loan could be closer to 30 million dollars.

Please realize that Scissortail ALREADY has utility services. If approved, Cave Springs taxpayers will be paying to provide service to an area that is not in need of services. Furthermore, if Cave Springs cannot make the connection within the required timeline, there is a lack of clarity of future imposed costs to the City and/or the actual property owners within Scissortail.

4. Cave Springs’ current financial obligations and losses are significant.

Below are just a few examples to highlight the current financial situation.

a. Cave Springs is currently renovating its Community Center and the project is running over budget. It is now estimated to cost $1,000,000 and the project is still in its early stages.

b. Cave Springs needs to purchase a Ladder Fire Truck. The estimated cost is $1,700,000. But again, the City needs to secure financing to pay this bill. The actual total cost is still unknown as the City has not yet secured financing.

c. The Cave Springs water system is CURRENTLY LOSING significant amounts of water due to leaks (approx. 65% water loss). It was briefed at the April Council meeting that this is roughly costing $50,000-$60,000 per month. This is not a new problem. The city has been struggling with water loss for years. Yet the proposal is to install more water lines, taking time and resources away from fixing problems current residents have.

5. The proposed annexed land is NOT aligned with the City’s Vision Plan. In fact, it is in complete contradiction.

With this swap, Cave Springs will be giving up two commercial properties and other prime real estate located near Mt. Hebron Park. Cave Springs does not need more subdivisions, it MUST diversify its economic base to survive.

The Cave Springs’ Vision Plan outlines 3 goals with very specific objectives in order to achieve the desired vision of the city. Furthermore, the plan states all 3 goals “emphasize the importance of maintaining the quality of a community over simply increasing the municipal population.”

Goal 1: “Preserve the small town feel of Cave Springs while leveraging and integrating its historic core and natural resources into the future fabric of development.”

Goal 2: “Focus on creating complete streets (complete streets include infrastructure for vehicles, bikes, pedestrians, public transit, and other), walkability, appropriate connections, and physical infrastructure (infrastructure constitutes a large number of items from streets and sidewalks, to water and sewer utilities) for existing and future development needs. Connect existing and identify new potential green spaces, recreational areas, water bodies and other natural resources to act as a network within the City as it grows and develops.”

Goal 3: “Utilizing both current and future development patterns, plan for the growth of a diversified economic base of residential, commercial, office, restaurant, and retail business development in Cave Springs.”

It is imperative that the community voice its opposition to this proposal through this petition and your support is greatly appreciated.

CALLING ALL Cave Springs Residents to be present at the following:

May 14th – Cave Springs City Council Work Session

May 21st – Cave Springs Public Hearing

May 28th – Cave Springs City Council Meeting

***lack of public input is often viewed as concurrence***

Important Information

Cave Springs City Council Members’ contact information can be found here:

https://www.cavespringsar.gov/city-council

Cave Springs City Council Meeting held on 4/23/24 in which public comments were made regarding the land swap

https://youtu.be/YEbOUEmet6w?si=NxId3awhLT2JSCTD