By Anthony Childress

FAYETTEVILLE -- Mayor Dan Coody insisted Tuesday afternoon no conflict of interest exists for him to negotiate a potential $1.3 million land purchase on Mount Sequoyah.

Coody dealt with several questions posed by the City Council at its agenda-setting session and emphasized his intention is to simply negotiate with the Mount Sequoyah Assembly Board of Trustees for a possible land deal. Councilors will soon vote on a resolution to that effect.

Aldermen Robert Reynolds and Lioneld Jordan said they had received a number of calls from residents opposing a purchase and questioned Coody about the land scooting up against 30 acres he owns in that area.

"There is no conflict of interest because my land doesn't adjoin it," Coody said. "This is bigger than me. All I want is authority to negotiate. I would not try to pull a fast one (on the council)."

Kit Williams, city attorney, said he will present an amended resolution that essentially gives the mayor negotiating power, but it leaves the final decision up to the council.

"If you want to negotiate, then the resolution needs to be re-worded," Williams added.

The land at the center of the debate is 70 acres of oak, hickory and dozens of plant species on the eastside of Mount Sequoyah. The land is owned by the Mount Sequoyah Program Center at 150 N.W. Skyline. The center sits on top of the mountain, which is the tallest in Fayetteville.

At the same time, the Fayetteville Natural Heritage Association has pleaded with councilors and the Mount Sequoyah Assembly Board of Trustees to give environmentalists an opportunity to utilize the land first before it is sold. The association has also been urging residents to attend the council's Jan. 7 meeting, when the issue is expected to be addressed.

The board voted Dec. 6 to sell the 70 acres east of the United Methodist Mount Sequoyah Assembly. The program center has had the land appraised for $1.3 million. The land is part of 400 acres that was given to the United Methodist Church in 1922 in a bidding war that brought the retreat to the top of Mount Sequoyah.

Coody had urged board members to locate a buyer under the condition that greenspace would be fully protected.

As a result, the Trees and Trails Task Force decided to purchase three wooded parcels on the city's south end. Coody asked the group to use its remaining dollars in connection with city funding to make a down payment on the 70 acres.

The set of parcels lie between Razorback Road and U.S. 71, including $200,000 for 16.5 acres, 2.72 acres at $30,000, and another 2.13 acres for $64,500. The task force counts about $172,000 in its coffers after the purchase and interest is tabulated. The mayor said that money could possibly make or break any move to purchase the acreage. Alderman Bob Davis, who sits on the assembly's board of trustees, has differed, saying it was only a small portion of the total appraised value.

Davis said Tuesday he will abstain from voting on the matter.

Coody has said the city could potentially bring forward $465,000 through selling a pair of parcels it currently owns. Some 32 acres near the University of Arkansas Engineering South complex, which lies just east U.S. 71, valued at $360,000, would be included. Another 2 acres could be sold to Ozark Electric Cooperative for $105,000.

The task force is in the process of attaining conservation easements, known as undeveloped parcels of land set aside, for Fayetteville. The organization formed in April 2001 under terms of a settlement agreement connected to a lawsuit filed in May 2000 by the Sierra Club, League of Women Voters and three local residents.

The suit took aim at City Council action pertaining to the city's tree preservation ordinance. Aldermen had voted to approve the Steele Crossing Shopping Center even though it failed to meet the ordinance's required 15 percent minimum for tree canopy preservation. Under the settlement, the city eventually put $450,000 aside in tax dollars to acquire conservation easements and trail rights of way.

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