My Story:
The City of Fayetteville owns a pedestrian easement right down the middle of my property. On Razorback football game days, hundreds of people walk down the easement, through my yard, to Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. At the bottom of my yard, there is a set of concrete steps that lead from my property into the parking lot located across Razorback Road from the stadium.
In 1997 I built a driveway that partially runs up and down the easement. Accordingly, I improved about 80% of the easement at my cost. The remaining 20% of the easement is nothing more than a sloped dirt trail
During the Tennessee game of the 2001 football season, we received about 4 inches of rain during the ballgame. The unimproved dirt tail easement became, as you might suspect, a muddy mess. Several people fell down in the mud as they attempted to walk up the muddy slope.
On Monday after the Tennessee game, I called Tim Conclin, the City Planning Director. He and his twin sister had walked down the easement the night of the game and Mr. Conclin experienced the muddy mess first hand. Tim agreed with me that the City should do "something" to improve the remaining portion of the easement. Of course, the Mayor's office would have to approve the spending of money.
Instead of fixing the mud hole, the Mayor's office decided to simply call the University of Arkansas and ask them to fix it.
In a follow up phone conversation with Mr. Leo Yonda, head of U of A's physical plant operations, Mr. Yonda informed me that if the University did anything, they would probably bulldoze the concrete steps thereby unilaterally closing this well used public easement altogether.
In my opinion, the City is the responsible party. They are the ones that keep the easement open. Thus, they should be responsible for maintaining the easement in a safe and usable manner.
I was concerned that the City or the University might close the easement so I erected two small signs on the trail asking Razorback fans and others who use the easement to call the mayor's office and the University and let the officials know their opinions on closing the easement. These signs were very low key and not at all threatening or harsh.
Mayor Dan Coody and his wife were walking through my yard during the last game of the season. Mayor Coody was not pleased with the content of my signs and told me that I should "take down those f--king signs". He made this comment in front of his wife and myself. Because one was not enough.
I was a little taken back by the comment and I responded by telling the Mayor that I would "think about it". The mayor then told me that I would need his help one day and he would "think about" that too! I think that the mayor was attempting to threaten me with political or other forms of intimidation.
The language the Mayor used that day, was far beneath the dignity of the mayor's office. I want our city's leader to be someone my children can look up to and emulate. I don't think that Dan Coody is that person.