Ozark extends redevelopment proposal deadline

Developers did not submit a single proposal for the area, called the Finley River Neighborhood Redevelopment District, to Ozark City Hall by the April 29 deadline, causing city officials and the LCRA board to reassess the project timeline. The board decided May 12 to extend the project’s deadlines.

“We’re asking for a letter of intent to submit a proposal by May 31,” said Steve Childers, Ozark’s city planner. Official proposals are due by 5 p.m. July 11, and presentations will begin at 5:30 July 14 at Ozark City Hall.

“We had quite a few interested parties, but they pulled back when that problem occurred and the moratorium went in on building,” said Bobbi Wixson, LCRA chairperson.

A moratorium was placed on issuing new building permits April 6 in Ozark after residents voted against an $1,800 sewer impact fee. The moratorium was lifted May 2 when Ozark’s Board of Aldermen established a $1,500 sewer connection fee for new construction.

“I think (developers) wanted to see how that resolved itself before they committed, and it just so happened that the dates coincided,” Wixson said.

Developers, Childers said, couldn’t move forward until the sewer issue was resolved. “They didn’t know if they were going to get any sewer. You can’t go into a big project like this … if you can’t be guaranteed the infrastructure’s going to be there to be utilized,” he said.

If the next deadline passes without any proposals, Ozark officials will have to re-evaluate their plans.

“If nobody’s interested in the next go around, we’ll bring it in-house and do it ourselves,” Childers said. “We started talking to some professional designers and architects that would do this. I’m sure a master plan could cost anywhere from $5,000 to $25,000, so we haven’t really budgeted any money for that because, honestly, we want to see what we’re going to get from the developers first.”