Benton city leaders and officials celebrated what is being touted as “the largest single land acquisition in the city’s history,” gathering on a chilly Tuesday morning on the first parcel of the purchase, 101 acres just off Interstate 30.
In total, the city will be purchasing 511 acres of undeveloped land along the Saline River from the Thomas family of Benton for $7.6 million.
Gary James, the president of the Benton Area Chamber of Commerce introduced Mayor Tom Farmer, who James credited for being the leader in creating this opportunity for the city.
“The person that’s really made this whole thing happen is the mayor of Benton,” said James.
Farmer said it took a lot of people working together to get to this point.
“It took the people behind me, the council, the commissioners, it took the vision of our parks and it took some work from McClelland Engineers,” Farmer said.
Farmer said actions like this one are about improving the quality of life for the current generations and future generations of residents in the city.
“That’s what the 2040 vision was all about, is planning a quality of life for the people 40 to 50 years from now,” said Farmer.
Farmer pointed out that all ten payments for the 511 acres of land will be done in cash.
“We don’t want to put our citizens in debt,” he said.
The land is being bought from siblings Jessie Mitchell and Jim Thomas of Benton in 10 tracts, with the first payment of $904,000 being made Tuesday. Thereafter, the contracts will be signed and the payments made on the first business day of each year, starting in 2024.
Matt Thibault, marketing official for the city, said Friday the payments will be $904,000 a year for five years, then $615,000 a year for the remaining five years.
Farmer said in May of 2021, the city council passed an ordinance to allow the A&P commission to continue its role through 2041. The city then formed a focus group with two citizens from each of the five wards in the city.
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