Black Heritage Preservation Committee — Fayetteville, AR
Date: 2026-06-18
Time: 18:30

113 W Mountain St
 Fayetteville, AR 72701

 Black Heritage Preservation Committee Agenda
 City Hall Meeting Room 101 / Virtual Meeting via Zoom
 Thursday, June 18, 2026
 6:30 PM


 Members
 City Council Member Min. Monique Jones
Rep. Familiar w/ Historical Black Church - Lois Bryant (Exp: 12/27) - Chair
 Braziel Hatch (Exp: 12/27)
 Janet Allured (Exp: 12/26)
 Shawn Walker (Exp: 12/26)
 Neikeita Mitchell (Exp: 12/28)
 Wendell Huggins (Exp: 12/28) - Vice Chair

 City Staff
 Long Range and Historic Preservation Planner Kylee Cole
 Long Range Planning and Special Projects Manager Britin Bostick
Black Heritage Preservation Committee June 18, 2026




Zoom Information

 Webinar ID: 872 7618 4412
 Registration Link: https://fayetteville-ar.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ukuNVz-
 pSg-KoV6lr6FZNA

Call to Order

Roll Call

Minutes
 Approval of the April 16 and May 21 Meeting Minutes.


Unfinished Business

 Henderson School Historic Marker

 Proposed Fayetteville Black Local Historic District Update

 Proposed South Fayetteville Local Historic District Update

New Business

Announcements

Adjournment




City of Fayetteville, Arkansas Page 2

Meeting of the Black Heritage Preservation Commission
 April 16, 2026 6:30 PM
 City Hall Room 101 & Zoom


NOTE: The April 16, 2026 Black Heritage Preservation Commission meeting was held in
person and online via Zoom.

Members: Minister Monique Jones, Chair Lois Bryant, Shawn Walker, Janet Allured, Braziel
Hatch, and Neikeita Mitchell

City Staff: Kylee Cole – Long Range & Preservation Planner, Britin Bostick - Long Range
Planning & Special Projects Manager
  ,
Call to Order: 6:31pm

In Attendance: Lois Bryant, Wendell Huggins, Shawn Walker, Braziel Hatch, Janet Allured,
Neikeita Mitchell, Kylee Cole, and Britin Bostick.

Approval of Minutes from the January 15, 2026, February 19, 2026, and March 19, 2026
Meetings: Motion to accept by Commissioner Hatch, second my Commissioner Mitchell.
Approved unanimously by voice vote.

Unfinished Business
Henderson School Historic Marker Update: Bostick recapped the prior discussions and
showed pricing for the cast bronze and stainless steel options. Commissioners discussed the
merits of the marker standing out versus blending into the surroundings. Commissioner Mitchell
recommended QR code stickers to link to web pages that provide more information that did not
fit on the marker itself. Commissioner Allured expressed a preference for the larger size. Bostick
realized there may still be an edit need for clarity on the text and will send the text out via email.
Wording and size to be decided at the May meeting, and Chair Bryant asked Commissioners to
let staff know if they will miss the meeting and want to share their preference for consideration.

Southeast Fayetteville Local Historic District Proposal: Cole summarized the purpose of a
local historic district and the intent of the petition for this district. She also noted the differences
between a National Register Historic District (honorary) and a local historic district (regulations).
A petition to create this district was submitted to the City Clerk Treasurer’s office and Cole has
reviewed the petition and drafted a report for the Historic District Commission. While the state
law establishing the path to create a district does not include the BHPC, staff is still consulting
with the commission as this proposed district goes through the process and the Commission is
requested to make comments for the Historic District Commission’s consideration.

Cole presented a series of slides with information about the petition signatures, the boundaries
proposed by the district, the intent to establish a district that focused on the history of Black
ownership, and for which properties Cole has been able to find information confirming Black
ownership. She noted an area that she was not able to find or confirm a history of Black
ownership, and that rental property may not have public records or records she could access
that would confirm Black residency. She additionally noted currently and historically vacant
properties within the proposed boundaries.

Following her research, Cole is providing a preliminary recommendation to amend the petition
boundary so that the district would focus on remaining historic structures that were and, in many
cases, still are in Black ownership. As the purpose of a historic district is to protect existing
historic buildings, Cole’s report and recommendation propose to focus the district boundaries on
those buildings still existing and consider a second, related but separate district, that would not
be focused on the historic working class neighborhood that also extends to the west of the
proposed district and is south of the Downtown area. This proposal from Cole comes in part
from the recommendations of the Historic Context Statement for the Historic Black Community
of Southeast Fayetteville and Phase 1 of the Citywide Historic Resource Survey, which has just
been completed for the southeast quarter of the city.

Cole shared with the Commission additional steps to the creation of the local historic district
which would formally recognize the neighborhood history, create policies for place names that
remove names that were established without consulting the neighborhood (i.e. “Spout Spring”)
and that give consideration to neighborhood name preferences.

Commissioner Hatch inquired about developing an economic development plan. Cole replied
that staff has not received that request yet but staff can ask what that process would look like
and who would be responsible for bringing that forward. Bostick elaborated on the expected
stabilizing effects of a local historic district on a rapidly changing neighborhood, but also that this
is a new process for Fayetteville so there is not yet a precedent to observe. Due to the rigid
process and framework prescribed by the state for the creation of local historic districts there is
not at this time much opportunity to include economic development planning or factors, but staff
is ready to continue to work with the neighborhood on other needs outside of the requested
historic district.
Announcements:
  • Bostick announced events for the Downtown Plan starting May 2 at the Farmer’s Market
 in the morning and at Fayetteville Public Library in the afternoon.
  • Commissioner Allured thanked the Commission for the Theressa Hoover marker and
 unveiling event, which well and was well received. Archival documents have been
 provided to the State Archives and other archives.

Adjournment: The meeting ended at 7:31pm.




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 Meeting of the Black Heritage Preservation Commission
 May 21, 2026 6:30 PM
 City Hall Room 101 & Zoom


NOTE: The May 21, 2026 Black Heritage Preservation Commission meeting was held in
person and online via Zoom.

Members: Minister Monique Jones, Chair Lois Bryant, Shawn Walker, Janet Allured, and
Neikeita Mitchell

City Staff: Kylee Cole – Long Range & Preservation Planner, Britin Bostick - Long Range
Planning & Special Projects Manager, Kaci Black – Communications & Outreach Specialist
  ,
Call to Order: 6:30pm

In Attendance: Lois Bryant, Wendell Huggins, Janet Allured, Kylee Cole, Kaci Black, and Britin
Bostick.

Approval of Minutes from the April 16, 2026 Meeting: Item held until the next meeting due to
lack of quorum.

Unfinished Business
Henderson School Historic Marker Update: Updated text for the marker provided to the
Commission for review. Commissioner Allured requested that the last sentence be reworded to
avoid redundancy. Chair Bryant requested a change to “higher education” in the middle of the
marker. Cole made edits to that section and will forward that to Ms. Bostick. Updated mock ups
will be available at the next meeting.

Proposed Fayetteville Black Local Historic District: Cole noted that public notification for this
proposal has been completed. Cole presented a series of slides with information about the
petition signatures, the boundaries proposed by the district, the intent to establish a district that
focused on the history of Black ownership, and for which properties Cole has been able to find
information confirming Black ownership. She noted that the only records we have available are
ownership records, but that Black renters may have occupied other homes in the area. She also
shared the different building forms and ages in the neighborhood. Cole noted that while there is
not a state law requirement for the BHPC to comment, that it was appropriate for the
Commission to comment. Chair Bryant asked to see staff’s draft letter of support for the
Commission to review and discuss. Commissioners expressed interest in sending a letter of
support to the HDC. Discussion followed about the boundary, the City’s role in responding to the
petition boundary, and that the district could be added to in the future. Cole suggested adding
language to the letter speaking to the proposed boundary not being the limits of the historic
Black community. Cole reviewed the letter components and showed the letter on the screen to
the Commissioners. Commissioners were in agreement that the letter was appropriate. Staff will
provide Chair Bryant with an updated version of the letter for her final approval and signature.

Proposed South Fayetteville Local Historic District: Cole presented a series of slides with
information about the district historic significance and the boundaries proposed by the district.
She also shared the different building forms and ages in the neighborhood. Cole noted that it
was appropriate for the Commission to comment on this proposal as well. The draft letter was
reviewed with the Commission and Commissioners expressed interest in sending a letter of
support to the HDC. Staff will provide Chair Bryant with an updated version of the letter for her
final approval and signature.

New Business
None.
Announcements:
 • There are currently two vacancies on the Commission. Applications are on the Boards &
 Commissions webpage and are open for a set period of time. Staff will forward the
 application announcement to Commissioners so they can share with anyone who is
 interested.
 • Downtown Plan Update: Kaci Black reviewed the Downtown Plan process so far,
 including the recent focus group meetings and outreach at the Farmer’s Market. The
 consultants will be back June 24-25th for additional outreach with the community – the
 locations and times will be announced when they are available.
Adjournment: The meeting ended at 7:11 pm.




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