GRAVETTE — At its December meeting Thursday night, the Gravette City Council approved a $3,629,525 budget for the coming year. The document has been fine-tuned during recent weeks and the approval was made without discussion.

The budget is divided into three categories: general operations, capital improvements and water and sewer.

Municipal operations show an expenditure budget of $1,681,339; capital improvements $477,500; and water and sewer $1,470,686. The totals include intrafund transfers as well as funded depreciation, debt service and debt service reserves.

The new budget includes end-of-year bonuses for city employees and a 2 percent raise for all salaried workers. Bonuses are $200 for fulltime and $100 for part time, all of which totals $14,000.

In other action, the Council approved a contract with Morrison-Shipley, an engineering firm for the city’s wastewater treatment plant project.

The 12-month contract includes professional fees and hourly rates for certain technical personnel involved with the project.

After some discussion involving an increase in COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment)and landfill tipping fees charged the city, the Council okayed a 3 percent COLA and 3 percent landfill fee as requested by Deffenbaugh Sanitation which contracts for the service. This will amount to a 57-cent permonth increase on residential customer bills.

Planning Jurisdiction

A major decision involved approving on three readings a new area planning jurisdiction map for Gravette. It redefines boundaries outside the city limits in which the city may exert certain jurisdictional control. The map has been a work-inprogress for several months and has involved the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission.

Representatives from Arvest Bank and the Bank of Gravett gave presentations concerning services their banks can provide relative to potential closure/creation of accounts.

Jan Aliver and Wendy Williamson spoke for Arvest and Rickie Stark and Brenda Bridge spoke for the Bank of Gravett. The topic will be discussed at the January council meeting of the whole.

Committee Meeting

Numerous items were discussed at the December Committee Meeting of the Whole held a week earlier. No official action can be taken at such committee meetings but discussionand information exchange allows the regular meeting to move more smoothly. Among items discussed were:

The Council congratulated Allyson Ransom for securing a $26,000 grant for a new police car. The city recently bought a new car and the two new vehicles will replace older vehicles.

The city paid $11,000 for fire runs during 2011.

The fire department will conduct a controlled burn of an old structure as a training exercise.

An old fire truck, number 14, has been sold for $5,700.

The city swimming pool has been winterized.

A 2-inch water line on Detroit Street N.E. needs upsizing to 6-inch.

Earnest Wells will retire Jan. 13. Tim DeWitt will be promoted to the position and the city will advertise for a new employee.

Preliminary engineering has been submitted for a drainage project on Second Avenue S.W.

The city is working with the Gravette High School E.A.S.T. lab to design widening and landscaping of Highway 59 in Gravette. The design will be submitted to the Arkansas State Highway Dept. for consideration.

New Voting Wards

A map redistricting thevoting wards in Gravette has been completed through information supplied from the Secretary of State’s office. It will be completed by the Regional Planning Commission.

CRP classes will be offered the public at the Civic Center Jan. 21. Cost will be $40 and free for city employees and elected officials. Contact City Hall, 787-5757, if interested.

Ransom is researching information for a possible skateboard park. The Council learned that Gentry’s park cost $80,000. Mayor Byron Warren said the city has received a $10,000 pledge toward the project.

Additional information isbeing compiled concerning maintenance of the city’s water tanks. Alderman Rambadt suggested that instead of repairing the 250,000 gallon tank near the industrial park, that the city should consider replacing it with another million gallon tank.

Business Director Tracy Sewell reported county property taxes received were only $3,000 more in 2011 than the previous year. She also reported the city is about $150,000 in revenue ahead of the previous year.

The Council gave tacit approval to pay $340,000, the remainder owed McGoodwin, Williams and Yates for engineering costs on the water treatment project.

News, Pages 13 on 12/21/2011