Combination found to city key box issue

— After debating the issue for several months in council and committee meetings, the Gentry City Council on Monday approved on its first reading an ordinance which would amend a 2006 ordinance requiring key boxes on all commercial buildings in Gentry by May 1 of this year to exempt existing owners of existing commercial buildings unless the buildings are equipped with sprinkler systems or fire alarms.

The new ordinance would only require approved key boxes - currently only those manufactured by theKnox Company - on commercial buildings equipped with sprinkler systems or fire alarms and not on all new construction as alternately proposed.

The change comes as a result of complaints from numerous business owners about being required to install the key boxes on their business buildings. Some were concerned over privacy and security issues and hanging a key in a box outside their businesses. Others objected on the basis of principle that the city should not be able to make such a requirement upon them.

The proposed ordinance will come back to the council for its second reading in March. With the possibility of a third and final reading by the April meeting, the amendment could be complete prior to the May 1 date when the boxes would have been required of all commercial business building owners.

Main Street Parking

In other business, the council referred the issue of Main Street parking restrictions back to the street and alley committee because the prepared ordinance would have removed the two-hour parking restriction on Main Street entirely and banned parking on Main Street between the hours of 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. each day of the year, but would not have corrected a mistake in the city’s adopted code book limiting parking to two hours on cross streets from Collins to Otis.

Even though an ordinance amending the original code was found, because the city council adopted the current city code book by ordinance, the two-hour parking restrictions in the city code, on cross streets, between the alley and Main Street, still stand, city attorney Jay Williams said. A new amending ordinance can fix that, he added, asking for specifics on the changes the council wished to make.

Some Main Street business owners voiced concern about removing the two-hour limit on Main Street because of the possibility that other business owners might park in front of their business rather than their own.

“The two-hour limit was originally adopted to keep owners of businesses from parking in front of another business’ door,” said former mayor and business owner Wes Hogue. “As a Main Street business owner, I strongly recommend that you do not take away the parking limit. It will be a problem,” he said.

Hogue suggested the city spend money to purchase land for Main Street parking rather than on fishing ponds.

“I could not support this ordinance as writtten,” said councilman James Furgason.

Furgason said he was in favor of keeping the two-hour restriction on Main Street even if parking were prohibited entirely during certain night hours to allow for such things as street sweeping and snow removal.

Sign Ordinance

An ordinance strengthening the city's existing ordinances regulating signs within the corporate city limits was referred back to the street and alley committee for more study so that the council could fully consider it before voting. The proposed ordinance was recommended by the city's planning and zoning commission after years of study and consideration.

After more than four pages of definitions, the proposed ordinance regulates a wide variety of sign types and sizes within the city, including signs on commercial and residential properties.

Nature Area

The council approved a resolution authorizing the mayor to apply for an Arkansas Rural Development Commission grant on behalf of the city to develop city-owned land along Flint Creek into a nature area. The city could receive up to $100,000 toward the project with no matching funds required, though plans include the possibility of volunteer labor and services to help clean up the area. Plans also include dredging and converting two small ponds into fishing ponds, stocked by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

Councilmen Jason Barrett and Warren Norman opposed the measure due to concerns about cost to maintain and patrol the nature area. Council members Janice Arnold, Michael Crawford, James Furgason, Kyle Jordan, Janie Parks and Todd Wagner voted in favor of the resolution.

“I think it is a very good project for our community as we expand,” Furgason said. “I think if the community knows all the facts, it will support the project. I’m cautious but very much for this project.”

“It’s important that people know and understand that the grant funds for this cannot be used for city streets, Main Street parking, waterlines or the police department,” Parks said.

“This is a new grant,” Arnold said. “We do already own the property. It’s a beautiful site and we’re using it for nothing but to pile trash and debris. The idea is to spend free money to upgrade property we already own.” Ordinance Publication

A resolution designating five public places to post new bylaws and ordinances rather than publishing them in the Westside Eagle Observer - a combined edition of the Gentry Courier-Journal, Decatur Herald and Gravette News Herald - was rejected by unanimous vote of the council.

“I think we should continue to publish in the newspaper and post new ordinances in at least a couple of these places,” Crawford said.

Furgason, too, said the newspaper should remain the council’s means of publishing new ordinances so that the people can be informed.

It was suggested the city post new ordinances at city hall and on its Web site in addition to the legally-required publication in the local newspaper.

Appointments

Resolutions were also passed appointing David Nelson to a three-year term on the city's planning and zoning commission, beginning Jan. 1, 2011, and ending Dec. 31, 2013, and appointing Vanzetta Tennant to the Gentry Parks Advisory Committee.

News, Pages 1 on 02/09/2011