GENTRY — Professionals were selected by the Gentry City Council for two projects at its Feb. 7 meeting.

For both long-term and short-term street and alley repair and improvements, three engineering firms were chosen in the following priority for contract negotiations: 1. Civil Engineering, Inc., of Siloam Springs; 2. Engineering Services, Inc., of Springdale; and 3. McGoodwin, Williams and Yates of Fayetteville.

Ron Homeyer of Civil Engineering, Inc., was contracted by the city lastyear for street repair and maintenance and has also completed a major drainage study for the city, making his firm a logical choice for street projects and a street improvement plan for the city.

With only two professionals on file, Ryan McClain of Engineering Elements in Fayetteville and Crafton, Tull, Sparks and Associates of Rogers were selected in the above order for the energy-grantfunded HVAC project in the city’s court room.

The council also approved by ordinance a new order for the council meeting agendas, placing unfinished business and newbusiness items before committee reports and omitting committee reports for committees which held no meetings prior to the council meeting.

The council approved the purchase of a pickup truck for the water department. The truck purchase was included in the city-approved budget, but David McNair, the city’s public works director, said he wanted to have council approval before he actually purchased the new vehicle. His department normally replaces one vehicle each year but had foregone new vehicle purchases for several years, he said. The budget line item allowed the department to spend up to $28,000 for the new vehicle purchase.

The council also approved moving meetings which fall on legal holidays to the following Mondays. The action included the January, 2012, meeting.

The issue of feral cats was brought before the council and referred to the police committee for more study on a possible solution to the problem. The issue was brought back to the council after no action was taken on it by the previous council which received complaints about stray cats, damage caused by them and the possibility of the cats transmitting disease.

News, Pages 2 on 02/16/2011