SPRINGTOWN — Storm sirens should soon be in place and operational in Springtown, thanks, in part, to the donation of a new pole and protective screen wire for the project.

According to draft minutes of the Feb. 12 town council meeting, the council approved paying Electrical Resources $1,924.05 for the remaining work and supplies to get the sirens in place.

According to Springtown’s mayor, Paul Lemke, Electrical Resources also donated some of the equipment needed for the project. He said connection to the radio relay for the sirens would, hopefully, be in place within a couple of weeks.

Also approved by the council, according to draft minutes, was a motion to pay Reams Excavating $992.60 for work to widen the road at the end of Aubrey Long Road Bridge and Springtown’s Main Street.

Lemke reported that the following projects had been completed: Trees at the top of Springtown Road had been cut down; He and Tim Richardson cut up and hauled off a couple of trees that had blown down on Old Springtown Road at the creek. Richardson, Lemke said, would finish cleaning up the brush Monday.

Lemke said he had learned that the Benton County Quorum Court has funds available for possibly paving Springtown Road, since that road connects two state highways. Lemke said he would follow up on getting the required drainage easement that will be needed if the paving project proceeds.

According to the draft minutes, Chuck Guess agreed to work with the mayor and Richardson on prioritizing street work projects for the town. Correcting a problem with runoff water from the top of Wasson Road was, for the time being, removed from the agenda since the work will need to be done in warmer weather.

Lemke reported that he had obtained a copy of the 911 addresses for Springtown and found several corrections which need to be made - some dwellings on the list are no longer in existence. He told the council he would follow up to get these addresses removed from the list.

According to draft minutes, the town’s payment to the Highfill Fire Department for fire-protection services will continue to be $2,500. Lemke said he expects to have the new fire department contract by next month's council meeting.

Lemke said the town must have either an engineer or an architect prepare the plans for park improvements in order to apply for the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism Facilities for Underdeveloped Neighborhoods Grant. A motion was passed to appoint Don Johnston as engineer for the FUN Grant project, according to draft minutes.

Lemke said the required workshop with the mayor, engineer and grant writer Cassie Elliot will be scheduled as soon as it can be arranged. Linda Taylor and Jo Lynn Earley agreed to join Amanda Richardson and Kay Taylor on the Park Committee.

Lemke said the new sheriff of Benton County, Kelley Cradduck, mentioned the possibility of establishing a satellite sheriff's office at town hall in Springtown. The council discussed possible renovations to the building which might be needed to accommodate this. Lemke also said Cradduck told him he had assigned a part-time deputy for the Springtown area every weekend.

Lemke reminded council members that the Springtown Cemetery annual cleanup day is March 23. Also discussed was the possibility of scheduling a fund-raiser chili supper the same day. The decision was left up to the town’s park committee.

According to draft minutes, Lemke asked for permission to raise the amount of money the mayor can spend without consulting with the council from $500 per project to $1,500 per project. The council asked city attorney Carla Wasson to draw up the necessary paperwork to vote on the matter at next month's council meeting.

Lemke also asked Wasson if it would be possible to have the requesting town residents pay the newspaper publication costs when those residents request closing or reopening town alleyways or streets, according to draft minutes.

Lemke said he, along with Jay Stallard, is still pursuing applying for grant money for finishing up the town hall to be a cold/hot weather shelter and for street drainage improvements.

Jan Cox, the town’s clerk, passed out a copy of the year-to-date cash-flow report and said a report from the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee shows that the town is in compliance with Arkansas fiscal and financial laws, according to draft minutes.

Because of a Rural Development Conference that Mayor Lemke is scheduled to attend in May, May's council meeting was moved to the third Tuesday of the month, May 21, draft minutes state.

News, Pages 6 on 02/20/2013