GRAVETTE -- The Gravette City Council held its regular monthly meeting on Thursday, March 27, with all council members present. Approval of the March Committee of the Whole meeting minutes and February council meeting minutes was tabled until the next meeting since copies were not in the council members' packets.
In the one-hour meeting, council members voted to accept a bid from Electrical Resources, Inc., for a "Welcome to Hiwasse" sign at the edge of that community and LED signs at the 4-way stop in Gravette and at Gravette City Hall. These will be electronic message boards to help disseminate information about city meetings and events.
A motion was passed to update Section 2.11 of the city's employee handbook, reducing the waiting period from 90 days to 60 days before newly-hired employees can receive insurance coverage.
Two ordinances were passed. Ordinance 14-06 adopted the city of Gravette planning area boundary and approved the accompanying map. This designates the area for which the city will make studies and prepare plans, recommend ordinances and regulations. Ordinance 14-07 sets the number of Gravette police officers at nine full-time officers and six part-time officers. This is the number of officers currently employed.
A lease agreement was approved between the city of Gravette and the Gravette Baseball and Softball League for the league to operate the concession stand at Pop Allum Park for the coming year. The league will be responsible for insuring the building's contents, but the city will insure the building itself. Lease amount is $1 for the year.
Approval of a lot split for Tony Smith in Hiwasse and review and approval for Lynchburg Estates Subdivision in Gravette were both tabled until the next meeting. The proposed subdivision is north of town on Spanish Treasure Road and will consist of several lots. It is outside the city limits but within the planning district and would be on city water lines.
Closure of the 2013 budget was tabled until the next meeting. Councilman Terry King said he would like to see budget adjustments brought before the council each month rather than at periodic budget meetings. He recommended reviewing the current statutes regarding financial reporting before closing out the budget.
Mayor Byron Warren explained that budget adjustments were recorded in the minutes each month and the year-end adjustment was based on those entries. He said the city was not deficit spending because they didn't spend above the amount approved in the minutes.
Mayor Warren said that a representative from Source Gas Company would be at the next Committee of the Whole meeting to discuss expanding gas transmission lines in the Hiwasse area beyond the current system. He said the more phone calls the company received requesting such expansion, the greater the likelihood they would focus on the project.
Mayor Warren noted that average monthly income from sales tax was $95,000, but sales tax revenue for February was $344,000. He also reported that the city was working on a $50,000 grant to help with the fire department in Hiwasse.
In the citizen comment period preceding the meeting, Patrick Hall expressed concern that the city was considering approving a 2013 budget that exceeded revenue collected in that year. He said the current practice of retroactively amending the budget was "a flawed and potentially damaging method" and runs the risk of placing the city "substantially out of compliance with Arkansas fiscal and financial laws."
Christy Green, representing the Gravette Summer Baseball/Softball League, reported that the league had invested about $60,000 in the fields at Pop Allum Park in the last three or four years. She urged the council to make the lease amount for the concession stand as low as possible so proceeds from the operation could be invested in future improvements at the field.
General News on 04/02/2014