GRAVETTE -- In a short meeting last Thursday night, the Gravette City Council voted to approve Ron Theis as the new council member to fill the Ward 1, Position 1, vacancy created when Terry King moved out of the ward.
Theis is pastor of Beacon Baptist Church. He was sworn in at the beginning of the meeting. Both applicants for the position, Theis and Ken Kehler, were present and addressed the council briefly regarding their qualifications and desire to serve.
All council members were present for the meeting. City recorder Mike von Ree served as acting mayor and conducted the meeting in the absence of Mayor Byron Warren. City attorney David Bailey was also absent.
A citizen addressed the council regarding her high water bill. She said she was not notified she had a leak and didn't learn about it until she got her bill. She was asking for an adjustment on her bill and was told she would have to speak to Mayor Warren.
Mayor Warren has written a letter to the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality requesting an extension of the corrective action order for work on the sewer plant until Dec. 31. The current extension will expire June 30. Council members voted to table voting on approval of sending that letter after councilwoman Amy Rambadt said the ADEQ website showed Gravette had 11 violations. A special meeting will be held to investigate these alleged violations before a vote is held.
In other action, the council voted to approve the new city wage scales as recommended by Mayor Warren and also voted to approve the hiring of an additional employee for the streets and parks department as recommended by Warren and department manager Tim Dewitt.
Councilman Richard Carver again asked that anyone requesting the council to take action submit a written statement outlining his or her proposal and the estimated cost of the project. Councilwoman Rambadt also emphasized the importance of that request, saying council members had made a commitment to the citizens to track the costs of projects as they go along, and councilman Bob Robinson agreed that such documents were needed in order for the council to make an informed decision.
Robinson reported that he had attended the planning commission meeting Tuesday night and commissioners held a discussion about the importance of various city organizations working together. He said he felt they had made some good initial steps toward accomplishing that goal. All council members were encouraged to attend planning commission meetings when possible.
Mike von Ree announced that a town hall meeting would be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 17, at the Civic Center. All citizens are urged to attend and be prepared to provide input to the council as to what they would like the city to do. "Are there additional services they want the city to provide? Do they want wider streets or other improvements? Would they like to see more parks? This is their opportunity to let us know just what they would like to see happen in Gravette," von Ree said. "Please come out and take advantage of it."
The meeting was adjourned at 6:30 p.m.
General News on 05/28/2014