GRAVETTE -- Work will soon begin on additional repairs to Gravette's wastewater treatment plant and the upgrade of a portion of the city's sewer lines now that a contract was approved at Thursday night's council meeting.
Seven Valleys Construction Co. of Cassville, Mo., was low bidder for the work, at $241,906.
New sewer line will be installed from Shop and Go to just southwest of the Arkansas Highways 59 and 72 intersection. Work will be paid for from the 3/4 cent sales tax.
Other expenditures given unanimous approval at the meeting included budget adjustments for installation of a nine-hole disc golf course in Old Town Park and for pay increases in paramedic salaries. The cost of the disc golf course, to be paid from capital improvements, will be $3,975 (see related story).
The budget adjustment requested by fire chief David Smith was in the amount of $1,785.34 and will cover the pay increase for moving one employee from EMT to paramedic status for the remainder of the year.
Star Butler and David Orr recently graduated from paramedic school and passed the national registry test. They began working as paramedics Oct. 1. One will be filling a vacant paramedic position already budgeted.
A requested budget adjustment of $5,000 to expand bandwidth and buy additional laptop computers for the library GED program failed for lack of a motion.
Girl Scout Rachel Jones was honored at the beginning of the meeting. Mayor Byron Warren presented her with a certificate of appreciation from the city in recognition of her 100 volunteer hours working for the city of Gravette.
The accompanying letter read, in part: "I am so impressed with how you dedicated yourself to the walking trail, its bird houses and the butterfly garden. You have truly made our community a better place. I am inspired by your vision and your leadership. I am honored to recognize you for your outstanding success."
Warren also commended Rachel for having recently won the Girl Scout Gold Award. Only 5 percent of all Girl Scouts achieve the Gold Award. He acknowledged that this honor would help distinguish her in the college admissions process and establish her as a leader among her peers.
General News on 10/01/2014