Gravette approves bid for new sidewalks

GRAVETTE -- In a special council meeting preceding last Thursday's Committee of the Whole meeting, council members voted unanimously to approve a bid for construction of new sidewalks. The bid of $66,985 from Diamond State Concrete will fund a sidewalk from the former Marvin's Grocery location south to Walmart on the east side of Arkansas Highway 59. Arvest Bank has pledged $10,000 to help pay for the project.

Jay Oliphant, president of the Gravette school board, addressed the council and reported on the board's planning session last Tuesday. He said board members had talked about the bus barn property and they were willing to discuss any use the city might propose for the property. They are open to selling the property to the city or partnering with the city on a project, but the main objective is to find a better use for the property. The property was appraised at $25,000 in February of 2013, he said. The school board would also offer for sale a 4.94 acre property in Hiwasse which was appraised at $80,000.

Mayor Kurt Maddox said that fire chief Rob Douthit had the prospect of a 100 percent grant to build a fire station, and the city would be interested in using the Hiwasse property for that purpose. Other suggestions for the Hiwasse property included a community building and park area.

Oliphant said the school board was exploring the possibility of a regional vo-tech career facility to serve Gravette, Decatur and Gentry. He said he would like to see such a facility at Gravette but realized another location might be more central for the schools involved. In the meantime, the school is using space in the annex for the new heating, ventilation and air conditioning program and a certified nursing program soon to be started.

Corey Reardon, water and sewer department manager, said he and council member Bob Robinson would be attending a Benton-Washington County Regional Public Water Authority board meeting on April 23.

Mayor Maddox praised the city department heads, saying all were doing "a fantastic job." He reported that the water department had only 300 more Badger water meters to install. Tim Dewitt and the street department employees have been replacing boards on picnic tables and sprucing up the parks. Library commission members have a good bid on the building renovation and have volunteers to help paint. The old ambulance has been sold and brought in $8,025. Cameras have been installed in the police department vehicles and teddy bears have been donated to give to children in domestic violence cases. The two reserve positions on the police force have been filled.

The Boys and Girls Club lease was discussed. Council members agreed to renew the lease at $150 per month but with stipulations that staff members do needed repairs and some regular maintenance. A new contract will be drawn up and will be on the agenda for the April 23 council meeting.

Fire Chief Rob Douthit reported that a contract was required for ambulance service to other cities. Fifty-five percent of runs have been in Gravette and 26 percent in Decatur. Several runs are also made to Sulphur Springs. Council members agreed to draw up contracts for ambulance service to Decatur and Sulphur Springs. Approval will be on the agenda for the April 23 council meeting.

Empire District Electric Company has asked the city to waive the building permit fees for its new substation expansion. Council members agreed that, since there would be no inspections involved, the fees could be waived. City attorney David Bailey said he could find no precedent for such action and suggested that the current ordinance needed to be amended.

Use of the baseball fields was discussed. The city pays the utility bills and does upkeep on the fields and the baseball league pays all other expenses. All income goes to purchase supplies or goes back into the fields. Mayor Maddox noted that tournaments draw many people to town and, with the increased revenue coming in, the city might be able to develop new fields, expand the present ones or even buy more land. He said the baseball league members want two new scoreboards and some play equipment for the ball fields and those will be priorities.

Mayor Maddox noted a budget was needed for Gravette Day and said he had put $5,000 in the budget for Gravette Day expenses. He also announced that Fourth of July fireworks would possibly be held below the stadium on the high school campus. School board members will make the decision at this month's meeting. A first Saturday evening on Main Street will also be held that day.

Two changes have been made in the document archiving ordinance and it will be on the agenda for the April 23 council meeting.

Council members and city attorney David Bailey were given copies of first-class-city requirements compiled by state senator Jim Hendren. They will be analyzed and steps taken to attain first-class-city status. Having a full-time mayor has already been accomplished and council members agreed they need to consider staggering council terms.

Finance director Patrick Hall presented the finance report with copies of simplified budgets requested by council members. Mayor Maddox noted that the city was still "doing phenomenally well" and thought that would provide the opportunity to do some things it had not been able to do for years. He said council members should plan ahead and prioritize projects they wanted to see accomplished.

City attorney David Bailey said he had drawn up an ordinance allowing liens to be placed on an owner's property tax bill for costs incurred in cleaning up abandoned property. Approval of the ordinance will be on the agenda for the April 23 council meeting.

Mayor Maddox requested that council members reconsider adding minimum and maximum pay scales on the city employee job classifications. He recommended removing automatic pay increases at set intervals and said he felt it was more appropriate to judge each case on individual merit. A planning meeting was set for May 4 at the Arvest Bank community room and this is one of the items to be discussed.

General News on 04/15/2015