DECATUR -- Topping the agenda for the Decatur City Council on April 13 was the acquisition of land for the water department's Well Number 5 and for the recreation area near Oak Park Subdivision.
While reviewing a set of geographic information systems maps on the Benton County website, Decatur Mayor Bob Tharp discovered that the Decatur water department's Well Number 5 was not on city property.
"I was looking at the GIS maps on the Benton County website when I discovered that Well Number 5 was owned by a bank and not the city," Tharp said. "I was shocked. I wondered why this hadn't been discovered earlier."
The 13.53 acres of land is located along Grant Avenue adjacent to the Grant Springs apartment complex on the northwest side of Decatur. The land is currently owned by Parkway Bank of Bentonville.
"Well 5 is the life blood of the Decatur water system," Tharp said. "Without it the city would have to buy more water from the Two Ton project and that would result in higher water bills for Decatur residents."
The city currently has five wells, three of which are in use providing water to Decatur customers. The combined output of the wells in March was 30,422,500 gallons. Well 5 alone produced over half of the total well output. The city purchased 23,003,000 gallons from the Rogers-based Benton-Washington Regional Public Water Authority during the same time period. Combined, the city output for March was 53,425,500 gallons.
During the meeting, Tharp gave a 20-minute presentation on the water department well system, focusing on the Well Number 5 issue. The presentation showed aerial and site photographs to aid the council in understanding where the property in question is located.
Parkway Bank offered to sell the property to the city for a total of $50,000. If the city accepts this offer, the money will come out of the city's contingency fund.
After a short question and answer session, the city council decided to pursue the purchase of the 13.53 acre tract of land from Parkway Bank. They authorized Tharp to negotiate the terms of the deal.
"The city of Decatur has the lowest water rates in the area," Tharp said. "The city will continue to do its best to ensure that those rates remain that way."
The council next addressed the 2.5 acre tracts of land near the Oak Park Subdivision on Roller Avenue near Decatur Middle School. According to Tharp, the split tracts of land were donated to the city for use as recreational areas for the residents of the subdivision. However, the donation was never finalized and Parkway Bank took possession of the property. Tharp contacted the bank and inquired as to the status of the land.
Because the property is to be used to build residential structures, the bank offered to sell the tracts to the city for $8,000.
The city council voted to allow Tharp to negotiate the purchase of the Oak Park property. Once the tracts are acquired, they will be developed as originally planned.
In other council action, a request to release a city easement back to Everett Berry was considered. Berry granted the easement rights to the city during a 2008 city council meeting. Since the city has no use for the easement, the council voted to return the use of the land to Berry.
The council discussed a proposed solicitation ordinance requested by Decatur Police Chief Terry Luker. The ordinance would regulate solicitation, ice cream and food vendor trucks, and door-to-door sales. After a review of the 11-page document, the council decided that the document needed further review before further consideration.
Decatur City Council meetings are open to the public and are held the second Monday of each month. The first 30 minutes are open to citizen comments. For more information, contact city hall at 752-3912.
NOTE: Mayor Bob Tharp successfully negotiated the purchase of both the well and Oak Park properties, paying $50 for the well property and $4,500 for the other. The bank will have the paperwork completed by the end of April.
General News on 04/22/2015