GRAVETTE -- Members of the Gravette City Council, in their December meeting, voted to call for an election on March 1 to vote on four capital improvement measures. The city now collects a two percent sales tax and three quarters of that is being used to pay $3,000,000 in bonds which were issued in 2013 to fund mandatory upgrades to the city sewer system. Due to better than expected tax revenues, these bonds are being paid off almost 10 years early.
The council proposes issuing bonds to fund capital improvements in four areas, parks and recreation, streets, sidewalks (including Main Street rejuvenation) and continued sewer repairs. All four projects, totaling $5.42 million, could be funded through a continuation of the current three-quarter percent of the city sales tax. Taxes would not be raised from their current level.
Public forums are planned to allow citizens to provide input in prioritizing projects and to address any general questions about the sales tax vote. They are scheduled just prior to the next two committee of the whole meetings. The first will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 14; and the second is planned for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 9. Both will be held at the Gravette Civic Center.
Kurt Maddox, mayor of Gravette, recently announced that he plans to provide a recap of the events of 2015 at the Jan. 14 meeting.
"It has been an exciting and prosperous year in Gravette," Maddox said.
Last week he sent a letter to Gravette voters informing them about the upcoming election and inviting them to attend the two forums.
"It is an honor to serve as your mayor at this exciting time," Maddox said. "I will continue working hard to ensure your local government spends tax dollars wisely and responsibly. I hope to see you at the public forums."
He pointed out that interested persons can learn the latest Gravette information by visiting www.GravetteAR.com or by calling City Hall, 479-787-5757.
BiLD Architects, a Fayetteville design and architectural firm, has been hired to help formulate plans for the proposed improvements. Citizens may also provide feedback on BiLD Architects' online comment page which can be found at http://www.bild-architects.com/projects/gravette-master-plan.
General News on 01/06/2016