Council approves new rules for community room, cemetery

DECATUR -- The Decatur City Council had a full agenda Jan. 11 in the conference room at city hall for its first meeting of 2016. Topping the agenda was the approval of the 2016 city of Decatur budget.

Under the new budget, the city's income and expenditures are expected to balance at $990,215.00 for the fiscal year beginning Jan. 1 and ending Dec. 31. The street department is budgeted for $327,950 with construction costs for 2016 topping the expenditures at $230,000 for street repairs, sidewalks and overlay projects. The Decatur Water and Wastewater income and expenditures are budgeted for $3,781,200.

The recent heavy rains exposed several problems in the city's manhole system. In order to prevent runoff from getting into the wastewater system, the city will need to repair 16 manholes and replace two manhole covers. The cost to reline the manholes would be around $900 each, and the cost to replace the two covers would be around $1,300. The council approved a measure to allow the wastewater department to spend up to $20,000 to repair this system.

The council also approved a resolution that would authorize the mayor to apply for a 1.6 million dollar grant under the Arkansas Community and Economic Development Program through the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission to complete a waterline extension project in eastern Decatur.

In other business, the council:

• Elected Kim Wilkins as president pro tempore to fill in for the mayor when he is unable to attend the council meetings.
• Approved the Parks and Recreation Committee recommendation to build a Frisbee golf course at Veterans Park in Decatur. The money will be appropriated from the 2016 Parks and Recreation budget for construction of this project.
• Approved new rules for the rental of the community room. A copy of the building rental policy is available at Decatur City Hall.
• Approved new Decatur Cemetery rules, policies and restrictions which were presented to the council during the November 2015 council meeting. A copy of these rules is available at city hall.
• Approved the purchase of 100 new water meters to begin replacement of older units.

The Decatur City Council meets every second Monday of the month. The first 30 minutes of each meeting are set aside for citizen comments. For more information or to address the council, contact city hall at 752-3912.