GRAVETTE -- An ordinance and three resolutions were passed at the April 27 meeting of the Gravette City Council. Council members also approved issuing a conditional use permit for Glenn Poore to place a temporary travel trailer on his property at 802 2nd Avenue, S.E. The trailer is to be occupied only during renovation of the home on the property and the permit will be reviewed every six months.
Council members approved Carole Robel as a new member of the Gravette Library Advisory Board and a renewal for library board member Susan Holland. Both Robel and Holland were sworn in by Mayor Kurt Maddox.
An ordinance was passed repealing the city's previous fireworks ordinance and regulating the use, possession and sale of fireworks within the city. It allows the shooting of fireworks three days before and three days after Independence Day between the hours of 12 noon and 12 midnight and on New Year's Eve during the same hours.
The first resolution which passed approved the city's participation in a program with the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, utilizing federal aid transportation alternative funds to develop and improve sidewalks and trails throughout Gravette. The project will allow the city to complete Phase 2 of its proposed trail plan.
The second resolution authorized Mayor Maddox to enter into a contract with John Lykins, Sr., for the donation of land on Irving Street between the Billy V. Hall Senior Activity Center and the Garden Walk apartment complex. Plans are to utilize the land for a dog park. In return for the donation, the city agrees to pay for surveying and closing costs on the property transaction.
The third resolution authorized the Gravette Fire Department to apply for a Federal Emergency Managment Agency SAFER grant. Approval of the grant will allow the department to hire three new firefighters. FEMA will pay 75 percent of their wages for the first two years and 35 percent of the wages for their third year of employment.
In other business, council members voted to surplus the city's 1998 ambulance and use the money from its sale to upgrade the newer ambulance.
Council members also approved the purchase of cameras for nine police vehicles. They accepted the recommendation of Police Chief Chuck Skaggs to purchase Getac cameras. Total cost of the nine cameras, with a 3-year warranty, will be $64,783, plus $15,570 in yearly fees for storage, software and related expenses.
Also approved were bids of $165,000 from Tomlinson Asphalt for paving Gordon Hollow Road and $47,811 from Decco for paving Dickson Road. Council member Richard Carver repeated a previous request that department heads present a written recommendation stating their preference of contractors when future bids are submitted.
A list of budget adjustments was approved, including a $6,000 increase in the fire department budget for Cassie Elliott's grant writing fee, an increase of $3,500 in the administration budget to cover training and travel to the Arkansas Municipal League conference, increases of $8,807 and $35,936 in the water department budget to cover sanitation contract expenses, an increase of $25,000 to pay professional fees for negotiating the Centerton water sales matter, and increases in the bond fund budget of $447,000 to bring 3/4 cent sales tax income to trend and $220,530 to pay 2017 sales tax bond expenses (principal and interest).
Finally, council members voted to remove the house on the southwest corner of the Hillcrest Cemetery property. Unanimous approval was given to Gravette Fire Department members to burn the house as a training exercise.
General News on 05/03/2017