GENTRY — City council on Sept. 11 voted to add some streetlights to the city and request changes to the posted speed limits on Gentry Boulevard (Arkansas Highway 59).
A resolution adding some additional street lights and upgrading a few others was approved by the council at its September meeting, held a week later this month due to the Labor Day holiday. New locations include the intersections of Crowder Avenue and Arkansas Highway 12 and SWEPCO Road, the intersections of SWEPCO Road at Bloomfield and Duckworth Streets. Upgrades were approved for the intersections of Arkansas Highway 59 and East Main Street, Third Street and Collins Avenue, and Arkansas 59 and N. Parks Circle. The total monthly cost to the city for the lighting changes will be $83.67.
A speed limit change on Gentry Boulevard (Arkansas Highway 59) through the city was discussed, with a resolution passed to request the Arkansas Highway Department lower the speed limit to 45 mph on the north edge of Gentry and to 40 mph from just north of Main Street to Adams Truss on the south side of Gentry. Since it is a state highway, the council can only request the change, but the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department will study the proposal and either approve or deny the requested change. The reduced speed limit was requested because of new businesses along the highway and more traffic.
Kevin Johnston, Gentry's mayor, told the council that further study was being done on the possibility of a city ordinance prohibiting the use of engine brakes within city limits, and on another permitting the use of golf carts on certain streets in Gentry. A minimum age for golf cart operators at 16 or 18 was suggested, along with a one-time permit fee which included a mandatory training session on the use of golf carts within the city. The possibility of revoking the permit for violators was also discussed. A question was raised in regard to requiring insurance.
Johnston said a new state law passed in 2013 allows cities to permit the use of golf carts on city streets but not on federal, state or county roads and highways. Further study is planned to determine which streets would be safest for golf cart use and to obtain answers in regard to legally crossing state and county roads and highways.
Johnston told the committee members that the Federal Emergency Management Agency was recommending repair rather than replacement of the bridge across Flint Creek on Dawn Hill Road. He said the bridge is still good, but new supports need to be built to raise it up and make it secure. Though an estimate for replacement (not including dirt work) was $700,000, Johnston said he hadn't yet received a FEMA estimate for repair.
FEMA will reimburse the city 75 percent of costs for repair and will include another 50 percent of that amount for work done to prevent a recurrence of damage from flooding, Johnston said. He said, after advertising and receiving qualifications, the city will be choosing a list of professionals for the work at its October meeting. After a professional is contracted, a repair plan can be prepared and the work put out to bid. Though the bridge will remain closed for several more months, Johnston is hoping the end result will be a repair which will not need to be repeated each time the creek floods.
General News on 09/20/2017