Council approves ambulance agreement, water and sewer rate increase

GENTRY -- The city council, on Nov. 5, approved an ordinance authorizing the mayor to enter into an agreement with Northwest Arkansas Paramed Transfer for ambulance service within the city of Gentry and passed an ordinance increasing fees for water and sewer service.

Passed on three readings with a single vote was an ordinance authorizing the mayor to sign an agreement with Northwest Arkansas Paramed Transfer LLC of Springdale to provide ambulance service within the city for the annual fee of $51 per household. The service is set to begin on Jan. 1, 2019, and includes having an advanced-life-support ambulance unit housed at Gentry's Fire Station Number One on Third Street. A second ambulance will be kept at Siloam Springs Regional Hospital.

With 1,443 households within the city, the annual fee for the city would be $72,150 to be paid in monthly increments of $6,012.50. The rate will be adjusted based on the number of households within the city each year. The contract is for three years and is renewable for two more three-year terms.

The agreement also includes provisions for service to the city of Decatur and the unincorporated areas of western Benton County, with costs to Decatur and Benton County based on the number of households within those service areas.

The agreement will provide advanced-life-support ambulance service to Gentry residents at a reduced cost to the city and has the added benefit of an ambulance housed in the city, cutting seven or eight minutes off response times.

The ambulance service will be subsidized and made available in the city through the approved agreement, but patients and their insurance companies will still be billed for use of the service.

Also approved on three readings with a single vote was an ordinance increasing water and sewer rates for Gentry water and sewer customers by 3 percent, with the increase reflected on the bills which go out in January 2019. The increase was a scheduled increase resulting from a rate study done several years ago which recommended the annual increase to keep up with costs of service and system maintenance rather than waiting and then needing a large increase to pay for system maintenance and needed improvements.

The increase makes the minimum sewer rate for the first 1,000 gallons or portion thereof to be $7.81 for those living within the city and $12.94 for water customers living outside the city. Water rates for basic water customers (with meters of 5/8 or 3/4 inches) within the city will be $13.71 for the first 1,000 gallons and $32.88 for those living outside the city.

Kevin Johnston, Gentry's mayor, said most residential water customers (averaging water usage of about 5,000 gallons per month) would see an increase of about $1.39 per bill.

According to Johnston, the city is planning to do a new rate study in 2019 to re-evaluate water and sewer rates for future years.

Also approved was an ordinance authorizing the fire department to use budgeted funds for 2018 to purchase a Jeep Renegade for use by the fire chief for $21,708. The pickup truck he currently drives will be used for the department's first-responder services and the old first-responder truck will be used for other purposes. Money for the purchase was donated by SWEPCO, according to Mayor Johnston.

The Jeep was chosen because it has all the features needed for its proposed use and is less expensive than purchasing a new pickup truck. One was available at state-bid prices at the McClarty Daniel dealership in Springdale.

Johnston provided council members with his proposed budget package for 2019 and asked council members to review it and let him know of times they could meet to consider it and make any needed adjustments before its adoption. The proposed budget package includes general fund revenues and expenditures of $2,213,850; street and alley income and expenditures of $1.782 million; water and sewer income and expenses of $2,761,500; and various other smaller budgets.

Johnston updated the council on the Flint Creek Bridge project on Dawn Hill East Road, saying that current plans would involve building the bridge in three spans and making the bride 2 1/2 feet higher than the old bridge with it designed to be overflowed in a major flood event. He said the initial plan would have caused a negative impact on upstream properties and he did not wish to cause any additional flooding risks to other property owners along the creek. He said the new plan would have no negative impact on upstream property owners.

Johnston said the bridge design work is continuing and the bridge would likely be done by the end of October 2019. After plans are finalized, a bid package will be prepared and advertised. Once a contractor is chosen, the building process will begin. He said the bid process (after final plans are approved) would take 75 days and the construction 150 days.

The estimated cost of the bridge is now at about $1 million, with the Federal Highway Administration paying 80 percent of those costs. The first bridge plan was estimated at about $900,000.

Johnston said the city is seeking U.S. Department of Agriculture funding for the water storage facility project. He said the city has to receive approval at the federal level in Washington D.C. Once grant amounts are known, the city can seek other funding sources, including low-cost financing.

Discussion of a sign ordinance and of feral cat issues was postponed until committee meetings can be held to address the issues.

Larry Kenmore addressed the council briefly with information about a drug collection program the city could consider which would provide an alternative to current drug take-back programs. He said the service would be at no cost to taxpayers and would include a bottle mailed to city residents which could be used for unused prescription drugs which would neutralize the drugs and allow their return for proper disposal, keeping medications out of the wrong hands and out of lakes, streams and rivers. He did not indicate who would bear the costs of the service.

General News on 11/14/2018