Highfill council meets, passes resolution to appoint attorney

HIGHFILL -- With three members present and the mayor voting to make a majority, Highfill's city council held it's September meeting on the Sept. 25 and passed a resolution appointing a city attorney for Highfill.

According to the resolution which will take effect on Jan. 1, the Williams Law Firm in Gentry will continue to serve as the city's legal counsel, with Jay Williams continuing to advise the city at council meetings but making his associate, Joel Kurtz, the city prosecutor and Jay Williams the deputy prosecutor.

The resolution also changed the hourly rate the city pays to $250 per hour for general services and $300 per hour for council meetings, still a discounted rate compared to his usual charge, Williams said.

Fees for prosecution services in district court will be $625 per month, according to the resolution. Fees for prosecution services in circuit court will be $250 per hour.

Council members David Williamson, Wesley Evans and Mark White, as well as Mayor Michelle Rieff, voted in favor of the resolution.

The council tabled an ordinance to amend the zoning of lands owned by Angus Starr LLC because it lacked sufficient voting members to suspend the rules or pass the attached emergency clause.

The council approved spending just over $1,400 for two trash dumpsters to supplement the two already in the city contract for Highfill's citywide fall cleanup.

Mayor Rieff announced the upcoming trunk or treat in the city park from 4 to 5 p.m. on Oct. 28.

She also said the council needed to have some working sessions to discuss funding possibilities to extend sewer lines to the Northwest Arkansas Conservation Authority. She said the city website, which has not been updated for numerous years, was still down and not live but that Mark Pierce would be doing the needed upgrades soon. She told the council that the city's new police vehicle had arrived and was in service.

Alderman Mark White announced that he was not running for re-election. His wife, Julie, is running against Rieff for the mayor's post.

General News on 10/03/2018