GRAVETTE -- Members of the Gravette City Council heard reports from several city department heads at their regular meeting Thursday evening, Jan. 9, at the city hall.
Karen Benson, manager of the Gravette Public Library, reported on two new programs the library is instituting. A teen book club began on Friday, Jan. 10, and a code club for youth ages 8 to 18 will begin the week of Jan. 20. A code club for homeschooled students is also being planned. Benson reported that Altrusa has donated $500 and four sewing machines to the library.
Corey Reardon, water and sewer department manager, said the department crew is just catching up on sewer taps after the holidays and reported he is losing a valued 17-year employee, Richard Sutherland.
Tim Dewitt, street and parks department manager, reported he has met with the baseball league members and learned their wishes for the upcoming season. He said they have a new president and several new members he is looking forward to working with. He reported work is scheduled to begin in the next two weeks on the basketball and tennis courts at the Hiwasse park, weather permitting. He said he and police chief Chuck Skaggs had met earlier in the day with several county agencies and representatives of the National Weather Service who were forecasting three to six inches of rain over the next 24 hours and a possible one-inch accumulation of ice by Saturday morning.
Chief Skaggs referred to the weather warnings and urged everyone to be prepared. He reported the police department has responded to 4,704 calls in 2019, down from the previous year, and 61 calls so far in 2020. He also reported over 1,500 training hours in 2019 and said the department has a new firearms instructor. He said he regretted to report that Captain Chris Kelley is leaving the department Jan. 31 but he is happy to see his officers bettering themselves. Captain Kelley's position will be filled by Sgt. Brian Smith.
David Keck, the city building inspector and code enforcement officer, said he has been working on the groundwork for the improvements at Hiwasse Park. He reported 10 homes have been completed in Walnut Ridge Subdivision this month. He reported the planning commission is still working on the subdivision and zoning codes and developers are wanting to secure final approval for the Stone Crest Subdivision on Dallas Street. He said a buyer has already been secured for all 25 lots and punch lists for Morrison-Shipley and for the city are being filled. The contract with Empire District Electric is in place and all fees are paid, but Empire will not begin work until the final plat is approved. Keck said everyone involved is working to finalize preparations so approval of the final plat can be voted on at the Jan. 23 council meeting.
Carl Rabey, city finance director, reported the building boom is going to require that several new meters be installed. There is $10,000 in the budget for installing new meters, but he will be asking for approval to transfer an additional $8,056 from the meter replacement reserve at the Jan. 23 meeting.
After a rather lengthy discussion of the proposed changes to the city's memorandum of understanding with the Friends of the Library organization, council members agreed to table the item and asked Rabey to contact his fellow finance officers statewide and inquire about such agreements in other cities.
In new business council members discussed whether to rewrite or amend Ordinance 10-03 to include omitted conditions for catastrophic water leaks or to reenact an earlier ordinance, in effect from 2015 to 2019, which included such conditions. It was discovered that catastrophic leaks were inadvertently omitted from the most recent ordinance. City attorney David Bailey suggested that writing an entirely new ordinance is the best solution. The item will be on the agenda for the January council meeting.
Carl Rabey presented a list of proposed adjustments to the 2020 budget. All are needed to reflect receipt of grant funds for the walking trail and grant funds for the fire department, the police department, the parks department and the library. An ordinance approving the adjustments will be voted on at this month's council meeting.
Council members considered the annual review of water ordinance 19-12. Corey Reardon reported that the last rate study was done in 2017 and he does not expect another rate increase from Two Ton for at least two more years. Carl Rabey reported a net surplus of $15,000 in the water department accounts for 2019. He said there is $429,000 in one water reserve account, $200,000 in another and another $150,000 in a restricted account, for a total of nearly $800,000. He also noted there will be an increase in revenue for the water department because of the increase in new home building.
Rabey reported an ordinance to close out the 2019 budget will be on the agenda for the Jan. 23 council meeting. He presented the December financial report with final figures for all accounts. He reported a $165,000 surplus in the general fund, noting "that is great since we had the loss of the ambulance service," and a $15,000 surplus in the water department even after the purchase of $37,000 of equipment. The city as a whole has a $190,000 surplus.
A shortfall of $107,000 in the street department is a result of necessary repairs due to flooding in 2019. Mayor Kurt Maddox said he is looking into the possibility of installing concrete low water bridges in the worst areas.
Rabey reported all bank accounts have been moved and the fire department pension fund has been taken over by LOPFI since the last eligible recipient has died. There was no bond update since figures were not received in time.
Council chairman Ron Theis thanked each member of the council for the good job they had done in 2019. He said he knew the decision on the ambulance service was questioned by many but he felt, ultimately, it had been the right one.
General News on 01/15/2020