Smackover Council talks fire truck order and parks

Smackover’s city council met on Monday, July 12, for their regular monthly meeting and discussed old business including a new fire truck for the Smackover Fire Department and an update on the nearly-finished work at MLK park, according to minutes from the meeting recently made available.

Council members began the meeting by unanimously approving the previous meeting’s minutes, monthly bills and the June financial statements.

The first old business item follows the council’s June decision to move forward with signing a contract for a 2021 Ferrara Tanker for the SFD.

According to the July meeting’s minutes, SFD chief Rob Neal appeared again before the council to update them on the contract.

Neal informed the council that he contacted Fire Master Fire Equipment, the Louisianabased company set to build the truck, and negotiated a price reduction from $436,773 to $430,973 — a $5,800 reduction — and proceeded to sign the contract to begin production. Neal said the truck “should be delivered [in] late December 2021 to mid-January 2022.”

Neal also thanked local student Evan Phillips for painting the city’s fire hydrants and said visitors from Fire Master Fire Equipment “were impressed by how clean and nice everything looked in the city.”

Next in old business, Smackover Mayor Bobby Neal asked council member Paul Givens for an update on activity at MLK Park.

The project to upgrade a basketball court at MLK Park is a joint venture between the city and a group of current and former residents who raised funds for the project.

Givens told the council that goals were added to the court and that he would be adding stripes to the court alongside local residents Rolando Boone and Anthony Givens.

Mayor Neal informed the council that $13,000 had been spent on the renovations to the park, a total derived from both the city’s input and funds donated from the fundraisers.

Givens went on to thank council member Phillip Childers, who also owns Smackover Paving, informing the council that Childers “donated the labor” to the renovation, meaning the cost for paving the court came solely from “supplies used for the overlay and extension of the court.”

An activity report from the Smackover Police Department was also available in meeting documents.

According to this report, the SPD responded in July to 63 calls; made 10 misdemeanor and three felony incident reports and four accident reports; made one misdemeanor and no felony arrests; completed 1,109 security checks; made 44 traffic stops, issued two traffic tickets and 39 warning tickets; answered five alarms; and completed 13 assists and one escort.

The Smackover Council met again on Monday, August 9. Their next meeting will be on Monday, September 13.