Pineville Council Hears Barking Dog Complaint
At Tuesday’s meeting of the Pineville Board of Aldermen, a resident came to complain about barking dogs at the local animal rescue.
Pat Tinsley of Piney Point said there is a barking nuisance issue with the animal rescue, that campers at his resort can hear them and he is concerned the barking is going to drive away business.
“I don’t have any issue with people wanting to save dogs. I will help that effort,” he said. He also added if there was another location available, he would help finance an effort to get the dogs into another location.
The board discussed how many dogs were kept at the rescue’s facility and at what times of day they were let out to exercise.
Public Works Superintendent Chris Tinsley commented that the executive director had assured the board that no one would be able to hear the dogs barking because they would be inside an insulated building. Mayor Gregg Sweeten said he would have the executive director come in and have Pat Tinsley come in at the same time.
The board also discussed properties on Olin Street where the new recreation center is to be built. The properties include an old house and an old garage, and Sweeten said he believes the city needs to get rid of them.
Alderman Ann Crowder-Sanders asked if it could be a fire department project. Sweeten said the fire
department was not allowed to burn shingles and windows.
Alderman Scott Dennis said he might have a person who wants the house.
Sweeten said “It’s costing us on insurance. It’s dangerous. We’ve really got to do something.”
Chris Tinsley agreed, saying the house is a huge liability because there are kids hanging around there every night.
Alderman Becky Davis said once the property is cleaned up, people want to use it for food trucks and swaps until the rec center is built because it is a shaded area.
The board agreed to get rid of the garage and to postpone dealing with the house until the next meeting.
Sweeten reported someone wants to buy and donate a water filling station at the bike park.
Chris Tinsley said the trouble will be the tie-in of the water line back to town. He said there is a section of two-inch line that has broken more than once that needs to be dealt with and he does not know how the line is tied in back at the old well because there are three systems of water lines in the ground.
“I’d spend as much time trying to put together a bid package as I would to fix it,” he said.
Davis suggested working on the water line on St. John’s Street before working on the project at the bike park.
Tinsley agreed it would be much easier to bid.
The board approved putting out for bids the project on St. John’s Street.
Dennis told the board that it needs to consider charging impact fees for new construction. He said in Arkansas every builder pays $3,500 for each project for the impact of various types of trucks going up and down roads. He said if Pineville is going to turn into “Bentonville North,” it needs to consider it at some point.
Also, on Tuesday, a public hearing was held before the meeting on raising water and sewer rates. The proposed increase is 25 cents on the base rate and 25 cents per 1,000 gallons. City Clerk Melissa Ziemianin said the average household would see an increase of $3 per month. The last time the city raised rates was in 2017, when the sewer rates were raised by 15 cents, she said.
In other business:
• Sweeten presented Crowder-Sanders, who is retiring from the board, with an award for her 12 years of service.
• The board approved bills in the amount of $65,218.