City plans projects with eye on growth

Water, sewer work on tap in Centerton

CENTERTON — The city plans to build a new water tower and expand sewer service south in anticipation of continued population growth.

The projects are expected to cost between $10 million and $11 million, which will be paid for with bonds. A rate increase will not be needed, according to city officials.

Officials are working with Crews and Associates to refinance the city’s debt and issue $17.5 million in bonds to pay for the water and sewer improvements. Revenue from water and sewer services will be used to pay the bond principal, said Frank Holzkamper, utilities director.

The water tower will have a 3-million-gallon capacity, boosting the city’s capacity to 5 million gallons, Holzkamper said. An average of 2.5 million to 3 million gallons were used daily over the summer.

“We’re already using more than we have stored,” he said, explaining the city would need to put a moratorium on development if it wasn’t building a second water tower.

The tower will be near the existing water tower on Arkansas 72.

“We’re just planning for the long term,” Mayor Bill Edwards said about the city’s water and sewer system.

Centerton has had a 47 percent increase in population from 9,515 residents in 2010 to 14,000 in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

The city also is working to expand sewer service south toward Vaughn in anticipation of development around a new junior high school for the Bentonville School District, city officials said.

“When that high school came, everyone started building around it,” Edwards said of Bentonville West High School. The school is in Centerton and opened in 2016. “We think the same sort of thing is going to happen

down around there, too.”

The junior high school will be on the northeast corner of Holloway Road and Arkansas 279. The planning commission approved the development plans, so construction should start soon, Edwards said.

Water service exists to the south but not sewer lines, Holzkamper said.

“This way we’ll have water and sewer all throughout our service area,” he said.

A commission governs the city’s water and sewer services. Voters aren’t required

to approve the bond issuance since taxes won’t be used to pay the debt.

The City Council approved an ordinance Oct. 9 that allowed Crews and Associates to finalize the offering documents and seek the best interest rates, said Bob

Wright, with the firm.

The water tower is expected to cost about $4.8 million. Bids will be opened in the middle of December, Holzkamper said. Construction should take about 15 months and start shortly after Jan. 1.

The city will likely open

bids for the estimated $5 million sewer project in January, he said. Work would start shortly after that and take about a year if weather cooperates.