Bella Vista council OKs convenience center funds

BELLA VISTA — The City Council voted Monday at its regular meeting in favor of contributing $ 24,567.49 in 2021 to an interagency service agreement to operate the Benton County Solid Waste District’s convenience center program.

Mayor Peter Christie explained that Benton County mayors agreed to make contributions based on city size to help keep the convenience centers open while some funds are frozen because of a suit between the Benton County Solid Waste District and Boston Mountain Waste District.

“We don’t want to close or hinder any recycling or any convenience center operations,” he said, noting that illegal dumping could be expected to increase in the wake of a closure.

The waste district has already had to let some workers go and its reserves are depleting, he said.

It’s worth noting that this contribution is not paid in a single lump sum, but quarterly, he said.

If the suit is resolved, the discussion will shift to either discontinuing this additional funding from cities’ coffers or to continuing it to help rebuild the district’s reserve funds, he said.

The council also approved accepting right-of-ways for streets in the Highland Park Villas subdivision, a municipal budget for 2021 and interdepartmental budgetary transfers in 2021. The council tabled an ordinance to require septic fields’ size be based on the square footage of the home. Additionally, the council voted down a resolution prohibiting the use of paving from existing city streets to new residential construction.