Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Bella Vista’s 2020 reviewed
Municipal action included both significant, everyday
BELLA VISTA — As we stare at the disgusting corpse of a terrible year that never should have been and promise ourselves this one can’t possibly be as bad, it’s easy to forget that among the doom and gloom there was no shortage of municipal action, including ordinary and significant moments for the city.
In January, the city saw blasting at its southern border to prepare for a final interchange that will allow interstate traffic to drive right past the city and along a new stretch of highway.
That interchange is ongoing, with traffic patterns occasionally shifting as needed while work progresses in the area.
Also in January, the first segment of the Little Sugar Creek trails opened to the public, giving riders and walkers their first look at the central trails system, and by May a second 25-mile chunk opened.
A bridge over Little Sugar Creek started taking shape in June and July and by October the Back 40 and Little Sugar Creek trail systems were joined near Pinion Drive.
In February, a traffic signal at the U.S. 71 and Kingsland Road intersection was completed.
Community Development Services director Doug Tapp said that the city hopes this light will improve safety at the intersection which has previously seen multiple fatal traffic accidents and reduce the number of vehicles stacking up at other traffic lights to the south.
In the March primary election, voters approved projects to improve the police and fire departments.
Voters agreed for the city to take on $24.2 million in bonds backed by a 1% sales tax to cover the construction costs of a new police department, a raze and rebuild of Fire Station 3 and a fire training facility.
Mayor Peter Christie said he believes a two-to-one vote is a strong mandate and the city intended to work quickly to see these projects through.
In May the city hired construction management and in
June the city hired architectural and engineering firms to work on these projects. Then, in October the city sold bonds.
“We’ve gone through all the legal technicalities, the bonds have been sold and the cash is in hand,” Mayor Peter Christie said. “We have the obligation to set up the budget for these two projects.”
In November, after earning planning commission approval, earthwork started for the rebuild of Fire Station 3, which is expected to open this year, possibly as early as July.
Last year was largely defined by the covid-19 pandemic and it kept the city extremely busy, starting in April when the city closed its offices and the public library to prevent the disease’s spread, though the illness didn’t make it to Bella Vista until a little later in the year.
Christie explained that city staff stayed busy working from home to ensure services were available to residents throughout the closure, which ended May 18.
The Bella Vista Farmers Market was also canceled for the year.
While city offices reopened, they closed once more on Nov. 2 after a city employee tested positive for covid-19. While the closing was initially expected to last a week, offices remain closed at least until February this year.
In June the city learned of covid-19’s impact on its sales tax revenue: the city came in well ahead of budget.
According to a report prepared
by finance director Cary Elsten, year-to-date sales tax income reported through April came in at $3,065,988, compared to $2,652,756 this time last year, a $413,232, or 16%, increase in total income resulting in a $286,016 surplus compared to projected income outlined in the city’s 2020 budget.
Sales tax income remained high for the city, with officials largely crediting the recently added internet sales tax coupled with more business being done online as residents stay home for safety.
Another covid-19-related windfall came in December, when the council approved $1 million in grant revenue from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES act.
Mayor Peter Christie explained that a $732,178.42 majority of the funds was used to reimburse the city for police officer salaries from April to October — on the basis that officers are out in the field and frequently exposed and at risk — in part to simplify the distribution of these funds because, otherwise, the grant money is approved on an item-by-item basis.
In September, the city finally closed a three-year process and adopted Comprehensive Plan 2040, a document built with several
rounds of public input and intended to help guide the city’s growth over the next two decades.
Three city council seats were decided by election in November, with incumbents Doug Fowler and Steve Bourke retaining their seats and Linda Lloyd losing against Jerry Snow, who will take his seat later this month.
Emergency services also stayed busy this year.
The police and fire departments both adopted new practices, including additional personal protective equipment and increased sanitization of equipment and vehicles, to help protect against covid-19.
Dispatchers joined the rest of the county and began using an updated dispatch system in May.
Administrative Lt. Ryan Harmon said that the new system, Intrado VIPER, is now the standard system for all of Benton County’s public safety answering points, or PSAPs. The system is currently used by the Sheriff’s Office, Bentonville, Rogers and Siloam Springs dispatch units, he said.
“Once the dispatchers learn it and get used to it, it’s going to be easier for the dispatchers and quicker,” he said.