Bella Vista council OKs buying road equipment

“Any time you have something that pays for itself in the first year it’s a wise investment.” — John Flynn, Bella Vista City Council member

BELLA VISTA — The City Council unanimously approved buying an asphalt zipper during its Monday meeting.

Mayor Peter Christie said the equipment will allow the Street Department to churn the base layer under damaged streets rather than dig it out, haul it out and replace it.

“This is an amazing device that will save us a lot of money when we’re fixing potholes and other portions of the street,” he said.

After churning portions of the road, the mixture of pavement and base layer becomes a new base layer, he said.

“The roller can simply flatten it and then it can be paved,” he said.

The contract to purchase this new piece of road equipment, not to exceed $236,410 is through the HGAC cooperative purchasing agreement, and city staff expect the tool to pay for itself within the first year, he added.

Council member John Flynn said he’s comfortable with the city investing in a piece of equipment such as this one.

“Any time you have something that pays for itself in the first year it’s a wise investment,” he said.

Council member Larry Wilms said he agreed the zipper could save time and money.

The city has a lot of rough streets that can be more easily addressed with a tool like this, he said.

“Those can be readily patched rather than have to dig them out and put in new base there,” he said.

The council also approved buying a new fingerprinting machine and two vehicles for the Police Department as well as updated data recovery software and hardware and a round of bonuses for city employees who have worked through the covid-19 pandemic.