Board views fire truck, hears street plans
The Siloam Springs Board of Directors got a chance to meet the city’s newest fire engine and got a first look at changes that are coming to Siloam Springs’ downtown district in an effort to expand parking options.
Tuesday’s meeting featured a pair of presentations, which joined two agenda items and three reports from city staff to round out the meeting.
The first presentation of the evening was an introduction of a 78-foot E-One ladder truck that was recently acquired by the Siloam Springs Fire Department, the first of three authorized fire truck purchases. The new truck will not be in service for a few more weeks while the department gathers supplies for the truck and completes training.
The truck, a 2017 model, came in a package of three fire trucks approved by the board for a total of $1.6 million.
Mayor John Mark Turner called the meeting to a recess for the purpose of allowing those assembled to go outside and see the new truck, which was parked in front of the city building’s doors.
After the recess ended, the meeting progressed to the second presentation of the evening — a presentation on changes to downtown Siloam Springs to increase parking and pedestrian
safety. The presentation covered a few proposed changes that were identified in the 2015 Main Street Siloam Springs Downtown Master Plan, including enhancing lighting on Maxwell Street and creating pedestrian bump-outs.
The bump-outs, which are essentially expanded areas on the corners of intersections for pedestrians, would be installed to calm traffic by narrowing intersections, according to Kevin Moore, who presented the design on behalf of the city’s engineering department.
Moore said city staff switched to a larger bumpout design that would reduce the distance pedestrians have to travel to cross the street from over 50 feet to 22 feet, which would be the new street width. The bump-outs could also include public art installations, rain gardens and seating for pedestrians, Moore said.
Last fall, the city tested the first of two parking schemes that would turn the parallel parking on the east side of Broadway Street into angled parking. The spots tested in 2016 were painted at 45-degree angles, but the 35-degree spaces that were tested in June were found to be preferable.
The spaces need to be 35 degrees for people driving larger vehicles to be able to back out without crossing the lane line, Moore said.
In addition to the bumpouts and parking space restriping, Alpine Street would be made a one-way street going east to help address traffic safety when turning onto Mt. Olive, and Central Street’s direction would be reversed to adjust for Alpine Street.
Moore said city staff estimates that the project will cost about $401,000, which is more than the $350,700 approved by the board. Moore said the extra cost came from the switch to larger bump-outs and the rising cost of construction in a busy market. The project would be completed in late 2017, Moore said.
A pair of directors, Amy Smith and Lucas Roebuck, questioned whether the project was necessary. Responding to Smith’s question, which came first, City Administrator Phillip Patterson said the project was necessary to calm traffic downtown.
Roebuck said the project represented another expenditure of money that will only benefit people who are downtown. Director Steve Beers said that the project has been a long term goal, and wasn’t a sudden, unplanned expenditure.
A proposal for a budget amendment followed the street presentation. The proposal came from the Siloam Springs Fire Department, and was for a training facility that will cost an estimated $750,000. The board approved the first phase of the project, which will use the $112,256 left over from the department’s insurance payout from an accident involving the department’s 1997 E-One ladder truck in December 2016.
Karl Mounger, a former firefighter and EMT, stood during the public comments portion of the hearing to emphasize the need for the facility. Burns, also a former member of the Siloam Springs Fire Department, said that he was glad the training facility, which had been in planning for years, had finally made it to the Board of Directors.
“I’m happy that the FD… understands the importance of getting this going,” Burns said.
Beers asked why the department wanted to build its own facility as opposed to sharing a regional facility with other area departments. Siloam Springs Fire Chief Jeremey Criner responded that the cost, logistics and hours associated with traveling to other facilities made it desirable to have a training facility in Siloam Springs. The ability to have a drill at the facility at a moment’s notice is useful, Criner said.
Criner said the department has not yet settled on a funding source for the project. Options include financing the project, having the city purchase the facility and then paying the city back out of the Fire Department budget, or simply setting aside an amount for the project every year.
In response to a clarifying question from Smith, Criner said the building could lead to lower insurance rates for Siloam Springs residents.
The amendment was approved unanimously 6-0, with Director Bob Coleman absent.
The board also:
• Approved a resolution designating the absent Coleman as acting mayor for the board’s meeting on Aug. 1. Both Mayor Turner and Vice-Mayor Carol Smiley will be absent that day. There is some question as to whether there will be enough directors present to hold a meeting, as Smith will also be gone that day, and Tuesday was Roebuck’s final board meeting before moving to Texas. Four directors are required to hold a meeting.
• Heard a report on the Law Enforcement Support Office program, which transfers military surplus items to local police departments for 3 percent of the market value. Siloam Springs Police Chief Jim Wilmeth said that only 5 percent of the items acquired through the LESO are weapons, and only 1 percent are the military vehicles people think of when they think of militarized police forces.
In the past few years, the department has spent about $48,000 on more than $391,000 worth of equipment. There was discussion on three Humvees, which Wilmeth said would be used for bad weather like hail, rough terrain, and in situations when an officer needs rescue.
• Heard a presentation on soon-to-be proposed Medical Marijuana zoning code amendments. Patterson said city staff is moving to make pharmacies and medical marijuana facilities special uses, which would require permitting and approval by the Board of Directors.