City council discusses bond issue and water purchase

The Bella Vista City Council discussed a resolution to support the construction of upcoming capital improvement projects with bonds secured by an additional 1% sales and use tax in the city, subject to voter approval in 2020, during its Aug. 19 regular meeting.

The bonds would be roughly $20 million to cover a proposed police and courts facility at $13 to $14 million, as well as a replacement for Fire Station 3 and a fire training facility, each projected to cost roughly $2 million, while leaving an additional $2 million reserve.

The loans are expected to be paid off in 10 years and are structured such that the entirety of the additional tax will go to paying them.

Bella Vista’s city sales tax currently is 1%, and an additional 1% would bring its sales tax rate in line with Bentonville and some other neighboring cities.

Mayor Peter Christie said the city already has POA land on license for the fire training facility and already owns a piece of land next to the street department building where the police station and courts facility can be placed.

The decision to focus on these items is rooted partly in a survey that was conducted last year in which residents identified police, fire protection and streets as their primary concerns.

The current police station is an adapted business office, he said, and the police department needs a modern building with space to grow so it can keep pace with the city’s growth.

Replacing Fire Station 3 on Glasgow Road will allow the city to house more firefighters in that portion of the city, he added, and address concerns from residents in the Highlands.

Currently, the city can only house two firefighters in Station 3, which is not adequate to man multiple units. The station keeps a firetruck on hand, which also responds to medical calls, with an ambulance from Station 4 being dispatched as well. The fire and EMS personnel from Station 3 arrive initially and provide care, and the ambulance from Station 4 arrives afterward to transport patients if needed, ensuring Station 3 personnel are not absent for an hour or more transporting that

that patient.

Fire Chief Steve Sims said he’s received numerous calls from residents who would like to have an ambulance permanently stationed in the Highlands.

Christie said the fire training tower helps on two fronts. It gets firefighters training in town, meaning they’ll still be close by if there’s an emergency, he said. It also earns the city points toward improving its insurance safety office, or ISO rating for fire protection, which can help reduce homeowners’ insurance rates.

“There are many, many benefits to preparing for the future,” he said.

The council also examined a resolution to back out of an agreement to purchase a portion of Centerton’s water system. This resolution was previously discussed and tabled in June.

During the March 2017 regular meeting, the council unanimously approved a purchase price of $243,855.49 for the 1,312 acres of water distribution area that Centerton was willing to sell, which includes areas in Gravette and running along Arkansas Highway 279 and Rogers Road.

Gravette filed suit in September 2017 against Centerton aiming to force Centerton to sell all portions of its water system in Gravette city limits to Gravette.

Christie previously stated that he believes the city should back out because its priorities have changed and it needs to focus on residents’ needs and he is concerned about rates increasing for the customers in this service area.

Council member Doug Fowler said he was not in favor of backing out of this purchase because it could become extremely helpful in the future.

The west side of town is growing, he said, and its rate of growth is picking up.

When Arkansas Highway 549, commonly called the Bella Vista Bypass, becomes the new U.S. Highway 71, Fowler said he expects growth in that part of town to increase much more rapidly.

By controlling these water lines, the city has the opportunity to invest in expanding them to provide adequate water service for potential commercial growth alongside Arkansas Highway 279, which can

provide some of the commercial tax base that the city needs, he said.

This investment doesn’t need to be immediate, he said, but the city may not get another chance to make this purchase and won’t have the option down the road without moving forward with it.

The council also looked at a change order to fund at-grade crossings to replace two tunnels that were removed from the central

trail system, repealing the city council meeting rules as ordinances and reinstating them as resolutions, authorizing the sale of three surplus vehicles and a drone policy for the police department.