Council OKs grant application

HIGHFILL — The city council in Highfill heard of road repair needs following the late April storms and authorized matching funds for a grant application for additional restoration work on the Highfill Community Building at its May 9 meeting.

Vernon Reams, the city’s street supervisor, told the council that portions of Douglas Cemetery Road and Reams Road remained closed following the heavy rains and flooding the last weekend in April, with culverts washed out. He asked about repairs, whether he should just try to put things back the way they were before the flood or make repairs and improvements in an effort to prevent future flooding from washing out culverts.

Stacy Digby, Highfill’s mayor, suggested just putting the culverts back in and making the roads passable until the city learns whether FEMA will assist the city with repairs or upgrades to prevent future washouts of the roads.

Reams said the cheapest way to put things back involved retrieving the washed-out culverts and hauling in red dirt to put them back in place. He said Mark Taylor had offered to haul in red dirt from Cave Springs at a good price for the city.

Reams also said he needed a bulldozer to do the job right, though he offered to try to do the work with the city’s backhoe. Digby and Reams agreed contracting dozer services for the work would probably be less expensive than renting a dozer and then transporting it to the roads where it would be needed.

Reams was directed to do the

work with money already in his annual budget and told adjustments would be made later to put back money into his budget from city savings once the total cost of the repair work was known.

Mayor Digby commended city workers and the police and fire departments for work during the floods. He said James “Butch” Wiand had three pump stations under water during the flood. Also reported were 15 water rescue calls with nine actual rescues during the storm.

“You guys did an excellent job with the floods,” Digby said.

Digby suggested the city keep the police department’s Durango which is scheduled for retirement from patrol duties as soon as equipment can be transferred to a newer vehicle. Digby suggested the vehicle proved useful during the recent flooding and might be worth having available in similar future events. He mentioned the possibility of keeping it at the fire station.

A public hearing was held regarding the possibility of the city applying for a $75,000 matching Community Block Grant for additional work on the Community Building. The city would have to match those funds with $7,500 and, according to Digby, already had $4,300 available toward the matching funds. Cassie Elliott, grant writer for the city, said another $10,000 had been committed by Benton County Historical Preservation Commission and could be used toward the matching funds if needed. She said this might be the last time the city could apply for the grant because of population changes which could make the city ineligible in the future.

Digby said the funds, if received, would be used to insulate and seal up the building with new siding and possibly put on a new roof. He said heat, air and electrical work would also be completed to make the building usable again for community functions. He said the building was the only public meeting and event venue in the city which also had public kitchen access.

Following the hearing, the council narrowly approved a resolution authorizing the city to appropriate matching funds for the grant, with David Williamson and Mark White voting against the measure. Mayor Digby cast a vote to pass the measure. Also approved were three resolutions required by the grant application: prohibiting use of excessive force by law enforcement against individuals engaged in nonviolent civil rights protests, minimizing displacement of persons from homes and establishing a fair housing plan for the city.