Gravette Council approves vehicle and software purchases, splash park

GRAVETTE — Gravette City Council members, at their regular meeting July 27, passed six ordinances authorizing lot splits for property owned by Matt Marrs in Country Meadows Subdivision, passed an ordinance to replat property on Birmingham Street owned by David Marrs and passed an ordinance to close an alley between Third Avenue S.W. and Fourth Avenue S.W. An open public hearing was held at the beginning of the meeting and no one spoke regarding any of these actions.

Another public hearing was held at which grant writer Cassie Elliott gave a presentation outlining the city’s intention to apply for a $75,000 Rural Services Block Grant to be used for community room renovations on the old home economics building. The grant would be a 90/10 HUD grant, with the city paying 10 percent of the cost of renovations and the rest coming from grant money. Eligible cities must have a certain percentage of low- to moderate-income residents, Elliott explained, and Gravette is eligible, with 54 percent of residents in this category. The grant application is due in two weeks and notification should come in October if the grant is approved.

Council members passed a resolution authorizing the mayor to apply for the grant, appropriating $7,500 for the city’s match money requirement and expressing their support for the project.

In other action, council members voted to approve the purchase of a 2014 allwheel-drive Dodge Charger at a price of $16,000. Council members had discussed at the July 13 committee of the whole meeting surplusing the city’s 12-year-old Dodge Durango. However, mayor Kurt Maddox reported that one of the police cars was in need of repair, so they voted to authorize allowing the police department to use the Durango.

C.J. Leatherwood, a representative from Continential Utility Solutions, Inc., headquartered in Jonesboro, gave a presentation recommending that the city purchase the firm’s water billing software. She said about 1,100 utilities use the CUSI software and it works with all major meter manufacturers. It utilizes the latest technology and will eliminate city employees making many repetitive entries.

Financial director Carl Rabey recommended purchase of the software, saying the company had come down from the initial price of $40,000 to $25,000. He said the cost of the system would be $3,800 annually compared to $3,400 for the present system but it should cut 25 percent to 30 percent off the time spent on water billing. Council members voted to approve purchase of the new water system with money coming from water reserve funds.

Council members voted to approve plans for the splash park at the Gravette city pool. Plans include new fencing around the pool, resurfacing of the pool deck, three shade structures and slides on the north side of the pool. Mayor Maddox said plans do not include remodeling the building. Work is expected to be completed by the time the pool opens for the 2018 season, and he expects usage of the pool will increase significantly. Maddox said he hopes to hold a free swim weekend before official opening of the pool. Pool fees may change slightly, but a season pass will be offered which will result in cost savings.

Two bids were presented for work at the Hiwasse park. Council members voted to accept the bid from Heartland at a cost of $216,098.03 plus $15,000 to enlarge the playground area. The total cost of $231,098.03 includes a pavilion, play structures, bathrooms and handicap parking. Heartland is also the company that will be doing the work on Gravette’s splash park.

Financial director Carl Rabey presented a written financial report for the month of June with details on revenue and expenditures for all funds. He also presented a list of proposed budget adjustments, including purchase of police car cameras, purchase of the vehicle from Cave Springs, purchase of the upgraded water billing system and an increase in the fire department budget for salary for a temporary firefighter to cover for injured firefighter Jerod Weston who is doing office duty. Council members voted to approve the full list of budget adjustments.

Rabey said the city is “doing great” and he expects to end the year with a surplus of $300,000 to $400,000.