City to discuss proposal for highway adoption

The El Dorado City Council convenes a half an hour earlier than usual today for a briefing on a proposal for the city to adopt U.S. 82-B/ Hillsboro.

Aldermen will convene at 5 p.m. for the briefing in the Council Chamber of City Hall.

A regular meeting will follow at 5:30 p.m., during which the council will consider a proposed agreement with the state to adopt the highway within city limits.

During the regular meeting, the council is also expected to hear an update on plans to improve the U.S. 82 gateway into the city.

Crafton Tull and Associates, Inc., and the Toole Group are working with the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department on the master plan for improvements to U.S. 82-B.

Members of the community had the opportunity to ask questions and view displays and examples of modifications that could be made to the highway.

A representative of Crafton Tull — a firm specializing in civil engineering, surveying, architecture, landscape architecture and planning — said last week that during the next phase of the project, the design phase, the AHTD will contact property owners along Hillsboro to decide what design concepts will work best.

In February, the city council passed a resolution that authorized Mayor Frank Hash to negotiate with the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department to find a conceptual design that will be mutually beneficial for the city and state.

Mayor Frank Hash said last week that a proposed agreement had been drafted, and he wanted to brief aldermen on the agreement today.

The council is also expected to revisit a funding request to complete the long-running process of making city records available to the public online.

On Oct. 11, City Clerk Heather McVay presented aldermen with a proposed contract from R&D Computer Systems, LLC, to set up web distribution portals and provide software, maintenance and technical support.

Aldermen questioned an annual support cost of $1,600 that would begin in June 2018 and if any other options were available to cover support when needed.