Gravette council members sworn in

GRAVETTE — Three new City Council members were sworn in at the Committee of the Whole meeting Jan. 7.

Jeff Davis, Larry Weihe and Don Turner took the oath of office and were sworn in by Mayor Kurt Maddox.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Christopher O’Brien addressed the council about threats or “aggressive comments” against a Gravette resident and asked why nothing had been done about them. When questioned about them, O’Brien said the comments were made on social media and Maddox said the city didn’t monitor sites other than the city’s Facebook page.

When Maddox asked if a call was made to report the threats to the Police Department, O’Brien saidd it was not reported. Both Maddox and Police Chief Chuck Skaggs assured O’Brien if such threats were reported to police, they would be investigated and acted upon.

Another resident, Joseph Cowan, expressed concern about rumors of possible riots in Gravette and asked what would be done if such rioting occurred. Both Maddox and Skaggs said disaster preparedness plans are in place and mutual aid agreements have been signed with other area agencies that would come in and provide support if needed.

In the meeting, Skaggs reported the year was going well for his department with 50 calls responded to so far in 2021. He said the department responded to 2,677 calls in 2020, down considerably from over 4,000 calls in 2019.

David Keck, building inspector and code enforcement officer, reported the new walk/bike trail is essentially complete except for the installation of handrails and final striping.

Other department heads weren’t present. Maddox said he told them they didn’t need to attend and their reports would be filed.

Maddox said a second reading of the city’s proposed Unified Development Code will be on the agenda for the Jan. 14 meeting.

Keck said rezoning of property owned by Bobby McClendon and a proposed lot split for McClendon property in Hiwasse — tabled in December — would be on the agenda for Thursday’s meeting. Keck said the lot split had been revised into two lots and should be approved by the Planning Commission.

Keck recommended approving the preliminary plat for Teri’s Place Subdivision on Dallas Street. Plans for the subdivision include 12 lots with eight multifamily units.

Maddox said authorizing the Fire Department to apply for a matching grant for money to purchase turnout gear will be on the council meeting agenda. Action will also be taken to repeal a 2007 resolution setting fees for ambulance drivers and medical personnel. Maddox said salaries for these employees are now covered in the budget.

Council members were given copies of the city’s proposed new trash removal contract. Several options were presented, Maddox said, and, since the Benton County solid waste district is no longer picking up recyclable items, an option is included for a twice-monthly curbside pickup for recyclables.

No financial report was given. Maddox said financial director Carl Rabey is hospitalized but his quarantine period has ended and he’s expected to be released soon. A financial report was to be available at the Thursday meeting.

Maddox said K-MAC wants to close on the city hall and police station purchase before the end of January so plans are for occupants of the two buildings to move over the long weekend of Jan. 15-18. K-MAC has its building permit and all paperwork filed to begin demolition in January.

Maddox also announced the city has received the grant for the construction of bathrooms in Kindley Park so he’ll be contacting the firm that built the bathrooms at the Hiwasse park and work is expected to begin soon.