Rogers announces pick for fire chief

ROGERS — The man who has served as the city’s interim fire chief since the beginning of the year can now drop the “interim” from his title.

Mayor Greg Hines announced William Hyde as the new fire chief during Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

Hyde has served as interim fire chief since former Fire Chief Tom Jenkins retired at the end of 2023. Hyde was deputy fire chief under Jenkins.

“I’m honored to be selected,” said Hyde, who started with the Rogers Fire Department in 2013. He has served as the administrator of the community risk reduction programs, the city’s chief building official and chief fire marshal.

“With much investment from the city, I received a lot of education and training,” Hyde said. “I feel super honored that they made that investment in me, financially and time-wise.”

Before joining the Rogers department, Hyde worked with the Bentonville Fire Department beginning in 1998, according to a release from city spokesman Peter Masonis.

“The department is in great hands,” Hines said.

Hyde has a master of business administration degree with a concentration in leadership and ethics from John Brown University, according to the release. He is also a graduate of the Fire Service Executive Development Institute, International Association of Fire Chiefs, the Executive Fire Officer Program and United States National Fire Academy.

“I’m happy to serve,” Hyde said. “We have 158 members in the Fire Department, and I’m happy to serve those people for this purpose. It’s a very good environment and a great staff.”

SEWER WORK

The City Council approved improvements to city’s sewer system during the meeting.

The improvements are to be financed by the issuance of a $31,246,250 bond, as a part of the State Clean Water Revolving Fund, said Taylor Marshall, municipal lawyer at Friday, Eldredge & Clark.

“The facility this bond will go to fund is really impressive and will serve the city for a long time,” said Councilwoman Mandy Brashear.

The Rogers Water Utilities proposed the construction of a new facility in the treatment and disposal of wastewater and biosolids portion of the Rogers Pollution Control Facility. The new facility will house two solid-waste dryers that will maximally reduce sludge volume, said Brent Dobler, Rogers Water Utilities superintendent.

There is currently one dryer at the plant, and it is nearing the end of its design life, Dobler said. Adding a second dryer will increase the utility company’s capacity of service and is part of its continual process to stay ahead of the growth in the area, he said.

“We have two redundant machines that are sized for ultimate build-out,” Dobler said. “They are essentially ovens, and they will dry the solids.”

Dobler said the construction work should begin around the first of summer and is anticipated to be done by December 2025.

Rogers Water Utilities operates and maintains the public water and sewer systems in the city and is governed by the Rogers Waterworks and Sewer Commission. The Rogers Water Utilities is municipally owned but completely supported by water rates and doesn’t receive tax revenue.

Hyde