Farmington shaves time from City Hall hours

FARMINGTON — Residents will have 30 minutes less to handle business at City Hall going forward.

The City Council, at its meeting Feb. 12, unanimously approved an ordinance changing the closing time of the facility from 4:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

“There have been only 12 in-person payments on any city departments over the last year,” Mayor Ernie Penn said.

Penn told the council the change would be in line with other area city governments, most notably neighboring Prairie Grove, which recently adopted an 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. schedule for city offices.

The new hours at Farmington City Hall will be 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“Most all city departments have email access and online forms for the public to use for requests, payments, filings and billings,” Penn said.

He said the city has updated its computer systems, which has “in turn eliminated the need for the office staff to hang around waiting for the public to come into City Hall in person to take care of routine tasks.”

Before the change, there was not a built-in lunch break for city employees. Penn said the new schedule allows for two 20-minute breaks per day in accordance with federal wage and hour requirements.

Council members Linda Bell and Hunter Carnahan expressed some misgivings about the measure but did, at the request of city employees, vote with the majority in approving the new hours.

SENIOR CENTER GRANT

The council also approved a resolution authorizing the city to apply for an estimated $500,000 grant for improvements to the Farmington Senior Activity and Wellness Center with a grant through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in conjunction with the Arkansas Economic Development District.

A public hearing on the grant application was held during the council meeting. Chelsey Weaver, a community development coordinator and communications specialist with the Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District, was present to answer any questions, along with Lela Hampton, center director.

The public hearing focused on desired improvements at the senior center, which is adjacent to City Hall.

This is the second time the center is applying for the grant. Both Weaver and Hampton assured the council, as did Penn, that the center and development district are in “better shape” to get the appropriation this time around.

If approved, the grant would be used for major renovations to the center, roof repairs, bathroom remodeling, enclosing a canopy, installation of ramps and rails within the building, and an underpinning of the entire structure.

“The building is owned by the city and operated by the Area Agency on Aging Regional Office in Harrison,” Penn said. He said it is not feasible to enlarge the building’s footprint at this time because of the small shape of the lot and its location on a busy highway.

Hampton said she was pleased with the positive comments on the grant and its progress with the economic development district taking the application process lead.

In other business, the council approved an ordinance rezoning the property at 9 Locust St. from residential to highway commercial at the request of property owner Phillip Shepard.

During the public comment period at the start of the meeting, city resident and property owner Phyllis Young complained there had been little to no communication with city staff regarding an issue with water flooding onto her property. She said she is in a lawsuit with the engineers of the offending property.