Council meets Tuesday
The regular monthly meeting of the Pea Ridge City Council will begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 16, in the council room at City Hall. Items on the agenda include:
• Resolution 441 supporting House Joint Resolution 1018 of 2019;
• Ord. No. 667 approving the final plat for Fox Spur;
• Appointing the director and alternate to the Benton/Washington County Rural Water Authority Board;
• Resolution 442 concerning staffing for adequate fire and emergency response;
• Surplus 1979 Sutphen fire truck;
• Consider a noise ordinance; and
• Consider the sign ordinance. The final plat of Fox Spur Phase 1 subdivision was scheduled to be considered by the Planning Commission in a special meeting Tuesday, June 9. Once approved, it is to be sent to the City Council for approval.
The noise ordinance draft is scheduled to be reviewed. It states: “The city council finds that excessive sound is a serious hazard to the public health, welfare and safety, and the quality of life. It is the policy of the city to prevent excessive sound which may jeopardize the health welfare or safety of its citizens or degrade the quality of life.”
Resolution 442 states that the Pea Ridge Fire Department “needs full-time staffing for the Fire Department and Ambulance Service … and the council desires the fire chief to apply for a grant for the needed cost-share requirements for the hiring of staff … in the first and second years of the grant, 75% of the usual annual cost of a firstyear firefighter employed by that department … and in the third year, 35% of the usual annual cost of a firstyear firefighter.” According to the resolution, the grant is from the FY 2019 SAFER Grant Program.
Resolution 441 supports House Joint Resolution 1018 to continue a levy of a one-half percent sales and use tax for state highways and bridges, county roads, bridges and other surface transportation. Considered last month, the council agreed to table the resolution as one council member was absent and one was opposed to the resolution. City Clerk Sandy Button said it is not an additional cost, but a continuation of one currently in effect.