Council Sells More Land To Kum & Go

BROKER SAYS STORE NEEDS ADDITION FOR SECOND ENTRANCE, PARKING

FARMINGTON — Kum & Go requested more land from the city of Farmington and the Farmington City Council agreed to sell a little bit more park land to meet the company’s needs.

The council on Jan. 13 voted to give Mayor Ernie Penn the authority to negotiate and then sign the latest offer of $106,551.30 from Kum & Go to purchase 28,413 square feet of park land located behind the One Stop Mart on Main Street.

David Erstine, a real estate broker with CBRE/NW Arkansas, said Kum & Go needs the additional land for a second entrance on Broyles Street and to provide more parking behind the store.

The company’s initial letter of intent offered $65,812.50 for 17,555 square feet of land located immediately north of the One Stop Mark at the corner of Broyles and Main Street. The land is part of Creekside Park but is in a low lying area that is not suitable for recreational uses, according to city officials.

Erstine approached the City Council last week to amend the offer. Erstine previously has said that Kum & Go is interested in purchasing the One Stop Mart, the adjacent property with the ice machine and the city land. In all, the company is interested in about 1½ acres.

He said construction on the new gas station and convenience store should start in November.

“The look and feel to it will be similar to other Kum & Go stores in northwest Arkansas,” Erstine told the council members.

Penn said he believes Kum & Go will be a positive business for the community and will be located on one of the “best corners” in Farmington.

In other action, the council approved a request from fire Chief Mark Cunningham to purchase a new 2014 Chevrolet Tahoe for the chief’s use for an amount not to exceed $ 30,000. Cunningham’s 2014 budget includes money for the new vehicle.

Cunningham now is driving a 2006 Dodge Durango with 51,000 miles. He said he plans to use the Durango as a second medic truck for the department. Cunningham said the total cost of the new Tahoe would be $ 32,000, including equipment, and the rural fire association would pay any costs above $30,000.

The council also unanimously approved ordinances to increase the compensation for the city attorney’s position, city council positions and members of the Farmington Planning Commission. All increases were approved as part of the 2014 budget.

The city attorney’s salary will increase 5 percent from $45,000 per year to $47,250 annually.

City council and planning commission members will receive an additional $ 50 per meeting.

The council’s compensation will increase from $ 150 to $ 200 for regular meetings and from $ 75 to $ 125 for special meetings. The compensation for planning commissioners will increase from $100 to $150 for regular meetings and from $50 to $75 for special meetings.

This is the first pay increase for city council members and planning commission members in eight years, Penn said.

The council also approved an amended budget to reflect actual expenditures and revenues for 2013. The amended budget shows that the city projected to receive $ 2.2 million in revenue and actually received $ 2.5 million. Additional revenue came from building inspection fees, sales tax receipts, franchise fees, county turnback funds and other miscellaneous funds.

For expenses, the amended 2013 budget shows that the city’s administration budget exceeded projected expenditures by $200,000 because of costs to purchase the new library and remodel the building. Documents also show that the city was able to transfer $478,144 at the end of 2013 to the general reserve fund.

The council, in addition, decided not to increase its allocation to Ozark Regional Transit. Joel Gardner, executive director, addressed Farmington aldermen last month asking for an increase from $5,000 per year to $ 21,000 per year to help with the costs of a new fixed route from Lincoln to Elkins.

Council members decided to wait and see how many people use the new fixed route and discuss the request again next year.