Gravette committee hears updates, council agenda items

GRAVETTE — Gravette council members heard from several city department heads at their committee of the whole meeting Thursday evening, July 14.

Fire chief David Orr submitted only a written report since the fire department was on a call at the time of the meeting.

Police chief Chuck Skaggs gave each council member a police department contact card with a code to scan and take a department survey. He said officers will soon begin to distribute these and he hopes to receive many positive responses. He reported that the new hire, Curtis Mullen, started Monday, and Officer Felicia Latham will be graduating from police academy soon so the department will be fully staffed.

Building inspector/ code enforcement officer David Keck reported a busy month. Department workers have been getting ready for Gravette Day and working on the trail extension project. Council chair Richard Carver asked about progress on building sidewalks to the school and Keck said they were in the middle of the bidding process.

Richard Sutherland, water/sewer department head, reported five leaks had been repaired, but two more still need to be repaired. He said he had secured all easements for the Birmingham alleyway project, but five people have refused to grant easements on the Highway 59 project in town, most because of pending property sales, and progress is being made on the Highway 59 passing lane project south of town.

Karen Benson, library director, reported on the beginning of the children’s summer reading program. The program was moved to the Civic Center since participant numbers have grown too large to accommodate at the library. She said 128 children have enrolled in this year’s program. Thirteen teens and 33 adults are enrolled in the summer reading program.

Tim Dewitt, streets/ parks department head, reported new sealing and striping has been completed on Main Street, at Centennial Park and Pop Allum Park parking areas and a parking area alongside Highway 59 just north of Main Street.

Steve Harari, chamber of commerce president, gave a second-quarter chamber report, highlighting progress in four areas, business retention, business expansion, business recruitment and hosting and advertising community events. He said the chamber had gained 12 new members this quarter, there have been 500 downloads on the Gravette area app and jobs are being filled. He also focused on the chamber’s partnership with the Gravette farmers market and distributed copies of a John Newby column which appeared in the Westside Eagle Observer on July 13. Newby wrote about the economic return and the intangible benefits of financial investment in a city’s downtown area.

Council members considered a resolution to declare as surplus a 1996 Spartan model 5288 480 ladder truck which will be on the agenda for the July 28 council meeting. The vehicle is no longer needed and is really too large to operate on city streets.

Members also reviewed a conditional use permit for a proposed 185-site recreational vehicle park, Little Sugar Trailside RV Resort, at 2524 Forest Hills Boulevard. David Keck said the project has been preliminarily approved by the planning commission and now must go through the large-scale development process.

Also considered were a lot combination at 16540 Barnwell Drive for Tom Chilton, which would combine three lots down to two, and a lot split at 16061 Highway 72 for Garrett J. Rea and Brook K. Rea, which would split a 15.32-acre property into a 9.32-acre tract and two 3-acre tracts. Building inspector Keck recommended approving both land adjustments.

The Barnwell Drive property is a dirt road subdivision Keck described as “pretty rough.” It has been replatted, and the combination of lots will create more reasonable boundary lines and will be “a plus,” he said. The lot split on Highway 72 will result in two lots with two access roads, one a 20-year-old access road and a third lot which will be served by the Centerton Water District. All three tracts are on septic.

The final items of business were two resolutions to be voted on at the July 28 council meeting. The first would approve removing Carl Rabey, Cindy Pembleton and Mike von Ree as signers on all city bank accounts and adding David Henzie, Don Turner, Kurt Maddox, Mallory Weaver and Margo Thomas as signers on all accounts. The second would approve making adjustments to the 2022 budget to allow for $10,000 in Walton Family grant money.

Rabey gave the June financial report showing a $31,000 June surplus and a $68,000 year-to-date surplus in the general fund. A $2,000 June shortfall in the street fund was due largely to the purchase of about $4,000 of equipment. The water fund showed a June surplus of $16,000 and the city as a whole showed a June surplus of $100,000 and a year-to-date surplus of $259,000.

Rabey reported a $159,000 balance in the sidewalk bond fund and an $8,865.33 balance in the parks bond fund.

Mayor Maddox concluded the meeting by saying the 2023 budget planning process would begin soon.