Gravette City Council hears reports, reviews proposed ordinances

GRAVETTE — Gravette City Council members heard reports from department heads at their regular Committee of the Whole meeting Thursday evening, Aug. 11. Richard Sutherland, water/sewer department supervisor, and David Orr, fire chief, submitted written reports.

Police chief Chuck Skaggs reported that July was a good month. He said two of his officers are taking an FBI-sponsored training class in Siloam Springs and Curtis Mullen is at the police academy in Elm Springs. He said his department is now fully staffed and he is looking forward to having all officers on patrol.

David Keck, building inspector/code enforcement officer, said he is working on two new tract splits and has been working on cleaning up a few properties to make sure they comply with code enforcement regulations before Gravette Day. He reported representatives from regional planning had visited town recently and taken a tour of the proposed walking/bike trail expansion. Following that tour, the project was recommended for a grant by the regional planning committee.

Karen Benson, library director, reported the children’s summer reading program had ended with children logging 601 hours and 7 minutes of reading time. Survey results showed participants overwhelmingly reported that the program exceeded their expectations. She reported the library will be hosting a NASA @ Your Library program Thursday, Aug. 25, to show first images from the James Webb telescope. NASA ambassador Katherine Auld will be a guest speaker at that program.

Tim Dewitt, streets/ parks department supervisor, reported materials have been received for the story walk project at Hiwasse. Installation of stations along the walking trail at Hiwasse Park will begin this fall. He said his staff has been busy preparing the town for Gravette Day.

Council members considered the bid for Phase 2 of the walking trail project. After bidding the project a second time, the bid came in about $3,000 lower and Mayor Kurt Maddox said the city should be getting another half million dollars to finish the project. Maddox said construction would probably not begin until near the end of the year. He said work on Dallas Street is going to be a major project since it will involve utility relocation, but work on some less complicated sections near the school might begin sooner.

Council members reviewed two ordinances which will be on the agenda for the Aug. 18 council meeting. One would adopt and enact a new code for the city of Gravette and the other would establish a set of fees for city services. The fee structure will be listed in a separate section so that, when fees change, it will be necessary to change only that section and not have to enact a whole new ordinance.

Council chair Richard Carver proposed tabling the discussion of a new museum commission appointee to allow for further investigation. Members voted unanimously to table the issue.

Carl Rabey, finance director, reported on adjustments to the 2022 budget which will be voted on at the Aug. 18 council meeting. He reported a $25,000 increase in revenue for the general fund in July, a $303,000 city surplus for July and a $655,000 surplus for the year. The biggest expense for the month was $38,000 to repair the roof on the new city hall.

Rabey gave a bond update showing $159,000 remaining in the sidewalk bond fund and $8,370 remaining in the parks bond fund.

At the conclusion of the meeting, council member Jeff Davis reported he had volunteered at a couple of the library summer reading program sessions and he found them to be extremely well-organized. He commended the library staff and volunteers for putting on what he felt was a very good program.