Approval of a location for a new fire station in Maumelle will wait another month while Mayor Mike Watson negotiates to buy privately owned property instead of using a city-owned site.
Watson requested a deferral by the City Council on Monday for two pieces of legislation until the council’s meeting May 19. Aldermen approved both deferrals 7-0. Alderman Ken Saunders was absent.
“We are in negotiation with a property owner,” Watson told aldermen. “We have made an offer.”
Watson said after the meeting that the property is 1.5 acres on Club Manor Drive behind the Kroger grocery. The city made an offer on the same property in 2008, but the City Council chose not to purchase the site.
The property is also close to the initial location for the station near Club Manor Drive and Odom Boulevard South. The City Council agreed in March to delay approving action regarding the city property at the request of several residents who said they preferred the city retain that acreage as green space. The site backs up to several residences.
Watson also told aldermen that the city and the property owner are “waiting each other out” regarding the offer. He added that a contract could be ready by the May 5 meeting for the council’s review.
The pieces of legislation deferred until May 19 concern a curb for the fire station driveway and a conditional use permit for the station to be built within an Open Space zone.
Maumelle voters approved a new fire substation as part of a 2012 bond election. The location wasn’t included on the ballot. The fire station would replace a station on Millwood Circle. Maumelle opened a new main fire station on its north side in 2009.
Arkansas, Pages 8 on 04/22/2014