Hearing to be held on sewer rate rise
A presentation to explain a proposed, five-step rate increase by North Little Rock Wastewater will take place during the City Council meeting at 6 p.m. Monday at North Little Rock City Hall.
Under the proposal, sewer fees on monthly water bills of wastewater customers would rise by 8.1 percent starting Jan. 1. Ensuing increases would be 8.2 percent in 2017, 6.2 percent in 2018, 5.3 percent in 2019 and 4.9 percent in 2020. The increases would be effective Jan. 1 each year.
The council is to schedule a public hearing on the rate increase for its next meeting Oct. 26. A vote also may be called at that meeting.
The rate increases are necessary under a 2011 consent decree with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality for North Little Rock to correct frequent sewer overflows, according to the wastewater department's Executive Director Marc Wilkins. The state directed the city to reduce those overflows within a 10-year period.
City to celebrate its new fire station
An open house and dedication of Fire Station No. 11 on North Little Rock's eastern end will include food, live music and station tours for the public Friday.
A ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony will be 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 9906 U.S. 165. The open house is to continue until 7 p.m., according to a fire department news release.
The city is renting a 1-acre property that includes an office and storage building from Southeast Financial Management LLC for three years and has converted the buildings for use as a temporary fire station. The first year's rent, approved in February by the City Council, is $18,700.
Residents in east-side subdivisions have requested a fire station in their area for years. The city has owned a separate property meant for a permanent fire station since 2008, but funds were never available for the project, city officials have said.
Work to level out Main Street begins
An overlay of North Little Rock's Main Street between 13th and 22nd streets that is meant to level and smooth the four-lane thoroughfare between downtown and the Interstate 40 interchange began Monday.
The contract schedules the work to be completed within 40 days, but Mayor Joe Smith said midweek that the beginning work had gone so quickly that he anticipated completion within another two weeks if no problems arise.
The project extends from the foot of the Main Street viaduct to North Little Rock High School, 101 W. 22nd St.
The City Council approved a $315,967 contract for the project in August with low-bidder Redstone Construction Group of Little Rock.
Nonprofit to hold preservation talk
Preserve Arkansas, a nonprofit organization for historic preservation, will sponsor a talk called Dollars and Sense of Historic Preservation at the William F. Laman Public Library's Argenta Branch on Oct. 27.
Presentations will cover the economic potential of historic-building rehabilitation and downtown revitalization, include discussions about resources available for historic properties and provide updates on real estate legislation.
Information on registration and a complete program schedule are available on the organization's website at preservearkansas.org.
Metro on 10/11/2015