BELLA VISTA -- The Community Development Services Department wants to move into another building. The City Council will need to give its approval for that to happen.
The council will consider Monday approving a contract with Vacon Properties to rent office space at 614-616 W. Lancashire in Village Center.
The council will meet at 6:30 p.m. at American Legion, 1889 Bella Vista Way.
Department staff says the 2,500-square-foot building at 306 Town Center is too cramped for personnel, lacks adequate storage space and needs a larger venue to serve residents.
"We've been in that building three-and-a-half years, and during that time the staff has grown three-fold," said Chris Suneson, Community Development Services director. "We are bursting at the seams."
The contract calls for a yearly rate of $25,800, about $50 more than the city now pays for space at Town Center, Suneson said.
Although slightly smaller at 2,300 square feet, Suneson said the Village Center location has ample parking for employees and puts the department closer to the city's geographic center. Moving also would mean the department no longer has to share space with the Architectural Control Committee.
At the council's Sept. 21 work session, Alderman Frank Anderson expressed concern over separating the offices, both of which handle permitting for local projects.
"I'm not sure we're serving (residents)" by making them drive to two places, Anderson said.
Mayor Peter Christie said he plans to meet with Neff Basore, senior vice president at Cooper Communities to discuss the possibility of having the Architectural Control Committee move its staff to Village Center.
In other business, an ordinance that seeks to shorten the dates when fireworks can be used will have its third and final reading. City code now allows for fireworks to be used from 6 p.m. to midnight from June 27 to July 11, and from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.
The proposed ordinance would only shorten the dates near the Fourth of July to July 3-5 and leave the time slots unaffected.
The change stems from residents who complained fireworks were being used long after the Fourth of July holiday ended, said Alderman John Flynn.
NW News on 09/27/2015