Bentonville City Council upholds rezoning denial

A new sign is seen on  Tuesday Dec. 29 2020 at the new Bentonville City Hall building at 305 S.W A St. .(NWA Democrat Gazette/Flip Putthoff)
A new sign is seen on Tuesday Dec. 29 2020 at the new Bentonville City Hall building at 305 S.W A St. .(NWA Democrat Gazette/Flip Putthoff)

BENTONVILLE -- The City Council on Tuesday night upheld a Planning Commission decision not to rezone a piece of property on Southwest Regional Airport Boulevard.

The vote was 6-2. The Planning Commission denied the rezoning 6-0 at its June 15 meeting.

Real Assets Inc. sought a rezoning from neighborhood commercial to general commercial at 2301 S.W. Regional Airport Blvd. The plan was for a landscape material retail store and golf cart facility, according to the applicant. The site is 1.58 acres.

City planning staff also recommended denial of the rezoning because of surrounding residential development and the proximity to a major intersection.

In other action, the council approved an agreement with BETA Technologies Inc. to install one DC Fast Charge commercial charging station for aircraft and two level two chargers for electric vehicles in the airport parking lot.

The equipment should be installed by the first week in September, said Debbie Griffin, city director of administration.

The cost of installation, maintenance and equipment will be paid by Beta Technologies with annual rental and 10% margin-sharing fee paid to the city, according to council documents.

"We are looking toward the future, and having these charging stations available will continue to add to the offerings at the airport," Griffin said. "This will open up another opportunity to bring people to the area helping to add to our economy and also support our local pilots who may invest in this type of aircraft."

Also approved was an ordinance revising the 2021 city pay plan. The revision is the result of a recently completed salary survey and was recommended as part of the salary survey results. Adoption of the pay plan will result in pay adjustments to some employees; however, no budget adjustments are associated with the adoption of the revised plan, according to council documents.

There was an amended motion that pay ranges 18 through 25 would be exempt and studied further.

"It's a good pay plan," Police Chief Jon Simpson said. "It's well-conceived and makes sense. This is a great pay plan for our agency, especially dispatch."

Mayor Stephanie Orman near the end of the meeting mentioned the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday afternoon adding a recommendation for fully vaccinated people to wear a mask in public indoor settings in areas of substantial or high transmission.

The council approved a resolution for a temporary amendment to voting procedures that will be in place until Dec. 31 that would allow council members to vote online if necessary.

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Other action

The Bentonville City Council on Tuesday night also approved:

• A budget adjustment for the addition of a new staff engineer in the Engineering Department paid from the Street Fund.

• A bid of $215,282.80 to Innovative Roadway Solutions for the city’s 2021 street preservation maintenance program.

• A bid of $442,472.10 to Decco Excavation for the city’s 2021 overlay program.

• The appointment of Aubrey Patterson to the Dispute Resolution Committee replacing Chris Sooter.

• The appointment of Sooter to the Airport Advisory Board filling Patterson’s unexpired term. Sooter will serve as the ex-offico member until Dec. 31, 2024.

Source: Bentonville

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