GENTRY -- The City Council passed ordinances June 6 adopting a water and sewer extension specification book and approving a final plat for Phase 2 of the Three Springs Subdivision.
Also approved were resolutions authorizing the purchase of a used police car and moving forward with plans to declare a property a nuisance.
The council revisited the matter of accepting a lengthy and detailed specification book for water and sewer line extensions and, with rules suspended, adopted the book and its specifications for use by the city on three readings with a single vote.
Approved in like manner was the Phase 2 final plat for the Three Springs Subdivision, located east of the city in the city planning area, to the south of Arkansas 12 and west of Fairmount Road.
After a discussion of the need for more patrol vehicles for the Police Department and the wait time to obtain new cars, the council approved the purchase of a low mileage used Dodge Charger police cruiser from Chicago Motors for an amount not to exceed $20,000 (staying below the competitive bid threshold). The anticipated cost of the unit available was just under $19,000.
Money for the purchase will come from the Police Department's Act 988 funds, which are specifically designated for the purchase of police vehicles.
The reason for the immediate purchase was the shortage of patrol vehicles caused by the age of numerous cars in the fleet and their frequent downtime for repairs.
The council voted to move forward with the condemnation of property at 420 S. Byers Ave. by setting a hearing date at the beginning of the July 11 meeting and then considering a resolution condemning the property during the meeting. This would allow the city to contract for services to clean up the property and bring it into compliance with city code and place a lien against the property for the costs incurred. The action essentially gave the property owner just over 30 days to bring the property into compliance to avoid the city taking additional steps to abate the code violations.
The mayor also reported to the council on the city splash pad and sports complex, saying there were yet a few punch list items to be completed before the splash pad project is finished.
After explaining that the sports complex was opened a little sooner than expected because of the need to use it for Gentry Youth Organization games and a 12U baseball tournament, Johnston asked the council for guidance on a name for the sports complex, which had opened earlier that evening, so that signage could be completed. The consensus was to simply continue to use the name Gentry Sports Complex.
Johnston told the council that he would set a meeting for the Parks Commission to begin working on a fee schedule and policy for the new facility.
Larry Gregory of Garver reported that the new Gentry water tower on Y-City Road was now full of water and being disinfected. He said work on telemetry and punch list items were being completed at the water storage facility and the project was almost complete.