The meeting is available to view in its entirety on the video below this article.

With the Arkansas legislature mandating that municipalities do wastewater rate studies, City Manager J.R. Wilson briefed the board on the realities that repairs and maintenance on an aging system has increased costs to the point that the current rate charged to residents does not keep up. No action was taken after this presentation of data.

The board also approved the Hope Downtown Network's movement of a project involving the setting up of tables and other items from one downtown location on South Main to another on East Second. 

As Beckie Moore, representing the network, explained, a historic preservationist who looked at the area said a building near the project is likely to shed brick fragments and this could pose a hazard. This prompted the network to decide to move the project, which won the vote out of three ideas presented at the second annual A Taste of Hope event last fall.

Next, Hope Beautification Committee President Aley Mendoza made a proposal to plant crepe myrtle trees in the beds downtown beginning in the fall. The board opted to allow time for the committee to gather bids from landscaping services. The committee has a $5,000 budget with which to operate. 

In the City Manager's Report, the items discussed included the need for a new bank account in case of another blank closure necessitated by a weather emergency affecting the ability of city employees to be paid. Permission was granted to use $120,000 to set this up. It was also granted for an account to be set up to receive money for use in Hope for the Future-related construction. 

With the weather warming up further and drying out, Wilson said the board could expect to hear in future meetings from the city code enforcement office about work in condemning and demolishing substandard buildings. 

Wilson also reported that asbestos testing of buildings in the Village shopping center is ongoing, with results to be available 3-5 days after testing finishes. He also said an environmental study will be done. Those performing it have already visited the site. 

With the federal disaster declaration coming through for damages due to the storms of April 2nd-22nd, city leaders have begun the process to apply to have 75 percent reimbursement of its costs. Hope, Water and Light sustained $100,000 in damages, the city sustaining slightly less than this, Wilson said. 

The board granted authority for Wilson to sign an agreement of compliance with European Union regulations so that Weyerhaeuser can market wood it has harvested from city property to European buyers.

A resident and business owner expressed concerns about receiving a letter pointing to a potential code violation in the number of cars parked in his yard. He said he knew of at least two other businesses like his that were potentially in violation for years but could see no signs from those businesses of compliance with the code. 

The owner of the building the visiting historic preservationist thought may be shedding bricks, prompting Hope Downtown Network to request a new site for their project, spoke to say she had been assured by a specialist in brick that the work on the building was structurally sound.