Tuesday night’s meeting of the City of Hope Board of Directors, the second regular meeting of March, dealt with a range of subjects, including the passage of an ordinance to increase wastewater charges, approval of increased costs for airport hangar rentals, a resolution to salute Vietnam Veterans and a discussion of ballot language for sales taxes to fund a new fire department headquarters, improvements to the parks and a new recreation center. The meeting can be seen in its entirety in the video on the bottom of this page.
After the preliminaries of the call to order, the invocation, the pledge of allegiance and the approval of minutes of the meeting two weeks before, the first item of discussion was a request from the Hope Downtown Network to place planters in the Pocket Park. This was the winning option of those voted on during this past fall’s Taste of Hope event.
President of the Downtown Network John Hollis presented a proposal to place up to five planters in the East Sixth Street location, which now has a mural, a stage and lighting. Some directors revealed concern about the planters and the plants inside blocking the view of the stage. Hollis said any excess planters could be used elsewhere downtown. The board approved the proposal.
Steve Harris, now a retired private citizen after serving as Hope-Hempstead County Economic Development Corporation President up to last May, spoke in support of the city working with Tree City USA experts to plant trees throughout downtown and the rest of the city. Becoming a member of Tree City USA means compliance with a set of standards Harris said were not difficult to meet but would put the city in line to receive grants to increase its urban forestation and possibly free trees.
Next, Bonnie Raff of the Daughters of American Revolution presented a proclamation of March 27th as National Vietnam War Veterans Day. City Attorney Randal Wright read the proclamation. Mayor Don Still signed it. Raff announced that a ceremony will occur starting at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday March 27th at the Old County Courthouse. She and Mayor Still both invited the public to attend.
Next, Deana Gilbert, organizer of the Farmers Market, asked the board’s permission to move a portable building from the southeast corner of the city’s parking lot at East Third and Elm to a place on the parking lot near the brick wall around the dumpsters. Gilbert said the purpose of the move was to allow for better visibility of the Hope-Hempstead County Economic Development Corporation’s offices and to heighten security by placing the building in the light. The board approved this proposal, too.
Next, the board voted unanimously, with an emergency clause, in favor of an ordinance amending ordinance 1492 and repealing ordinances 1573 and 1741 to raise the charge for wastewater treatment for city households. Under an agreement with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, Natural Resources Division to receive a 1.5 percent annual interest loan for $450,000 from the commission, the city must raise its wastewater rates to service the debt and principal. The city had voted in favor of the same raise in an earlier meeting but the legal requirement for public meetings prior to its passage caused the board to need to provide time for public comment in multiple meetings before the ordinance with the raise could be voted on.
The raise would take the rate from $2.75 per 1,000 gallons to $3.50 per 1,000 gallons while the debt service fee would go from $10.50 to $13.74 per month, according to Agenda Information released by City Manager J.R. Wilson’s office before the meeting. The loan would finance a project to dredge a holding pond, allowing it to hold more water, as well as treat overflow from those ponds. Arkansas’ Department of Environmental Quality has been asking that this project be undertaken under threat of fines to the city.
As Mayor Don Still commented before opening the meeting up for public comments, “Wastewater has never been fun, but we spent a lot of money on it. It's meeting regulations. We hate to raise rates for something you won't see … But this is just part of having a city.”
During the time for public comment, Charles Primus said the last time he attended a city board meeting, the talk was about wastewater treatment. “You all didn’t get anything done about that,” he asked.
Still said the discussion Primus heard was likely about an earlier round of work to outfit one of the treatment plants with an ultraviolet disinfection system, adding, “that was how things are mandated by the state. It's like a local mandate, but they don't give us any money to do what they mandate. But that's what we run into with wastewater. It's just government at work. They tell us what we need to do. And then we figure out how to pay for it.”
After Wright read the ordinance, the board went through the stages necessary to pass the ordinance, including passing an emergency clause. The vote for the ordinance was unanimous.
Next, potential language to go on Hope’s November 5, 2024 ballot that was drawn up by the City Manager’s Office with input from legal counsel was reviewed. One ballot measure, to approve a tax for a new fire department building would have to stand alone by law. But the board has the option of whether to approve placing the proposal for a sales tax financing park improvements, the building of a rec center, the maintaining of the rec center into separate items or to place all additional sales taxes in one item.
Various board members had differing opinions on what option was most likely to result in passage of the taxes, but the consensus was that a permanent sales tax funding maintenance would need to be placed in the same item in which voters can approve the new rec center.
Wilson said cost estimates would come to the board in April for the sales tax that would be required.
After the meeting a set of diagrams were shown on the western wall of the city board meeting room of the proposed improvements to the park. These are also included in the pictorial below the article about the meeting.
Next, addressing an issue tabled in the previous meeting, the board approved a set of increases in the monthly lease cost of hangars at Hope Municipal Airport. The rental costs had not been increased since 2001. The increase would be $15 for each plane. Airport coordinator Darrell Allen said when he mentioned the idea of an increase, “the majority of our users out there have been positive, especially the new folks. They understand.” At the previous meeting, the proposed raise was to be based on square footage, but a family member of someone currently leasing a hangar said these increases would be difficult to pay. Wilson said the rates as presented Thursday night were the result of this feedback.
Wilson gave the board the option of holding off on a vote to consider the proposed raise a bit longer, but a motion from Director Linda Clark to accept the raise in rates was seconded. Then the board approved the raise by unanimous voice vote.
In the City Manager’s Report, Wilson said negotiations had been opened up among the parties working on the Sixth Street project for the city to provide milling and asphalting. He was encouraged that his proposal seemed welcomed and said he believed it would be accepted. He also said the Hope, Water and Light meeting that was to have occurred Wednesday morning at 7:30 a.m. the 20th would occur on March 27th instead. Also, a day of work involving city and parks staff at Rose Hill and Cave Hill Cemeteries will take place starting at 9:30 a.m. at that location. Volunteers to help are welcome.
In Citizens Request, Mitzi Coker praised the city police and the Hempstead County Sheriff’s Department for their help with this past Saturday’s Fishing Derby at the Mike and Janet Huckabee ponds. She also asked that for Easter, people consider adopting puppies from the Hope Animal Shelter instead of buying bunnies.
Before adjournment, the screen used to project the Agenda information was raised to display the work-ups of parks improvements. Wilson said a design for a rec center will likely be shown next month.
