Three contracts and three resolutions were approved by the Board of Directors on Tuesday during their regularly scheduled meeting.
The first position of the meeting was devoted to an economic development grant from the state of Arkansas that will go toward the new Simmons feed plant. The meeting started out with a public hearing from Jay Stallard, who is the senior grants administrator with the Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District (NWAEDD).
Simmons' new pet food plant is going to share a wastewater pre-treatment plant with the existing Simmons plant. As of today, that plant is not equipped to handle the extra load, so this grant will be used to expand the facility, Stallard said. The impact to the city is that if Simmons expands and uses the pre-treatment plant, it doesn't strain the city's wastewater treatment facilities, Stallard said.
The grant hearing, which is required by law, represented an opportunity for members of the public and board members to identify needs for the city. Besides the needs of water, infrastructure, affordable housing and new job creation that were identified by the NWAEDD, no new needs were identified.
In order for the city and Simmons to receive the funds, Siloam Springs was required to pass five resolutions. City Attorney Jay Williams said that while some of the board members had not been around to see these resolutions before, they had been passed multiple times in the past.
"We are just re-affirming what is already there," Williams said.
Stallard said the government likes to keep cities current on the resolutions by having them re-pass the resolutions every few years if they apply for federal grants.
The resolutions included one barring use of excessive police force on peaceful protests, a non-displacement resolution requiring the city to replace any homes destroyed during the construction of the project, an equal housing resolution, one designating the city as the grant administers and a final resolution allowing the city to apply for the grant.
Director Steve Beers said he was nervous about the non-displacement resolution, which Stallard acknowledged had a "scary" look. Stallard said the resolution only applied to projects that used federal grants, and as the Simmons project was not going to demolish any homes, the resolution was only a formality.
The resolutions were all passed together with a unanimous vote of 5-0, as Directors Brad Burns and Amy Smith were absent.
The second resolution was also a formality. City Administrator Phillip Patterson introduced a resolution that gives the City Administrator the authority to negotiate economic incentives with new businesses that would then be subject to approval by the Board of Directors.
"I believe I have this authority today, but it is not in writing," Patterson said.
The resolution was passed unanimously.
The board also:
• Approved a resolution to do some bank work on Sager Creek between Lincoln Street and Country Club Road, which will cost just over $100,000 over two years. The bank work will generate stream mitigation credits required for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to work on an area west of Holly Street between Twin Springs and Tulsa Streets. That work will be covered by a disaster relief grant.
• Approved a contract to renovate the old police building to be used as a "One-Stop Permit Shop."
• Approved the purchase of one blower and the repair of another blower for the wastewater treatment plant. The blowers are vital to the biological portion of the treatment process, which Public Works Director Steve Gorszczyk called the trunk to the tree of water treatment.
• Approved the hiring of a temporary employee to help the mowing crew over the summer.
General News on 05/22/2016