BENTONVILLE — The City Council voted Tuesday to act fast to repair a wall on the Wishing Springs Trail damaged by flooding in recent weeks.
Council members waived bidding on the $69,000 project to speed completion time at the request of the Parks and Recreation Department.
Fast-flowing water April 18 ripped away a retaining wall buffering the creek side portion of the trail as it winds into a tunnel under North Walton Boulevard, said David Wright, department director. A concrete culvert was also damaged when about four inches of rain fell in one-hour, he said.
Boulder Construction, the firm that built the trail, was awarded the bid Tuesday to repair it.
At A Glance
Council Action
Bentonville's City Council met Tuesday and approved:
• A $62,778 contract with Crossland Construction for shop drawings for the Community Center
• A $45,140 budget adjustment for crosswalk striping and traffic signal repair
• A $96,115 amendment to the contract with CEI Engineers for extra time put in on the Southwest I Street Improvement Project
• A $59,440 bid for pole mount transformers
• A $170,460 amendment to the design contract on Tributary 2 improvement
Source: Staff Report
“They did it originally, so they’re most familiar with it,” Wright said. “It’s a timing issue. We want to get it done as soon as we can.”
Wishing Springs Trail opened in 2012. The 1.6-mile trail is part of the Razorback Greenway and connects Lake Bella Vista to Slaughter Pen and the North Bentonville Trail.
The city is recovering from two floods and a storm with high wind, all in the past six weeks. Mayor Bob McCaslin said most of the city’s damage was relegated to its parks. Wright said it has been difficult to keep up with mowing in the middle of immediate repair demands at several parks and trails.
“I don’t think the grass could be growing any faster than it is right now,” he said.
The growth is affecting residents as well as parks workers. McCaslin said code enforcement is working 276 cases for tall grass on private property.
“We are going to maintain the discipline we’ve embraced here as a city,” McCaslin said. “We will administer the codes that you as a council have put in place for the city.”
Troy Galloway, director of community development, said repairing storm damage has taken precedence over routine maintenance around the city and for residents.
“It remains a work in progress,” Galloway said. “There are several folks out there that were impacted like we are.”
The city will have a special pick-up for downed limbs June 4. Residents should place limbs and sticks less than 6 feet in length beside the curb by 7 a.m. Property owners can also take material to the city’s compost facility at 2000 N.W. A St. during operating hours, according to a news release.
McCaslin commended city departments for their work when wind and rain spawned tornadoes around Benton County and caused damage May 20. Alderman Bill Burckart said he received several phone calls from residents thanking him for the city’s response, especially for the response from the Electric Department. He told Travis Matlock, engineering director, several of the callers saw Matlock out checking damage as soon as the storm ended.
“It’s nice when it’s dark and they’re scared to see those city trucks out there,” Burckart said.
Council members also approved $840,000 in savings on the Southwest I Street Improvement Project completed earlier this year. The $15.6 million contract with Decco Contractors was reduced to $14.7 million after change orders were considered.
One change order alone saved the city more than $500,000. The type of soil in the roadbed allowed for less expensive construction material, said Mike Churchwell, transportation director.
The Fire Department can go ahead with a $55,000 improvement project to Station No. 5 after the council approved its budget adjustment Tuesday. The improvement will add garage doors, an exhaust extraction system, a heater and a new access to the vehicle and wash bay.
The project will allow firefighters to wash vehicles during the winter, as well as remedy other problems such as drivers using the bay as a drive-through area, said Chief Brent Boydston.