Bella Vista Council To Meet Monday Night

BELLA VISTA -- The City Council is expected to approve several ordinances and resolutions linked to the 2015 budget when it meets at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Highlands Crossing.

Three ordinances on the agenda would waive the council's requirements of formal competitive bidding and allow the mayor and city clerk to enter into contracts.

The city seeks to renew contracts with the Bella Vista Animal Shelter, the Bentonville-Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce and the Property Owners Association. All three contracts are more than $25,000. Contracts above that amount require the city to seek formal bids. Mayor Frank Anderson said that process "isn't feasible" for these issues and he seeks council approval to bypass the usual rules.

Bella Vista's 2015 general fund budget -- which includes fire, administration, legal, planning and building, waste management and the Bella Vista Library -- has an estimated $12.7 million in revenue with expenses of $11.8 million. That indicates an $800,000 surplus for the city.

The council also is expected to approve the 2015 budget.

At a special Dec. 4 work session, Anderson urged the council to hash out all of its questions about the budget before the regular meeting. Anderson said he hopes to use some of the surplus money to fund construction of a new Street Department complex and a fourth fire station.

Anderson has championed the need for both facilities, saying the current Street Department complex is subpar for the amount of streets in Bella Vista and another fire station would ease the workload of the other three stations.

The new Street Department would be located on Forest Hills Boulevard, just south of Rogers Road. The project calls for the development of 32 acres of land. The main building would be 19,200 square feet, with 16,000 square feet allotted for a warehouse. The remaining space would be utilized for offices.

Meanwhile, the fire station also would be built along Forest Hills Boulevard, but near Buckstone Drive. The proposed facility is 9,000 square feet and includes space for six bedrooms. Between nine and 12 firefighters would work there, covering the west-central portion of the city.

The projects are estimated around $2.4 million each.

NW News on 12/14/2014

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