BELLA VISTA -- The city council on Monday passed an ordinance to renew its contract with the Bella Vista Animal Shelter, but not before hearing some protest from one alderman.
Because the contract cost more than $25,000, the ordinance asked the council waive its requirements for the formal competitive bidding process. Mayor Frank Anderson said at a Dec. 4 work session that (the bidding process) "isn't feasible" for these issues, so he sought council approval to bypass the rules.
Alderman Larry Wilson objected to the contract with the animal shelter on the grounds that it was asking for a 50 percent increase compared with last year.
The shelter's monthly operational fees increased from $1,000 to $1,500. However, fees for taking in cats and dogs did not change, and remain at $50 per cat and $100 per dog. The $500 a month increase equates to $6,000 a year, which brings the shelter's overall budget up to $65,000. The city allotted the shelter $59,000 in 2014.
Alderman Jim Wozniak rebuffed Wilson's claim, saying that anyone could find sharp increases if they "picked" at the numbers enough.
"For what they do at the cost, it's been a bargain," Wozniak said. "(The shelter) is saving the city $40,000 by taking this on."
Alderman Allen King also countered Wilson's claims that the city was subdizing the shelter.
"We're paying them for a service," he said. "It's more similar to contracting with them."
The ordinance passed by a 5-1 vote. Wilson was the only dissenter.
The council also voted to adopt the 2015 city budget. The resolution passed 4-2, with Alderman Jerry Snow and Wilson voting against. Snow said that it was not necessary for the budget "to be approved at this time."
The city is estimated to have $12.7 million in revenue for its general fund, which includes fire, administration, legal, planning and building, police, waste management and the Bella Vista Library. Expenses are projected at $11.8 million.
With an approximate $800,000 in surplus, Anderson is hoping to use some of that money to help fund the construction of the city's new Street Department facility and a fourth fire station. The Street Department calls for the development of 32 acres of land along Forest Hills Boulevard, just south of Rogers Road. There are five proposed buildings at the site, the largest of which is a 19,200-square-foot warehouse.
Meanwhile, the fire station also will be along Forest Hills Boulevard, but near Buckstone Drive. It will be about 9,000 square feet with space allotted for six bedrooms and three bathrooms. Between nine and 12 firefighters will work there, covering the west-central portion of Bella Vista.
Both projects are estimated at $2.4 million.
Anderson, who is stepping down in January after eight years as mayor, has championed both projects.
"The place we're in now, we can't turn a truck around, there's no place for a fuel station or salt and sand storage," Anderson said at a meeting earlier this year. "Streets are a real problem in Bella Vista, they have been since I moved here in the 1980s. We need a better facility to manage them."
General News on 12/16/2014