BENTONVILLE -- Benton County's mayors and county judge engaged in a roundtable discussion of city and county issues Tuesday despite lacking the needed quorum to take action.
The Benton County Intergovernmental Cooperation Council is made up of the county's 21 mayors, the county judge and county clerk. It's tasked with promoting cooperation among local governments.
Solid Waste District
Information on the Benton County Solid Waste District, its services and its location can be found on the district’s web site at www.bcswd.com.
Source: Staff Report
In recent years the council was the springboard for discussion of the rural ambulance service issue partly resolved last year when voters approved a 0.2 mill property tax dedicated to pay for some of the service cost.
Ambulance service briefly was discussed Tuesday as the council went over a list of service areas the law requires it to consider. The list includes law enforcement, fire protection, jail facilities and correctional services, and ambulance and emergency medical service, among others.
County Judge Bob Clinard said the county is looking at having a private company handle ambulance service for rural areas of the county. Garfield Mayor Gary Blackburn said residents of his city and the surrounding areas in northeast Benton County are served by the Northeast Benton County Fire Department's ambulance service. They pay an annual fee for service. Blackburn described it as a "highly successful" example of providing service to a rural area. Residents of the NEBCO service areas are happy with the service, he said.
"By and large, the people I talk to do not want to be part of a county service that will cost them more money," he said.
Mayor John Turner of Siloam Springs said his city would support an ambulance system serving the rural areas only, but not one in the city.
The mayors also discussed problems with recycling tires after Lowell Mayor Eldon Long said he'd received complaints from businesses that the trailers available for use from the state constantly are filled, leaving no place to properly dispose of used tires. The mayors agreed there's a need to dispose of the tires so they don't end up on roadsides or in illegal dumps, but said there are few options.
One option discussed is the Benton County Solid Waste District's facility near Centerton. Clinard and several of the mayors agreed the district's facilities serve a need, but the public remains largely unaware of its services and location. The county wants to increase awareness of the service as the cost of the annual county cleanup events keeps increasing, Clinard said.
"Everything we gather is likely something that would end up where it shouldn't be," Clinard said of the cleanup events. "It's important that we point out the Solid Waste District. I'd like for you to help us educate people as to what these services are and where they are."
NW News on 02/18/2015