BELLA VISTA -- The City Council voted down a resolution to no longer pursue the purchase of a section of Centerton's water system Monday during its regular meeting.
The vote came in 3-2 against the resolution, with council members Linda Lloyd, Doug Fowler and Larry Wilms voting against it while James Wozniak and Steven Bourke voted in favor. Council member John Flynn was absent.
During the March 2017 regular meeting, the council unanimously approved a purchase price of $243,855.49 for the 1,312 acres of water distribution area that Centerton was willing to sell, which includes areas in Gravette and running along Arkansas 279 and Rogers Road.
The voted-down proposal would back the city out of that purchase agreement per the terms outlined in a memorandum of understanding between Bella Vista and Centerton, under which Bella Vista would be required to reimburse some of Gravette's costs related to the sale.
This resolution was previously discussed and tabled in June and then August. Mayor Peter Christie previously stated that with this ongoing discussion, officials from Centerton requested that Bella Vista indicate its intentions to continue pursuing the sale or back out by Dec. 1.
Christie said the reason he would prefer to back out of the sale is because Gravette could force Bella Vista to sell the portions of its newly acquired water system that are within Gravette city limits.
Currently, this leg of Centerton's water system supplies water to portions of Gravette and Bella Vista and is protected by USDA loans, but without those loans -- which Bella Vista does not qualify for -- Gravette could force Bella Vista to sell the portion in Gravette city limits.
It would be frustrating to purchase something and be forced to sell part of it soon after, he said.
"I believe there are better ways to look at other options," he said.
Some other options include working with Bentonville, the Old Bella Vista POA or the Bella Vista Village POA to bring water to the U.S. 71 corridor in town and provide service to businesses that are currently on well water and may be able to expand with access to Beaver Lake water, Christie said.
Council member Larry Wilms said that, while there are risks associated with the purchase, the opportunities it could open may outweigh them.
"That opportunity is now before us, despite possible risks that have been discussed," he said. "Those risks are possible, not guaranteed."
It's also worth noting that Bella Vista has gone through 2½ years of work to acquire this water system, and if the city wants to try again elsewhere that work will need to be repeated, he said.
During the meeting, the council approved an ordinance calling a special election on the questions of issuing bonds backed by a 1% sales tax to cover the construction costs of a new police department, a rebuild and raze of Fire Station 3 and a fire training facility; a meeting schedule for 2020; residential and commercial rates for solid waste pickup and a renewed five-year lease for the Community Development Services office.
NW News on 11/19/2019