Benton County special elections set in Garfield, Pea Ridge

BENTONVILLE -- Pea Ridge and Garfield residents will vote on separate issues in special elections Sept. 14.

Pea Ridge voters face two ballot items: whether to issue bonds to pay for street work and a new, 1% sales tax to repay the bond and provide additional money for the city.

Garfield voters will be asked to make a half-cent sales tax dedicated to water system infrastructure improvements permanent.

Early voting starts today.

Pea Ridge has 4,018 registered voters, and Garfield has 391, said Dana Caler, Benton County Clerk's Office elections administrator/voter supervisor.

The elections will be the county's fifth and six special elections of the year. Act 610 of 2021 will limit elections starting next year to four times a year: February, May, August and November in non-presidential election years; and March, May, August and November in presidential election years.

Pea Ridge

One-fourth of the proposed sales tax revenue would be to repay the bond. The remainder would be distributed between the city's Streets, Fire, Police and Parks departments.

The sales tax must pass for the bond issue to happen. The tax is permanent and won't end after the bonds are paid.

The city levies a 1% sales tax, which was adopted in 1984. The revenue from that tax is divided, by ordinance, to: the Street Department, 40%; Police Department, 24%; administration, 10%; Fire Department, 5%; ambulance, 7%; Parks and Recreation, 6%; library, 5%; and court administration, 3%.

The 1% sales tax brought in an average of $1.2 million in 2019 and 2020, Mayor Jackie Crabtree said.

Streets

Paving streets, improving drainage and building sidewalks are among the plans if voters approve the bond issue and 1-cent city sales tax. The bond would be for a maximum of $5.8 million.

Hazelton Road and Patton Street would be paved and upgraded to provide an east/west corridor. Sidewalks are planned to provide connectivity through town.

Other streets in the plan include Greer Street, It'll Do Road, Lee Town Road, McCulloch Street, West Street and North Davis Street. Specifics on each street are on the city's website.

Fire-EMS

Fire Chief Jared Powell said the department needs staffing and equipment.

"The fleet is aging. The air packs are aging out. The county purchased them 17 years ago, and they have about a 20-year life," he said.

Other needs include modern equipment to rescue trapped people, a washer and dryer for turn-out gear, radios and pagers for first responders and a facility upgrade to provide quarters for full-time, paid personnel.

Staff have slowly converted offices in the fire station into bedrooms and recently converted the community room to more bedrooms. Most of the work is being done by city employees. The department has received donations of materials and money.

Police

Police Chief Lynn Hahn has said body cameras for officers, computer software, computers and tasers are some of the greatest needs for his department. The tasers the department owns are old and outdated, he said. The software needed costs about $48,000.

Hahn said body cameras provide safety and accountability for officers and the public. He said there is an initial cost for purchase of cameras, as well as an annual fee for storage of data.

Hahn said the addition of a secure room at the police station for ammunition and firearms is needed. He said there is a secure room for evidence, but law prohibits intermingling the two.

Parks

A new jungle gym and basketball court for City Park on Hayden Road is among projects for which the city would use sales tax revenue, officials said. Basketball goals need to be upgraded, and parking needs to be expanded, Street Department Superintendent Nathan See said.

A 6-acre plot on North Curtis Avenue, which was donated to the city, is being considered for a dog park, walking trail, bathrooms and all-inclusive playground for which a grant has been sought. See said he'd like to see the park named Apple Park in memory of Police Officer Kevin Apple, who was killed in the line of duty June 26.

Garfield

Garfield residents in March 2020 approved the half-cent sales tax to help fund its water system. The tax is scheduled to end in March 2022. The city will ask voters to make the tax permanent.

The tax has brought in $76,600, according to city officials.

Revenue from the tax would be used solely for the Water Department. The department has one full-time and one part-time employee.

"We've fixed so many leaks, we've decided that's where we want to start," Mayor Gary Blackburn said.

Some pipe has been replaced, but there are old and deteriorating meters and other pieces of equipment that need to be replaced, he said.

The Garfield Water Department serves 269 customers. The average daily use of water in Garfield is 52,000 gallons, Blackburn said.