ROGERS -- City Council members on Tuesday approved a resolution to take the first step toward partnering with the Northwest Arkansas Council to help the nonprofit continue its covid-19 vaccination and public information campaign.
The resolution also appropriates up to $69,908 of city money from the American Rescue Plan Act Fund for the campaigns, according to Mayor Greg Hines. The agreement will last one year.
The Northwest Arkansas Council collaborated with local health care providers early in the pandemic on the Safe and Strong public education campaign in English, Spanish and Marshallese, and also worked to bring vaccine clinics to communities across the region, said Ryan Cork, executive director of the council's Health Care Transformation Division.
Initial efforts were funded through private funding and philanthropy, Cork said in an interview. Now the Northwest Arkansas Council hopes to partner with Benton and Washington counties, along with the cities of Bentonville, Rogers, Springdale and Fayetteville to continue the campaigns, he said.
The Springdale City Council on Tuesday agreed to provide $87,176 to support the Northwest Arkansas Council's efforts. Hines said he anticipates other counties and cities in Northwest Arkansas will present similar resolutions to their governing bodies in coming weeks.
Support from local governments helps the the Northwest Arkansas Council continue to provide vaccination clinics, testing clinics and infusion with monoclonal antibodies and to continue the public communication campaign, Cork said in an interview. While the council plans to continue bringing pop-up vaccination clinics to any event or organization that requests one, the nonprofit's public education campaign has evolved based on local research, he said.
Rogers and other local cities and counties will be contributing $1 per resident, according to the most recent census data, Hines said. Rogers received approximately $11 million in the last round of stimulus funding, he said.
There is a possibility the Northwest Arkansas Council will receive additional private or state funding that could lower the amount Rogers must contribute, Hines said.
Bonnie Bridges, city attorney, said she is working with city and county attorneys from across the area to put together comprehensive and consistent agreements.
Other actions taken at Tuesday's meeting:
• Approved increasing an airport operation technician's schedule from 30 to 40 hours a week and amending the budget to appropriate $9,652 from airport reserves for the changes.
• Approved authorizing the property tax rate of 2.4 mills for the year 2021, to be collected in 2022. There is no change in rate from 2019-2020, or 2020-2021, according to finance director Casey Wilhelm.
• Tabled an ordinance rezoning 15.6 acres near the intersection of South 31st Street and Green Acres Drive from the agricultural zoning district to uptown commercial and amending the Comprehensive Growth Map.