The Mountain Home City Council approved a budget of approximately $33.6 million during its regular monthly meeting Thursday night at the Mountain Home Municipal Building. The council, with member Wayne Almond absent, voted unanimously to approve the balanced budget, which includes $1.1 million in carryover funds. City treasurer Marshella Norell told the council the city is “in very good shape” financially, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Two ordinances pertaining to the city’s water and sewer department were approved after waiving competitive bidding. The water department will purchase a aerator/mixer for the water treatment plant, part of a plan to update its current equipment. The budgeted item is the fifth of eight to be replaced. Water Superintendent Alma Clark says her department is working to replace one of the units each year. The aerator will cost no more than $73,000.
Also approved was a ordinance allowing the waving of bidding to purchase contractor services for the placement of disconnect and manual transfer switches for the department’s water intake generator. Clark informed the council that the plant as currently designed must be completely shut down when work is done on the generator system. Clark also says some repairs have put the city close to its limits for plant downtime. The contract, at a cost of $60,000, was awarded to Crawford Electric of Mountain Home.
The council granted permission for the city to enter contracts with Garver & Garver, LLC, for work with the water department. Garver will handle the city’s federally mandated risk and resilience assessment at a cost of $50,000. The plan must be submitted by June 30. The plan will tell the government how the water system would be affected by various possible disasters, how long the system would be shut down and what the cost of repairs would be for each disaster.
Garver will also handle the city’s request for increased water allocation from Norfork Lake with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Clark says the city made a request approximately 20 years ago for an additional two million gallons per year from the lake, which was never acted upon. The Corps has instructed all municipalities that draw water from its lakes to resubmit any plans that were on the table.
Prior to council action items, Mayor Hillrey Adams announced the Baxter Summer Concert Series would continue in 2021, thanks to funding from Baxter Healthcare and the Mountain Home A&P Commission. The first show for 2021 is slated for Memorial Day weekend.
Adams also honored former council members Eva Frame, Don Webb and Jim Whalen, who did not seek reelection, with plaques containing their former council nameplates, as a token of appreciation for their service to the city.
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