The Mountain Home City Council met Thursday night for their regular scheduled meeting. Council members Jennifer Baker and Wayne Almond were not in attendance.
The council heard a third reading of an ordinance to regulate noise within the City of Mountain Home. Amendments were made from the previous meeting to include an exception for the use of generators needed to supply power in commercial and residential zones. Mayor Hillrey Adams stated while there have been only a few complaints, it was discovered the current ordinance to regulate noise within the city did not adequately cover them. The ordinance passed with a vote of 5-1, with councilmember Paige Evans voting no.
In other business, the council approved an ordinance to rezone a property located between Vanguard Properties and Harp’s Grocery Store on U.S. Highway 62/412 West from a residential R-1 to commercial C-2A. At this time there is not an offer to purchase the property, but gives the opportunity for the property to be listed as commercial instead of residential.
The council approved an ordinance to allow the Mountain Home Police Department to provide a one-time salary stipend for eligible full-time law enforcement officers, with funding provided by the State of Arkansas.
An amendment was approved by the council for the professional service agreements with Garver for design concepts for the water intake, transmission main, and water treatment plant project. In addition, a second amendment was approved for the wastewater treatment plant which included additional work to design an enclosed ultraviolet disinfection system for the project.
City Treasurer Alma Clark requested the council to authorize the application process with Arkansas Natural Resources Council (ANRC) to request additional funding of $7 million to go towards the phase II costs of the wastewater treatment plant. The loan from ANRC is offered at 0% interest and would save the city money compared to going through a private lender. The additional funds would help complete the project since the cost of goods have increased drastically. The request was approved unanimously.
The final item on the agenda was a proposal, which has been in discussion for two years, for a bid review for a new wayfinding program for the city. According to Arnold Knox, Street Department Director, a couple years ago the city was trying to place signs around the city to direct visitors to the parks. During that time, it was discovered the Arkansas Department of Transportation would not issue permits for wayfinding signs without a wayfinding program in place. The proposal includes approximately 54 signs that would placed throughout the city directing visitors to parks, the hospital, entertainment district and more.
Councilmembers were concerned the designs did not reflect the logo of the City of Mountain Home, but rather the Mountain Home Chamber of Commerce. It was asked if the architects, Merje – the same company who worked on wayfinding signs throughout Northwest Arkansas, could edit the design to better reflect the branding of the city. The proposal was tabled to provide time for new designs to be discussed.
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