MH City Council approves re-upping economic development contract, hears State of City Address

During its regular meeting Thursday evening, the Mountain Home City Council approved several items including re-upping the economic development contract and they heard the State of the City address from Mayor Hillrey Adams.

This will be the third year the city has had a contract with the North Central Arkansas Economic Alliance which is made up of local business leaders and is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The city will pay $40,000 for the year, $10,000 each quarter. The funds come from business license fees.

The alliance will work to bring economic expansion and development to the Twin Lakes Area, especially in the areas of tourism, manufacturing and small business.

The council heard the second of three readings of an ordinance concerning zoning of properties in the city, establishing the types of property to be allowed in the various zones, adopting a zoning map and repealing all ordinances that conflict with the new ordinance. The ordinance will come up for its third and final reading in April.

The council approved an ordinance to revise the classification schedule to add new employees for the new aquatic and community center and several other departments.

The Mountain Home City Council approved entering into a lease agreement with a company out of Sherwood for a sewer cleaner mounted on a Freightliner chassis.

The council approved purchasing a 2019 Mack Anthem truck from a company in Lowell for a price of $69,900.

They also approved an amendment to the Garver Engineering contract for wastewater treatment plant engineering construction services.

STATE OF THE CITY

During the State of the City address, Mayor Adams told the council how sales tax collection has shown a steady rise over the last six years, going from just under $5 million in 2019 to just over $7.1 million in 2025.

Many departments grew last year:

-Planning and engineering did a lot more business.
-The fire department opened their new station #2 and added three new firefighters and a new tanker.
-The police department moved into their new building and handled over 12,600 calls for service.
-Public works was busy, especially with work on 6th and Church streets and resurfaced 15,000 linear feet of streets.
-The water department got started on the Southwest Sewer Line Extension and replaced over 11,000 linear feet of aging water lines.
-The parks and recreation department stayed busy with multiple tournaments and events.

The mayor also showed the council and those in attendance a video update on the construction of the aquatic and community center.

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