story by Aric Mitchell, special to The City Wire
The Van Buren City Council welcomed three new members at its inaugural meeting of 2015 on Monday, Jan. 26. The meeting was held at the city’s Municipal Complex.
In November, Jim Petty ran unopposed for the Ward 1, Position 2 Alderman post, while Darral Sparkman defeated Scott Curtis for Ward 2, Position 2 Alderman; and Alan Swaim ousted Johnny Ragsdale for the Ward 3, Position 2 slot.
As first days on the job go, this one was drama free. The Council had three resolutions and two ordinances on the agenda, all of which passed with unanimous votes of 6-0 with the exception of the ordinance conducting business with a city employee.
That employee is Swaim, who abstained from the final vote, which authorized the city to pay his company, Swaim Office Products, for products purchased prior to his taking office as well as establishing an ongoing business relationship.
Council members also voted to approve firefighter Johnny Taylor’s request to extend his period of participation within the Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP) from five years to 10 years. Taylor is the last remaining employee to have been with the Van Buren Fire Department when it managed firefighter pensions in-house. Those duties have since been absorbed by the Arkansas Local Police and Fire Retirement System (LOPFI), which only allows DROP plans of five and seven years.
Van Buren previously allowed for five and 10 years, so Taylor will have those options available to him if he chooses before he would need to retire.
On the resolution front, the city voted to continue its financial support of the Regional Intermodal Transportation Authority (RITA), which was established to advance economic development in the Fort Smith and Van Buren areas. Previous financial commitments by the city were around $50,000, Van Buren Mayor Bob Freeman said, but that number has since eased back to $37,025 for 2015.
Also Monday night, the city approved to remove certain fixed assets from its inventory. Items included two Police Department servers, a Police Department laptop, and a 4.5 HP compressor unit utilized by the Senior Inn. An auction will be set at a later date and will be advertised to the public.
Finally, the City Council set a public hearing for its Feb. 23 meeting. The hearing will focus on possible abandonment of a public alley in the Grandview Addition within the city limits.