PEA RIDGE — “It just looks tacky,” Nadine Telgemeier, City Council member, said of the recent city-wide tree trimming at the Pea Ridge City committee of the whole Jan. 22 at City Hall.
“We’re looking at proposing an ordinance to enforce guidelines for utility companies to go by,” Mayor Jackie Crabtree said.
Two companies, Asplundh and West, were contracted through Southwestern Electric Power Company to clear limbs from power lines.
The Arkansas Urban Forestry Council provides guidelines that could help ensure survival of the trees when it comes to pruning, including which trees to plant near power lines and how to trim limbs properly.
“We need to put it back to the beauty it was,” Telgemeier said.
The group discussed city streets not currently dedicated and agreed the city needs to examine previously constructed easements and rights-of-way to determinewhether those streets should be maintained by the city.
Fundraising options were also discussed, as Telgemeier expressed the need for something “out of the box” to raise money for the local agencies such as Pea Ridge Fire and Police Departments. She suggested an all-terrain vehicle poker run.
The use of the land owned by Wal-Mart at the corner of Ark.
Hwy. 94 and Carr Street was once again broached, along with the discussion of whether or not to make use of it for a brief time or to pursue purchasing land for use by the city, such as new soccer fields. The head of the Northwest Arkansas Lightning, the Bentonville-based youth soccer league, is interested in coming to Pea Ridge to help get a league together, according to Telgemeier.
In addition, the group:
◊Discussed the upcoming spring clean-up and possible changes to be made, including a leaf pickup;
◊Brainstormed local business ideas for the area, such as Redbox, but according to Nathan See, city Street Department, however, therequired population to bring in a Redbox is higher than that of the current population of the city;
◊Mentioned an economic development page to be added to the City’s Web site. “We’ve got to show what we’ve got, we’re the last city before any other major city,” Crabtree said; and
◊Discussed the fireworks ordinance that John Cody, councilman, is pushing to pass in this year’s election.
The next regular City Council meeting is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16, at City Hall.
News, Pages 1 on 01/27/2010