Town talks trails

GARFIELD -- City officials voted to work with the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission in creating a trails system in town hopefully tying together the downtown, Hamilton Park, the Rob and Melani Walton Preserve Nature Conservancy and the Heritage Trail.

"There's really no a whole lot of cost ... to get started," Mayor Gary Blackburn told members of the City Council after hearing the presentation from Elizabeth Bowen, project manager.

Bowen, who lives in Garfield, told city officials that the regional planning commission has created a bicycle and pedestrian master plan and offered her services to help the town.

"There is no cost for my services," Bowen told city officials. "The cost would be for the city staff and to do public notices once the plan is created."

"I personally believe there will be interest in this if we can bring it to the public," Blackburn said, explaining that he believes the public is more health conscious and he wants to do more for the outdoors. "This is a natural fit for where I see our city going."

"If we're just worried about what we're doing tonight ... and not looking five, 10 years out then we're not doing our jobs," Blackburn said.

Bowen said there are various grants and federal funds available for trail construction. She said completing the plan is essential to "earning points" to be considered for a state grant.

In other business, the mayor told council members there was a 45.57 percent water loss this past month and he had a video of a leak found on Dennis Mitchell Road showing all the water going down into the ground and not surfacing. "That's our challenge! It's going down instead of coming up," Blackburn said, explaining that makes detecting leaks more difficult.

New code enforcement officer Scott Wassman told the council he has been working with the owner of the former Bus Stop and coolers will be moved behind the building and secured with locks.

City officials discussed a citizen concerns survey they plan to circulate seeking input from residents of the town.

"First, put it on the city web page. I'll ask Jason (Connolly) to put it on the community web page and then send out on water bills," Blackburn said.

City officials also heard the first reading of an ordinance governing signs, a ordinance governing cell towers and approved the 2017 balanced budget. The council adjourned shortly before 7 p.m.