Editor's note: The State of the City by Mayor Jackie Crabtree is continued from the March 27 edition of The TIMES.
Pea Ridge continues to grow, the Census Bureau has our estimated population at 5,296 as of July 2017. Our location, residential development, business environment and schools continue to be the driving force in our community's growth.
Highlights of 2018
6. Police Department
^a. Calls for service approximately 7,000
^b. Number of reports generated approximately 1,500
^c. $80,000 dollars' worth of computer equipment obtained for police vehicles through a State MDT Grant at a cost of only $8,000 dollars to the city.
^d. Added a second Police K9 (Doc) to the department at little to no cost to the city due to being able to use dedicated Drug Fund monies.
^e. Held the second annual Shop with a Cop and were able to double the number of children helped with Christmas from last year.
7. District Court
^a. We have seen an increase in the number of cases coming through our district court in the last few years. The numbers testify to the fact that this building was severely needed. We could not have handled this number of cases in our old facility.
^^a.i. Cases processed in 2015 - 1,152; cases filed - 1,453
^^a.ii. Cases processed in 2016 - 2,072; cases filed - 2,262
^^a.iii. Cases processed in 2017 - 2,120; cases filed - 2,283
^^a.iv. Cases processed in 2018 - 1,698; cases filed -- 1.844
8. Library
^a. New patrons
^^a.i. Adults -- 195 (reason for there being adults added)
^^a.ii. New patrons -- 173
^^a.iii. Senior citizens -- 63
^^a.iv. Total new patrons for 2017 -- 431
^b. Total computer users -- 1,833 (average of 153 a month)
^c. Programs started
^^c.i. OverDrive (eBooks & Audio books)
^^c.ii. 1,000 Books before kindergarten
^^c.iii. Reading with a Blackhawk (youth literacy program with the athletic department)
^^c.iv. Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University Adult Spring Class
^^c.v. Dave Ramsey Foundations in Financial Peace High School Class
^d. Projects & Achievements
^^d.i. New patron copier/fax/scanner
^^d.ii. Three new patron computers (donated by the Friends of the Library with grant from local WalMart Neighborhood market)
^^d.iii. Reboot RX on patron computers
^^d.iii.1. Restores the computer to original settings after reboot
^^d.iv. Redesigned library layout for visual appeal and better patron usage
^^d.v. Summer reading program attendance and party
^^d.v.1. 84 participants (almost 300 percent increase from 2016 participation)
9. Building Official / Inspections
^a. Permits issued in 2018
^^a.i. Misc. Permits
^^^a.i.1. Building permits -- 23
^^^a.i.2. Plumbing permits -- 59
^^^a.i.3. Electrical permits -- 43
^^^a.i.4. Mechanical permits -- 49
^^^a.i.5. Total misc. permits -- 174
^^a.ii. Building Permits
^^^a.ii.1. New Home building permits -- 89
^^^a.ii.2. Commercial building permits -- 3
^^^a.ii.3. New construction plumbing -- 77
^^^a.ii.4. New construction electrical -- 95
^^^a.ii.5. New construction mechanical -- 83
^^^a.ii.6. Totals new construction permits -- 347
^^a.iii. Permit / inspection totals
^^^a.iii.1. Misc. and new permits -- 521
^^^a.iii.2. Inspections performed -- 1,100
^^a.iv. Impact fees
^^^a.iv.1. Total number of impact fees collected in 2018 -- 115 for a value of $247,133.85
10. City of Pea Ridge projected growth
^a. Year 2020^population 6,106
^b. Year 2030^population 7,649
^c. Year 2040^population 9,428
11. Benton County projected growth
^a. Benton County, 2010^ population 221,339
^b. Washington County, 2010^population 203,065
^c. Current census estimates for Benton County as of 7/1/2016^245,321
^d. Year 2020^population 271,031
^e. Year 2030^population 331,370
^f. Year 2040^population 404,736
Editorial on 04/03/2019