State of the City

March 17, 2020

Pea Ridge continues to grow, which is not news to anyone.

The Census Bureau has our estimated population of 6,045 as of July 2018. Our location, residential development, business environment and schools continue to be the driving force in our community's growth. The census which will be taking place in April is critical for our community. We ask that everyone be counted. The census data is what determines our funding in about every area of the city.

We have been fortunate to receive Tree Grants from the Walton Family foundation which allowed us to do two trees give away events last year. The first was in the spring where we gave away 115 trees and the second in the fall where we gave away 100 trees. In addition to this, we were able to plant 32 trees in other areas in the city.

Through a very generous offer from a landowner here in town the city was able to purchase 6+ acres on North Curtis, just across from the Post Office. In honor of the individual who sold us the property, Gaines Dittrich, the are will be name "Gaines Park." This multi-use area adds much to our community.

Highlights of 2019

1. Street Department

^Street Department is employed by five field workers with one supervisor. There is more than 140 lane miles of road we maintain in the city limits of Pea Ridge.

^Between the Spring and Fall Clean Up we disposed of more than 260 tons of solid waste.

Projects consisted of the following:

^1. Henry Little Circle -- double run of 6" to daylight (200') -- Has been an issue for years, removed when we installed the 18"

^2. Hickman Road re-shape and 12" pipe install (12") -- Fixed erosion issues

^3. Re-installed Helicopter at City Park -- New location since the splash pad was installed

^4. Benton/Washburn Drive Sidewalk Repair -- Had 60' of sidewalk that failed

^5. Washburn Drive concrete ditch paving removed and replaced -- Entrance needed repaired, due to the existing profile of the ditch

^6. Ford Street 18" pipe (175') and two boxes. Corrected "natural drainage" between properties (200' ditch) -- Has been an issue for years

^7. Fire Station Museum driveway and sidewalk install -- So the museum can use the building for Fire Fighter Memorabilia

^8. Hazelton 3x5 box culverts (60') -- Phase 1 of Hazelton Improvements

^9. Todd Circle pipe extension (80') to a rip-rap bottom -- Resident was unhappy with the outfall

^10. Henry Little to South Davis 18" pipe (580') and two boxes and one nyoplast box -- install of 18" and removal of previously stated double run of 6" -- Project has needed to be done for years

^11. Solid trash can holders at the park (8) -- Park Improvements

^12. North Harvey Wakefield railing over headwalls N & S side of road -- Safety for drainage ditch

^13. Greenwood Cove to It'll Do pipe extension 24" pipe (80') -- It'll Do Road improvements

^14. Had our 31st annual Pea Ridge Mule Jump.

2. Parks

^1. Splash pad completed, was a big hit with the kids last summer

^2. Continued the Friday night movies in the park

3. Water Department

^1. Wastewater Treatment Plant -- Construction began in January 2019 and projected to be complete by August 2020

^2. Multiple water/wastewater lines repaired and new lines installed

4. Fire/Ambulance

^1. Appointed Jackie Wassman as Fire Chief June.

^2. The Pea Ridge Fire Department responded to 886 calls for service. Of those 886 calls, 691 were for Emergency Medical Service

^3. The Pea Ridge Fire Department took possession of a 1985 Chevrolet pick--up donated by the forestry

^4. Donation of Fire Safety House with over 500 children participating in fire escape plan utilizing the fire safety house

^5. Pea Ridge Fire Department took over the ambulance billing

^6. The Pea Ridge Fire Department has hosted and offered all of the prerequisite courses needed to attend the Arkansas Fire Academy's firefighter I and II program

^7. Upgraded cardiac monitor to a Lifepack 15 by donations

^8. Received numerous grants, from local businesses, for the purchase of firefighting gear

^9. Received a $20,000 donation for the purchase of a Cascade system

^10. Took possession of a 4-seater Polaris side by side

^11. Received a donation of a CAFS system for the Polaris side by side for the use of fighting brush fires from Centerton FD

^12. Developed the testing procedures for the purpose of hiring full--time employees

^13. Updated all SOPs and procedures to be consistent with municipal fire departments

^14. Updated the Pea Ridge Fire Department's inspection program

^15. Developed a strategic 1-year and 5-year plan

^16. Developed a community interaction/ public education program

^17. Developed a continuous quality improvement program to address the implementation process and change of policy program

^18. Developed a more cohesive mutual aid program/policy with neighboring departments

^19. Two successful cardiac arrest events

^20. Updated the Pea Ridge Fire Department's Reporting system to NFIRS and NEMSIS

5. Police Department

^1. Appointment of Lynn Hahn as Police Chief in June

^^• Adoption of a new/updated and more comprehensive police department policy manual

^^• With a strong emphasis on training, officers completed 1,575 total training hours in 2019

^^• The entire patrol division was certified in Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement, enabling officers the training to better detect drug-impaired drivers

^ 2. Every officer from the chief down completed training to better deal with the challenges to law enforcement associated with mental illness, homelessness, substance abuse, and other social factors that influence crime and strain police resources. Three of these officers completed further training and became fully certified as Crisis Intervention Officers.

^3. Computers were installed in patrol vehicles by staff at the police department. This process was done internally and saved the city approximately $10,000. With the computers installed, officers now have information readily available to them regarding officer safety concerns and the ability to issue court dates more efficiently to the Pea Ridge District Court.

^4. Pea Ridge Police Officers handled 7,678 total calls for service in 2019.

^5. Total arrests = 995

^6. Proactive patrolling of the city resulted in a significant reduction in the following call types from 2018--2019:

^^• Breaking or Entering calls down 52.17%

^^• Burglary calls down 12.50%

^^• Theft calls down 17.76%

^^• Criminal Mischief calls down 47.46%

^^• Suspicious Circumstance calls down 10.18%

^7. The police department had a significant increase in the following call types in 2019:

^^• Disturbance calls up 14.18%

^^• Fraud/Forgery calls up 15.56%

^^• Noise complaint calls up 27.03%

^^• Warrants served increased by 8.58%, which is contributed partially to a warrant round--up program at the end of the year, which brought in approximately 70 wanted subjects who turned themselves in with either canned foods or winter coats for the needy. These subjects all received new court dates.

^8. To start 2020, the police department is fully staffed, including the addition of two experienced part--time officers who will be able to assist when extra resources are needed and help keep overtime expenses to a minimum. The staff of the police department is looking forward to a safe and productive 2020.

6. District Court

^1. 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.

^^i. Cases processed in 2015 -- 1,152; cases filed -- 1,453

^^ii. Cases processed in 2016 -- 2,072; cases filed -- 2,262

^^iii. Cases processed in 2017 -- 2,120; cases filed -- 2,283

^^iv. Cases processed in 2018 -- 1,698; cases filed -- 1,844

^^v. Cases processed in 2019 -- 1,646; cases filed -- 1,646

7. Library

^1. New Patrons

^^i. 2019 Total = 41771

^^^1. Adults = 207

^^^2. Senior Citizens = 302

^^^3. Family Cards = 106

^^^4. Young Adults = 23

^^^5. Children = 51

^^ii. Total Patrons = 1,661

^^^1. Adults = 1,011

^^^2. Senior Citizens = 266

^^^3. Family Cards = 217

^^^4. Young Adults = 69

^^^5. Children =98

^2. Computer Users

^^i. 2019 Total = 2,472

^^ii. Patrons = 1,768

^^iii. Guests = 686

^^iv. Average users per month -- 206

^3. OverDrive App

^^i. 2019 total check outs -- 2652

^^ii. Average per month 221

^4. Library Checkouts

^^i. 2019 total checkouts: 20,727

^^^1. Adult -- 11,072

^^^2. Children -- 4324

^^^3. Juvenile -- 3923

^^^4. Young adult -- 1405

^^^5. Programs held

^^^^i. 2019 total programs held -- 305

^^^6. Projects/achievements

^^^^i. Held two successful blood drives

^^^^ii. Started a popular adult watercolor class

^^^^iii. Made the large meeting room free for Pea Ridge citizens

^^^^iv. Completed a successful library layout remodel

^^^^v. Created a teen corner complete with new furniture

^^^^vi. Created a formal Friends of the Library corner store

8. Building Official / Inspections

^1. Permits issued in 2019

^^i. Misc. Permits

^^^1. Building permits -- 21

^^^2. Plumbing permits -- 60

^^^3. Electrical permits -- 51

^^^4. Mechanical permits -- 43

^^^5. Total misc. permits -- 175

^^^6. Total misc. fees -- $8604

^^ii. Building Permits

^^^1. New Home building permits -- 95, value $24,644,664

^^^2. Commercial building permits -- 1 (High School)

^^^3. New construction plumbing -- 94, value $6,732

^^^4. New construction electrical -- 93, value $7,370

^^^5. New construction mechanical -- 92, value $ 8625

^^^6. Totals new construction permits -- 374

^^^7. Total value of new construction fees -- 113,777

^^iii. Permit / inspection totals

^^^1. Misc. and new permits -- 549

^^^2. Inspections performed -- 1040

^^iv. Impact fees

^^^1. Total number of impact fees collected in 2019 -- 111 for a value of $227,437

9. City of Pea Ridge projected growth

^1. Year 2020 -- population 6,106

^2. Year 2030 -- population 7,649

^3. Year 2040 -- population 9,428

10. Benton County projected growth

^1. Benton County, 2010 -- population 221,339

^2. Washington County, 2010 -- population 203,065

^3. Current census estimates for Benton County as of 7/1/2018 -- 272,608

^4. Current census estimates for Washington County as of 7/1/2018 -- 236,961

^5. Benton county estimates

^^i. Year 2020 -- population 271,031

^^ii. Year 2030 -- population 331,370

^^iii. Year 2040 -- population 404,736

Editorial on 03/18/2020