Stuttgart City Council Meets

The Stuttgart City Council met Tuesday, April 7, at City Hall. After the prayer and pledge they approved the previous meeting minutes and payment of bills. 

They turned to the agenda, a request for street closure was made for April 25 from 10 a.m. until  8 p.m., by Sugartown Riders MC for an event that is held annually. The closure would be from the alley of Arthur St. to 406 N. Main including W. Cleveland to West Lincoln. The council approved the request.

Next up on the agenda was to read and approve two Resolutions one regarding leasing an Artic Air compressor for their CVA tanks at a cost of $51,000. The resolution passed unanimously.

The next resolution was to create an AI policy. This came down from the Municipal League. This states that a human must make decisions on items and not AI.

The next item on the agenda was to approve a change order on the downtown drainage. This increases the project by $767,979.61. There was much discussion about the increase in costs.

Councilman Darrin Haller asked why the cost of the top soil was so high and discussion was made about that. Franks said he would look into that.

Andy Franks of A.L. Franks Engineering, Inc.  was there to present a proposal of the next three projects in the street and drainage project. He was asked for someone from his firm to attend at least one council meeting per month for updates. As the council began to discuss the proposal, and its three phases, Councilman Teddy Holt asked why the citizens in Wards one and three were not having their flooding issues dealt with. Councilman Larry Cox agreed with that. They felt that those wards were being left out. Discussion regarding the way the phases were listed was then held. The first stage is set to be Main St. completion. This was a proposal  based on what the council had previously decided. Franks and Mayor Norma Strabala will look into their concerns.

Next was an update on Parks and Recreation. They are going to attempt to go cashless at Rensch stadium and have spoken to John Cain Foundation regarding updating the parks. They have applied for a 50/50 grant. They have also, with the help of the community, purchased catcher’s equipment. The cost for a season pass is $60, gate admission is $5 and those under 18 will now get in free,

Councilman Teddy Holt gave an update on J.B. Bryant Park stated they have applied for a grant for a walking track and he thanked the community for helping keep the park looking and for all their support.The Stuttgart Volunteers are partnering to get benches and Arkansas County Nursery has reached out to donate trees. Holt also wants to get a marker honoring J.B Bryant and all his work. His last item was about the concrete around the pavilion needing repair.

With no more business before the council the meeting was adjourned.