Caraway City Council reviewed upcoming plans for improvements and necessary increases during the meeting Thursday evening.
The city has been awarded a matching Justice Assistance Grant of $2,300 for use in purchasing a replacement camera for police car. The city has reactivated their Dunns account, which is required for receipt of the grant.
The city has applied for a grant from East Arkansas Planning and Development for use with new water well project. The grants range upwards to $200,000, but any receipt amount will not be known until grants are awarded this summer.
The city has been approved for a $527,000 loan to complete the project, so any grant amount will go toward payment of the loan.
“The council has discussed three different options to pay off the loan, at the least expense to water customers,” said Caraway Mayor Bo James. “We will discuss any potential water increases after the grant is received.”
“We are running out of real estate at the City Cemetery,” Councilman Mitchell Tipton said. “We need to add additional land and consider cost of plots and opening graves. We can’t keep operating like we are now.”
After a lengthy discussion the council agreed to table decision for increasing cost of plots and opening graves.
The council discussed increases in charges for new water taps and sewer connections for new construction only. Currently the city charges $125 for a water tap and $75 for sewer tap.
“We have to start running the city like a business,” James said. “We have to at least break even. I look at the budget often and look at areas where we are losing money. We lose money every time we do a water tap.”
“We are going in the hole on our water taps,” Councilman Jordan Adcock said. “Financially we can’t continue to do that. We have to at least break even.”
The council approved increases for new construction water tap to $300 and $150 for sewer tap. This will not affect vacant properties that already have water and sewer taps done.
The council approved the training and purchase of fireworks for public display at the annual Fourth of July celebration from Premier Pyrotechnics, Inc. in Richland, Mo. Premier will train pyrotechnic operators for licensing in Caraway on Saturday, April 13, at a cost of $57 per person. Cost of training will be credited to the purchase of fireworks from Premier. The city budgeted $3,500 for this year’s fireworks display.
“We purchased $2,900 in fireworks last year, so this will make this year’s public display even bigger,” James said.
The council voted to hire PC Doc, of Jonesboro, to monitor and secure five city computers, which will include three at city hall and two in the Police Department, at a monthly cost of $119.35.
Craighead County has agreed to provide an asphalt layover on the driveway east of city hall from the highway to the park fencing. Cost is estimated to be about $3,500.
Payments for city services is now done with cash or check but the council voted to move forward in making use of debit cards available to customers. The city is hoping to include on-line receipts in the future.
The city’s annual Easter Egg Hunt will be held April 20 at the bandstand in city park beginning at 1 p.m. A car show from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. is also planned on that day along with a ball tournament consisting of six junior high games.
The annual fishing rodeo will be held from 8-11 a.m. Saturday, May 4, at the city pond, northeast of town.
City policemen reported enforcement of 13 clean property ordinance compliance warnings and two tickets this past month.
The council approved expenses for members to attend the summer Municipal League Conference in June.
Compensation of 54 cents a mile will be paid to Mayor James for attending meetings, at his discretion.