In their monthly meeting, Blytheville’s Public Works committee discussed the need for exit ramp lights on I-55.
Councilman Matt Perrin presented a quote from Shelby Electric to complete the underground work needed to get the lights back functional. Exit 67’s would cost $80, 923 while Exit 63’s would cost $71,293 through Shelby Electric.
“North of us the exits are lit up, you drive down to Exit 48 at Osceola and it’s lit up, you drive through Blytheville and there’s no lights,” Perrin said. “If you’re traveling through you’re just going to drive to the next town. I think it's crucial especially considering how much of our city revenue comes from sales and tax turnback.”
The quote was met with some hesitation due to the additional cost to complete the project.
The city would also be responsible for further funding to complete the project and purchase the lights as the quote only covers the underground work required. The actual lighting would be purchased through Clear Results, a company contracted through Entergy. The Shelby Electric quote is also set to expire at the end of March.
Blytheville Mayor James Sanders stated that Clear Results would be able to assist the city in also getting a different type of lighting, as opposed to the stadium vapor lights that were previously used.
“We’ve been in contact with the Mississippi County government to see if we can collaborate in order to make this happen,” Sanders said. “I would like to see the project move forward but I’d also like to see us do our own due diligence in partnering with economic development to try to get it done cheaper.”
The quote was tabled with further research on how the city can pay for the project to follow.
The Public Works committee also voted to move forward with the Elm Street repairs, selecting the quote from CWB Engineers Inc. The committee moved the selection to the approval of the full council.
The Code Enforcement committee also discussed the issue of illegally parked vehicles around the city. Previously, citations have been issued to the landlords as opposed to the vehicle owners.
“I think we should change our ordinance to reflect that the citation should go to the owner of the vehicle and also attach a fine so we can get this in line,” councilman John Mayberry said.
However, Councilwoman Barbara McAdoo Brothers also presented the issue of vehicle owners stating they weren’t using the vehicle at the time it was illegally parked, allowing others to borrow it.
Assistant police chief Ricky Jefferson also spoke on the issue of the vehicles being inoperable or without tags, forcing the citation to be sent to the landlord.
The committee suggested possible changes in lease agreements to make the ordinance and ensuing citation responsibility more clear in the various situations.
It was also stated that the minutes from these committee meetings will be available on the city’s website as they will no longer be read at the beginning of each full council meeting.
The next full council meeting is set for Feb. 16.