BLEVINS – The Blevins City Council meeting was called to order by the mayor on October 6th at 7:00 PM. Board members present: Barbara Patterson, Jon Howell, Kimberly Torres, Eric Smith and Bruce Graham. An opening prayer was offered by Barbara Patterson.
The previous meeting minutes for September were read by the recorder/treasurer and accepted. The financial report was presented. There was a brief discussion, and the financial report was approved. There were no water adjustments.
Old business: Steve Burke, owner of the Hornet Hut had requested permission to use a portion of a vacant lot that the city owns as part of his new drive thru when his new building is completed. In the spirit of fostering local business growth, the council unanimously agreed with the stipulation that he would be responsible for its upkeep. The council thanked Mr. Burke for his support of the Blevins School and for hiring local people for his business.
The sewer remediation project is progressing and is in the design phase. When the Environmental Information Document is completed, a public meeting will be held with a 30-day advanced notice.
Online bill pay, was discussed in further detail and is under serious consideration as an optional way to make water bill payments. Further research is being done with a possible decision to implement the service by the end of the year.
OWN Engineering has assisted the city in applying for a grant for remote/contactless read, water meters. This would aid in the speed of meter readings as well as other features, such as high-water use and leak alerts.
New Business
Discussions were held for purchasing spare parts for the water system, chlorine booster pump and a motor base, belt adjuster assembly for the air compressor. Both were approved. The water department truck rust out body repairs were not approved. Truck replacement is being considered in lieu of the expense of those costly body repairs.
Audit results were reviewed. The first was for water system processes and procedures for 2025. No deficiencies were found for the agreed upon procedures. The second audit was from Arkansas Legislative Audit for 2024 and 2025. There were some corrective actions needed. One item was exceeding a budget amount for the year 2025 for the budgeted amounts. The treasurer has added a column for budgeted amount vs. year-to-date spending. This will allow a very quick way to track expenditures vs. the budget and allow for time to amend the budget if required. There were a couple of procedural improvements needed as well, which are already being implemented. There are three CD’s coming up for renewal in October which will be renewed for higher rates. Options were discussed for the savings account for higher interest rates as well.
The meeting was adjourned. Next city council meeting will be November 3rd.