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Annexation gets some attention in Bryant |
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Saturday, 09 August 2008 |
City Council holds brief special meeting
Bryant City Council held a brief special meeting Thursday to approve two revised ordinances related to the annexation proposal that could double the city’s land size.
“We had to call this meeting so that we can get the information to the Election Commission,” said LaVenia Jones, Bryant planning coordinator.
“There was some wording changes we had to make and the council had to approve it before we send it to the Election Commission.”
The first ordinance approved a repeal of a Sept. 9 special election over land south of Northlake Road. Bryant is in a dispute with Benton over the section of land, and the two cities are holding special elections on the issue. Both cities claim territorial jurisdiction of the area.
Jones said that if passed, the annexation would nearly double the size of the city limits. The areas in the proposed annexation include Springhill, Midland, Hill-dale, Northlake, Wilkerson and property surrounding the new Saline County Regional Airport. Jones said there are about 1,200 homes in the proposed annexed areas.
Benton Mayor Rick Holland said both cities had an agreement in 2005 regarding the territorial jurisdictions and that Benton controls the areas of Northlake. A May 2005 map supporting Benton’s position bears the signatures of both cities’ planning commission chairmen that designated land south of Northlake Road for annexation into Benton.
Bryant officials said that Benton broke that agreement when they designed a new planning map in 2006.
“When I actually started working on this annexation [in March], I was going by the 2005 agreed upon map,” Jones said. “We were originally working on that 2005 agreed-upon planning area map, but we discovered that the city of Benton adopted a new one two years ago in 2006.”
Benton originally scheduled the special election for Aug. 12, but recently rescheduled it for Oct. 14. In response, Jones asked the City Council on July 28 to pull their special election and move it to the Nov. 4 general election.
“It generally costs the city $15,000-20,000 to hold a special election,” Jones said. “I suggest we move it to the general election ... We can save taxpayers a lot of money and people also wouldn’t have to go out of their way and vote in a special election.”
The council agreed and not only approved the special election repeal, but also approved the second ordinance that places the annexation proposal on the general election ballot. However, city attorney Nga Mahfouz found some wording that needed to be changed, Jones said, and that’s why it was brought before the council again.
Jones said the wording was minor, but explained that a special meeting was called because of a timing issue with the Election Commission. However, only five councilmen were present at the meeting and could only vote on the first readings of both ordinances. Six members are needed to vote on all three readings and the issue will be brought before the next scheduled council meeting on Aug. 14.
This issue also prompted a resident of the area to speak out. Dee Fiser told the council that he had concerns that Bryant could be trying to become “too big, too fast” and asked if the city is prepared to take care of anyone annexed into the city. He also said the battle with Benton is not being received well with the residents in the proposed annexed areas.
“This looks like kids on the school ground fighting over turf,” Fiser said. “I hope that you don’t have egos entered into this proposal. I really hope that you are thinking clearly about this issue. When you double your size over night, you can’t see every [problem] that is coming. Are you going to be committed to taking care of things in our area if we are brought into the city?” Councilman Ken Green said the issue was something that was well thought out before being proposed. He said that the areas in the proposal will see growth regardless if they are in the city limits and said it was not their intentions to dispute with Benton.
“This movement was not born out of competition,” Green said. “The growth in the areas will come whether it is in the city or not, but this lets us know what we can expect and lets us plan.”
Councilman Robby Young responded to an earlier comment made by Fiser. Fisher said when he moved to Saline County he knew that the area would eventually be annexed into the city.
“You even said yourself that it was imminent that someday you would become part of the city,” Young said. “You may think it might not be the right time for you to become part of the city, but when we looked at it, it is the right time for us.”
Young said he believes that the city can take care of the residents in those areas concerning particular issues, including sewer issues.
Mayor Larry Mitchell closed the discussion telling Fiser that it will be up to the residents in the areas whether they are annexed into the city limits.
“In the end, we don’t make those decisions,” Mitchell said. “The people in those areas will make that decision.”
Details about the proposed annexation areas in Benton and Bryant can be found along with a master street plan at www.cityofbryant.org. |
 |  |  |  |  | Just being with family and eating good food is the best part!!- Liz McGee Quantz (Haskell, AR)
The Mabelvale United Methodist Church in Mabelvale, AR will
be hosting a fall carnival on Sunday evening October 26th from 5 to 7pm in the
Fellowship Hall. Kids will love it, parents will too! - Roger Poole (Bryant, AR)
I make an awesome Pina Colda Cake. You buy a boxed yellow
cake mix and mix it and bake it per the instructions on the box. After you bake the
cake allow it to cool for about 15 minutes. Use the end of a wooden spoon to poke
medium size holes all in the cake. Take a can of Eagle Brand Milk and Cream of
Coconut and alternate pouring them into the holes. Place the cake in the fridge for
about one hour, remove and put Cool Whip on top, as much or as little as you like.
The cake is better if you let it sit all night in the fridge before eatting. It is
wonderful!!! - Kelly Chase (Alexander, AK)
My favorite memories of Thanksgiving were when we lived in
Tulsa, Ok. There were always folks that didn't have a place to go for the holiday-
so they wound up at our house along with most of my husband's family from Benton.
The house was packed. The Thanksgiving meal was wonderful. But the celebration
didn't end there. At night, all weekend, there were pallets spread throughout the
house and the good eats seemed to never end. And on Friday morning (after
Thanksgiving) all the females were up before dawn and Christmas shopping by 8:00
a.m. Those are memories that I will cherish forever. - Billie Loe (Texas)
I always get to make the turkey for our Thanksgiving. So
you can add more butter or flour for consistency. Wash your turkey, pat dry, take
another stick of butter and rub all over turkey. Then take with your hands and smear
the batter a little thick, all over the turkey. Once all of the turkey has the
batter on it, I will melt the another bar of butter and put it in the bottom of the
pan of my turkey. It will make a wonderful gravy to use on your turkey when done.
So, then get enough aluminum foil to make a "tent" over your turkey. Put in oven and
bake @ 375 all night. It will be so moist, the crispies are great and the gravy
makes it better. Now the flip side to this is, it will be so tender it will fall apart.
So, I do not serve as a whole turkey. I go ahead and slice up, pour some grave
over some of the sliced up turkey for those who like it and then slice up some
turkey without gravy. You will have many compliments on this. Happy Thanksgiving
and Enjoy! - Liz Johnson (Benton) We prepare a traditional Thanksgiving dinner that morning.
Then we pack it all up and travel to deer camp in South Arkansas. We serve dinner to
all those who don't have family with which to share. We'll spend the afternoon
playin' dominos, pitchin' horseshoes and just visitin'. It's a wonderful time. - Pat Stuckey (Bismarck) We invite all the family in and cook the traditional feast.
Everyone gets silly when they get full. That is entertaining. - Jim Perry (Benton) Frozen pizza - Greg Marsh (Medicine Hat) The whole family gets together and we have dinner and noon
visit for a while then go home to take naps and get ready for black friday sales! - Terrie Schulz (Benton)
My childhood memories are of the sumptuous dinners my
grandfather, Byron Yarbrough, Sr. would prepare. Family members came from all over
Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas to our home of South East Street. It was a wondeful
time I really didn't learn to appreciate until he and my grandmother passed away.
Later, my cousin Eleen Murray brought the tradition back and family members gathered
at their home near Lake Norrell. Today, it's the memories of
Thanksgivings past that I treasure. It was because of these gatherings that I came
to realize the importance of family. - David Hughes (Herndon, VA)
My favorite time of remembering Thanksgiving is when all of
my family would get together and enjoy the most wonderful feast I have ever tasted.
My mom would make at least 2 to 3 different stuffings, actually her and my sister
Tammy Parker(Schultz) would make everything. I am not quite the chef my mom and
sister are. I live now and have lived for most of my life away from home in
different states so I have tasted many other dishes. None can compare to my
mom's(Pat Brumley). But most of all it is the family being altogether and just
laughing and having fun. My husband experienced this tradition for the first time in
1999 and still to this day can not stop talking about it. His traditions were not
the same. He couldn't believe the amount of food, fun, and family we had for the
holidays. I didn't understand it because I am used to it always being that way. I am
very lucky to have the family I have. My ex-step dad (David Hughes) still treats me
and my sister like his own so I have extended family to share the holidays with too. Even if it
is just a phone call, prayer, or written. I sure so miss Benton. I was raised
there and even though I am in Hoosier state since 2001 I let everybody know I am
proud to be a Razorback. I will never be anything else. God bless everyone in
Benton and someday I hope to see you soon. - Debbie Brooks (Schultz) (Columbus, IN) |
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Razorbacks
