Benton Mayor Rick Holland will be breaking tradition this year in his method of delivery for the annual State of the City address.
Instead of presenting the address in a City Council meeting, the speech will be broadcast on the city’s community access channel, Channel 12, on Charter Communications. The address will begin airing this week.
In the discourse, Holland notes that while 2008 was one of uncertainty and hardships for many Americans, it was “filled with many blessings” in regard to Benton.
“Annexations are the key to Benton’s future,” Holland pointed out, noting that 500 acres at Exit 114 of Interstate 30 were added to the city in 2008, giving the city “a blank slate for mixed-use development on the last I-30 exit between Little Rock and Texarkana.”
Important retail development in Benton included the “opening of exceptional businesses such as Best Buy, Petco, Harps and Firestone and the reopening of Backyard Burgers,” Holland said.
“Businesses like these will help to ensure continued growth in our sales tax receipts,” he pointed out.
Holland noted that under the leadership of the Saline County Economic Development Corp., an agreement was reached with Alcoa/Almatis/St. Gobain to allow these companies to operate more economically in the county while allowing Benton to annex valuable property for future industrial development.
The Street Department, headed by Tony Floyd, has been involved in five contract projects to make improvements to Winchester Drive, Watson Place, Edgehill Drive, Chris Drive and Fairfield Road, Holland pointed out.
“The biggest street project currently under way is the construction of two overpasses and two bridges in the area of Highway 35 and highway 183,” he said. “The railroad tracks in this area have caused a bottleneck for Benton and Saline County for many years, and we are pleased it will soon be eliminated.”
Other street projects planned include improving Sharon Road behind Tinseltown, extending the Downtown Streetscape project on South Street to I-30 and widening Military to four lanes from Congo Road to I-30. “This is a $!2 million project and will be funded with federal economic stimulus monies,” Holland said.
Under the direction of the Public Utilities Commission and leadership of Terry McKinney, manager of Benton Utilities, the city completed all but one of the 2008 projects in an original $26.5 million bond for wastewater improvements. The new wastewater treatment expansion project is scheduled to be complete by mid-October, he said.
Holland noted that the city’s fire department, under the leadership of Chief Ben Blankenship, firefighters completed 15,691 hours of training and responded to 2,642 requests for assistance. The department continued its fire safety programs for preschools and elementary in addition to developing a senior citizens home safety program.
Twenty-five new fire hydrants were added to the city to enable firefighters to better protect the citizens, Holland said.
“Our fire department continues to be considered one of the most competent in the region ... ,” he said. “They continue a record of excellence in enhancing the quality of life for our residents.”
Police department personnel completed 3,900 hours of training for the year, Holland noted. The patrol division was responsible for handling 14,988 calls for service and responding to 1,312 accidents. The department made 590 felony arrests and an additional 1,692 for misdemeanors, he said.
The department received $56,000 in grant monies for 2008, he said. Under the leadership of Chief Kirk Lane, the department is improving services for the citizens of Benton, the mayor said.
He noted that the city is fortunate to have many qualified, dedicated employees in all of city departments.
Communications Department employees worked closely with state and federal agencies on tornado and flooding issues that plagued many citizens, Holland said.
New traffic lights were installed at Market and Carpenter, Market and Conway and Market and Sevier streets. Director Tim Blocksom worked with engineering firms on traffic light plans for the Military Road expansion in addition to other projects.
Holland pointed out that the Community Development Department has been involved in a variety of projects.
City engineer Gail Mainard has been heavily involved in damage control because of three major storm events. Under Mainard’s leadership, a new flood-plain ordinance was enacted and the city received the Community of the Year Award from the Arkansas Flood Plain Management Association.
Holland pointed out that Marsha Guffey, director of the department, worked with Central Arkansas Planning and Development District on a project to rebuild or rehabilitate substandard housing in the Ralph Bunche Community. Construction on these projects is scheduled to begin this summer.
The city received a $240,000 grant through Central Arkansas Planning and Development Agency to rehabilitate the Benton Senior Activity Center and build a new resale shop there, Holland said.
The city’s zoning ordinance was reviewed to better equip the city to deal with truck stops and manufactured housing issues and a new sidewalk ordinance is being developed, the mayor pointed out.
“Work is continuing on a new franchise agreement with Charter Cable,” which has made high-seed Internet available in some areas. He said he’s heard many favorable comments about AT&T’s U-verse, which became available in the city this year.
Downtown Benton was added to the National Register of HIstoric Places and a historic district was established to protect this “valuable resource,” Holland said. Included in the district are such buildings as the Royal Theatre, Saline County Courthouse, Benton Masonic Lodge and the old post office.
The city received a $3,500 grant form the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program for the training of Historic District commissioners, Holland pointed out.
The animal control department, headed by Beverly Vinyard, is now working with rescue groups and is online with PetFinder.Com. That partnership has helped bring about a significant rise in pet adoptions, Holland said.
Holland said Benton Utilities billing department initiated online credit card bill pay, telecheck verification and brought bill printing and mailing in-house.
“The money spent to produce bills is now being spent in our own community and at the same time will provide better billing services to our customers,” the mayor said.
Overviews from all departments of the city are available upon request. Each department head has prepared a synopsis of the year’s accomplishments.
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