By Joel Phelps
The Arkadelphian

The Arkadelphia Board of Directors awaits a full agenda when it meets at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 7, in the Town Hall Boardroom.

The first item of new business is a resolution that would authorize the city to enter into a grant agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration to accept operating funds at Dexter B. Florence Memorial Field through the Airport Rescue Grant Act.

The resolution states the grant is valued at $32,000 from federal funds for operational expenses incurred.

Another resolution is a follow-up to a Sept. 7 board action to approve 1.5 acres in the Clark County Industrial Park for a water utilities operating facility. The $10,000 purchase from the Clark County Industrial Council requires a city board resolution as part of title insurance company requirements.

A similar resolution will be on the table for the $350,000 purchase of 801 Main St., which the city plans to convert into a facility housing the Arkadelphia Police Department.

Next, Assistant Mayor Roland Gosey will update fellow directors on the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park. Directors are expected to hear monthly updates on that project.

A memo from City Manager Gary Brinkley has notified directors that bids will be opened on the morning of Dec. 7 for a Feaster Trail sidewalk rehabilitation project near Baptist Health Medical Center.

Brinkley and Treasurer Shacresha Wilson will then present directors with a proposed budget for 2022.

Directors are then expected to convene in executive session to discuss the city manager’s performance; that portion of the meeting will be held privately among board directors. 

Following the executive session, directors will reconvene in public to consider any actions taken during their private meeting.

While the meetings are open to the public, city officials encourage the public to practice social distancing by viewing the meeting on Suddenlink Channel 9 or via the livestream.