TEXARKANA, Texas - During a meeting Monday, the City Council by a vote of four for and two against declined to approve a disputed rezoning request that would have allowed construction of small rental homes in a South Texarkana neighborhood.
More than a dozen neighbors of the lots in question, in the 2000 and 2100 blocks of South State Line Avenue and the 2100 block of Spruce Street, signed a petition objecting to rezoning. That meant three-quarters of the Council, or five of six votes, were needed for approval. Council members Bill Harp and Betty Williams voted no, killing the measure.
During a public hearing preceding the vote, Mary Francine Miller, a resident of the neighborhood, objected to rezoning the lots from Agriculture to Single Family-3, citing concern that heavy traffic and speeding on South State Line would be exacerbated by the proposed development. She also said drainage, water and sewer infrastructure in the neighborhood already need improvement. The change would "not be in line with economic development," she said.
Landing regulations
The Council voted to approve a new ordinance that regulates where helicopters can land in the city limits. Williams voted against the measure, Council member Jean Matlock abstained, and the remainder of the Council and Mayor Bob Bruggeman voted for approval.
The ordinance requires a landowner to acquire a temporary landing permit before helicopters can land on their property. Dedicated heliports and designated landing spots called helistops would not require the permit.
It comes after recent incidents when a private helicopter pilot landed in vacant lots near Margaret Fischer Davis Elementary School, causing safety concerns.
The Council also voted to approve a rezoning request to change 2800 W. 15th St. from Multiple Family 1 to Planned Development-Neighborhood service to allow mixed uses there such a flea market, and retail and wholesale for new and used goods.
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Recycling hearing
The Council heard its first official briefing on a plan to resume residential single-stream recycling in the city that involves a waste removal rate increase that would be phased in over the course of a year.
Because a Shreveport, Louisiana, processing plant stopped accepting mixed recyclables, Waste Management since last September has been burying those items collected at Texarkana residences in its New Boston, Texas, landfill. The rate increase is needed to pay for transporting recyclables to WM's own processing facility in Arlington, Texas - not Little Rock as WM initially told the Council.
If proposed changes to the city's contract with WM are approved, the city would assume a portion of the cost by reducing the number of free waste bin removals in the contract - for city projects such as demolition and neighborhood cleanups - from 250 to 100.
The remaining rate increase of $3.42 per month would be split in half, with one $1.71 increase taking effect by Oct. 1 at the latest and another taking effect a year later.
Doug Sims with WM told the Council that several steps must be taken before the company could implement the new plan.
Repermitting for WM's transfer station on West Seventh Street, where city recyclables would first be collected, will take three to four months, Sims said. Needed capital improvements at that facility will cost about $40,000 in the short term and up to $360,000 over the next five years. A manager at the station also must undergo additional training for the proper licensure and certification.
If all goes well, single-stream, curbside recycling collection is likely to resume by July 1, Sims said, though a June 1 start is not impossible.
The Council will conduct a public hearing and vote on the plan during its next meeting, scheduled for Feb. 8.
In other business, the Council approved by consent a contract worth more than $223,000 to replace an electrical power switch at the Millwood Water Treatment Plant. The switch is used to transfer the power supply for the plant from AEP/SWEPCO to an emergency generator. Quality Electric Co. of El Dorado, Arkansas, was the low bidder for the project.
