State of the City

2022 was a busy year for the City of Berryville. After nearly two years of uncertainty, occasional chaos and the many disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, our country has begun to return to a more normal way of life.

PARKS AND RECREATION Looking at what has gone on over the last year and what is being planned for the coming year, I always like to start with Parks and Recreation.

Our Public Square Park Renovation Project was completed this past year and I have received more compliments and thanks than any other past parks department project that I can recall. Our Square Park is something that almost everyone who passes through our town sees. Thanks to the work of so many, and with the support of the City Council, we have a park that we all can be proud of and hopefully we will continue to see more use of the park as a public gathering place for festivals and other events.

W e have the bridge in place at the new Berry Spring Park and plan to complete a trail connecting the park to our existing walking trail at the Berryville Community Center complex. This new trail and a sidewalk on the west side of Spring Street up to Church Avenue will create a safe place to walk with some nice scenery right in the middle of our town. The City also recently purchased the old Good Shepherd Humane Society thrift store and approximately two acres that joins the Community Center property. Having acquired this property will allow us to recreate the area along the creek branch into more of a park setting that can be enjoyed by many for years to come. The actual building will be used for much-needed storage and possibly allow us to move some classes out of the Berryville Community Center, where we are running out of space to offer more recreational and educational opportunities.

The playground at our new soccer complex located next to the Berryville Memorial Park Cemetery on Freeman Avenue was completed last year and has quickly become one of the favorite places for families to spend time together, especially those with younger children. The playground was the finishing touch to a complex that has become a wellused recreational area for young soccer players and their families. This has accomplished what we had hoped for, a nice park where all of our youth soccer players can gather in one location to play on quality fields.

We also will be fully opening a dog park soon at the Community Center thanks to a generous donation from Dan and Susan Krotz. This park has an area for both small and large dogs located near the Janet’s Playground (courtesy of Wayne and Janet Clark) and Rotary pavilion, and is already becoming a popular spot where you can safely bring both your kids and your dogs to the same area with plenty of shade and enjoy quality time with your family.

Another addition we hope to add this year at the Community Center complex is a nine-hole disc golf course. We already have the layout plan for the course and hopefully our city crews (PWD & Parks) will be able to complete this project later this year. Speaking of the Community Center, it is now 20 years old, and has been a great asset to the citizens of Berryville during that time. We hope to continue to make it a place where people can go and enjoy recreational opportunities in a safe environment amid a family atmosphere. One thing I hope we can do more of is continuing to offer new programs to our community that will add to the quality of life of our town, especially for our youth.

A-' The City has always been committed to providing a quality parks system to Berryville area residents, and will continue to do so in the future. However, what I have experienced in my time as Mayor is that the really successful parks and recreational programs are the ones supported by our citizens. I would encourage everyone to not only use our parks, but also look for how you can make a difference. Our youth programs always need the support of our community, and volunteering at the Community Center is a great way to help our parks and have a chance to meet a lot of great people.

PUBLIC WORKS

The big news for the Berryville Water & Sewer Department this year is unfortunately going to be a substantial rate increase. We last raised our sewer rates in 2017 and our water rates in 2019 (but only the rural water side). As anyone who buys groceries, gas, pays a utility bill, or just about anything else knows, inflation over the past two years has been brutal. The price of everything, including labor costs, has gone up tremendously, with some materials such as certain water and sewer pipe doubling or even tripling in price in the last two years. While no one, including myself, likes a rate increase, it is something we must do if we are going to keep our water and sewer systems financially sound and continue to provide the quality of service our customers expect, while also meeting state and federal regulations.

One bit of good news our Water Department received recently was the approval of a $1.125 million grant to completely refurbish and renovate our two-million gallon water storage tank located on Hailey Road. The overall price tag of this project will be approximately $2 million, which is a good example of the kind of money it takes to maintain a properly functioning water and sewer system.

The City was fortunate to have the opportunity to hire Dwayne Allen as our Public Works Director late last year. Dwayne worked for the City for almost 20 years before he left to take the Public Works Director position in Eureka Springs. Dwayne’s knowledge and experience will be a great asset to the City.

Regarding our City Street System, we have a lot of work to do; however, funding street improvement projects is the most challenging financial task every city faces. The costs, even before inflation got so bad, have risen much faster than the revenues we receive to fund them. A bit of good news we recently received was the award of a $300,000 grant to resurface West Church Avenue and Academy Road from the courthouse to Highway 62. This project will probably have a total cost of about $500,000 and shows just how much street projects now cost. When you compare this to our total projected Street System Fund revenues for 2023 of $843,000 it’s easy to see why streets are such a challenge.

ECONOMIC, INDUSTRIAL & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT The new Hwy 62 East Business/Industrial Park is complete and now open. We are currently in negotiations with several individuals and one larger company about purchasing land in the new park and hope to close some deals soon. While we currently don’t have any large employers looking at our park, we continue to diligently seek opportunities for companies looking for a place to grow or relocate. One thing we are realizing is there is a real need for smaller industrial/ trade businesses that are looking for a place to either locate a storefront or have commercial storage space; therefore, we are also looking at developing part of the park for these kinds of businesses.

PUBLIC SAFETY

Public safety, which is primarily our police and fire departments, are probably the most stable departments within the City. I would sum up our Fire Department this way: It is comprised of a bunch of men who volunteer their time and talents to train and be prepared on a moments notice to respond to situations most people flee from. They have done all this while lowering Berryville’s ISO rating to a 4, which is very rare for an all-volunteer department. Thank you, Chief Shannon Chester, and all those that serve the Berryville area so unselfishly.

The Berryville Police Department will be getting a new home later this year. The Berryville City Council wisely decided to buy the old Entergy/AP&L building and remodel it to provide a new home that should serve our police department for many years to come. The City has hired Chris Bouly as a full-time building/facilities manager to oversee this project. Once completed, Chris will move to the existing police department to remodel that building to become our new Water & Sewer Department office building. This will give us much-needed space to grow and be much more convenient for our customers as it will eliminate the burden of stairs to access the building and by adding a drive-thru window. Chris’ role is primarily one of construction manager, but he is not one that just sits in the truck while others do all the work and then charges 10 percent for everything that is done. He is actually on the job site working and has the skills to do almost anything. I hope he will be an asset to the City for many years to come. I think the last time I checked I had about three years of projects lined up for him, so we know there is plenty to do. When the remodeling is done at the new Police Department, we will double the space of our current PD building, and with almost two acres of land, we have plenty of room to expand if it is ever necessary. The City paid $429,000 for the building and land, with the expectations that the remodeling costs will be approximately $200,000. Hopefully the total project will cost around $750,000 and while that is a lot of money, and it is, if we bought two acres of highway frontage property and built a 5,000-plussquare- foot building, we would probably be looking at around $3 million with today’s building costs. Thank you City Council for your wisdom and foresight.

One final note that encompasses all of the City’s departments. We recently initiated a texting information service called TextMy-Gov, as well as a completely revamped City website at www.berryvillear.gov and I hope everyone will utilize these services to their utmost potential.

CLOSING STATEMENT

Overall I would say the State of the City is good, but we always want to get better. Berryville is blessed with a great City Council and employee staff, and I try to remind them every chance I get that we all work for the citizens of Berryville and that should be our focus every day in everything we do. Thank you for giving me the honor to serve as mayor of what I think is the best little town in Arkansas. I feel humbled to have had this privilege for so long. Finally, I want to clear up one thing because of some rumors I have heard and I know some of my own statements may have led to these rumors. While four more years is a long time, I hope to serve as mayor of Berryville for as long as I feel like I can do a good job and the people want me to serve. Of course, that’s all in the future and the future is in God’s hands. I look forward to 2023 and what we can achieve for our town working together for the good of all.

••• Tim McKinney has been mayor of Berryville for more than 32 years.