The city remains in negotiation for the purchase of the land for the fourth fire station, Fire Chief Steve Sims told members of the Emergency Management committee during its meeting April 9.
Pending construction of a wireless communication tower on a part of the land is holding up the process, he said.
The BCSW District provides collection of household hazardous waste, including items such as the CFLs, paint and aerosols, at the county’s recycling center in Centerton, 5702 Brookside Rd.
The grand opening of a new household waste collection facility at the center began Saturday, April 12. Instead of offering collection once monthly, the center will now take household hazardous waste from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays, and 8 a.m. to noon the second Saturday of each month.
Waste can also be disposed of at the bi-annual Benton County Clean Up, set for 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 26, at the Benton County Road Department in Bentonville, 1206 SW 14th St., and at the locations in Decatur and Garfield.
For more information on the cleanup, visit www.bccleanup.org.
For a list of items accepted or for more information on disposal of household waste, see the BCSW District’s website at www.bcswd.com.
"Whoever lives in the Highlands right now, your ambulance is gone on a call and that station is empty," Sims said.
Committee member Dick Rooney said he is hoping for ground to be broken this year on the facility. But funding is another issue that needs to be resolved.
A City Council committee headed by Alderman Jerry Snow has been assigned the task of determining sources of revenue that could provide funding of the station, Rooney said.
The number $600,000 per year for operation has been circulating, but Sims said that amount is the maximum amount it would cost with a staff of four per shift, and he could make it work temporarily for half that price to get the station up and running.
"On Saturday (April 5), we had ambulances running like crazy," he said. "There was a brush fire on Stonehaven (Drive) and the ambulance from Station 3 was on a call. You know who had to cover that? Station 1, and Bentonville.
"I don't know how much more need I can speak of," Sims said.
During the committee meeting, medical calls had one-half of the Station 1 staff at the hospital with a patient, and the ambulance from Station 3 en route to the hospital with another, leaving the Highlands station unmanned, he said.
People are unaware they don't have immediate fire protection in that area, Sims and Rooney agreed.
"It is far beyond the time we should have done this," Rooney said, adding that he is confident people would support some sort of payment increase in the name of public safety.
Kelly Dostart, a member of the committee planning the annual Public Safety Day, said this year's event will again be held in conjunction with the city's Hay Days festival, which is set for Sept. 20.
Last year, Dostart said the committee was selective in who they asked to appear at the event, due to limited space. This year they have a bigger tent and hope to have more vendors, such as a storm shelter and a home security company.
They also plan to get a representative from Benton County Solid Waste District to promote the proper disposal of compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs.
Wendy Cravens, director of BCSW District, spoke to committee members about household hazardous waste regulations, after committee member Jack Fellenzer approached her looking for a solution to proper disposal.
The bulbs, which have replaced incandescent bulbs, contain mercury. It is illegal to throw the bulbs in the trash, Cravens said. Once a bulb is broken, it must be handled as hazardous waste, she added.
In order to provide a collection point for city residents, the city could either pay for a licensed disposal company to send a container and then fill it with bulbs from both businesses and residences, or deliver collected bulbs to the recycling center run by BCSW.
However, due to federal regulations, bulbs collected at BCSW can only come from residential disposal, not business.
If the organization accepted a bulk amount of bulbs from businesses, they would need to obtain a higher level facility license under federal regulations, Cravens said.
No other city in the area has a collection program for the bulbs, she said.
Cravens said LED light bulbs do not contain hazardous materials, and fluorescent bulbs sold with a green tip also are not hazardous.
Fellenzer will continue to work with Cravens to research disposal options, he said.
The committee will meet again June 4 at the Fire Department training room.
General News on 04/16/2014