Changes to the city curfew, the prospect of holding court in town, and new billing and pricing for waste removal services were addressed during Monday night's City Council meeting.
The curfew changes the council approved are designed to increase the number of exceptions in the city's curfew to ensure it is in compliance with the First Amendment.
Jason Kelley, city attorney for the city of Bella Vista, said that he felt the law needed some clarifications.
"It doesn't change anything about the heart of the curfew," he said.
A minor who is emancipated, or with a responsible person over the age of 21, traveling to or from work, traveling to or from an adult-supervised event, who is involved in any use of First-Amendment rights, or is engaged in any sort of interstate commerce, is OK, Kelley said.
Interstate commerce, he said, in this particular context means that the minor is moving across state lines.
Beyond that, it will remain the same -- any minor who is out after 11 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and midnight Friday and Saturday, or before 6 a.m. any day of the week, will be in violation of the city's curfew.
The council also passed a resolution expressing its support for the location of a department of the Benton County District Court within the city of Bella Vista.
With the current situation, Kelley said, anything that needs to go to court in Bella Vista goes to the Benton County District Court on South Walton Boulevard.
Not only does this mean a potentially significant commute for anyone who has business in court, but with the single day each month that Bella Vista business goes to trial, he said, it can also make for a very crowded court session -- in some cases even putting almost the entire Bella Vista police force in court, leaving administration to answer calls.
Another concern, he said, is the cost of utilizing this courthouse.
"We pay, by agreement, $8,750 a month," Kelley said. "In addition to that, we pay a ratio of the judge's salary."
The portion paid toward the judge, he said, is partly dependent on what kind of caseload Bella Vista has. Additionally, the cost of using the courthouse in Bentonville could increase, he said, if its operating costs increase.
That money, he said, could be put toward hosting a branch of the district court in Bella Vista. The district judge could commute to the Bella Vista courtroom.
"It's not going to be an immediate thing by any means," he said. "It takes time to set up."
Aldermen approved a resolution to move billing of waste removal services from the Property Owners Association and into the hands of Republic Services. They also approved a resolution to an increase in the price of those services.
"The residential increase is 33 cents per month," mayor Peter Christie said. "Works out to about 2.7 percent."
Commercial rates will be dependent more on the size of the clients' trash bins, he said.
Alderwoman Becky Morgan expressed some concern with the size of the waste carts that Republic will be supplying, which come in 65- and 95-gallon sizes.
"We would not be able to keep even a 65-gallon container in my garage," Morgan said "It would be visible to our street from outside the house."
Kelley said that, if the barrel is alongside the house and not out in front of it, it isn't violating any ordinances.
General News on 09/28/2016