The Alexander City Council approved a resolution that paves
the way for construction to begin on a commercial development project
at the corner of Alexander Rd. and Highway 5; north of the I-30
interchange. The plan to build a Circle K at that location was
approved in October by both the Alexander Planning Commission and the
city council.
The City of
Alexander has a contract with the Little Rock Water Reclamation
Authority (LRWRA) to provide sewer service in both the Pulaski County
portion of the city and some areas of the city in Saline County.
Because the “Alexander and Five” development will be connecting
to one of those lines and generating “fats, oils and grease” the
LRWRA requested a resolution from the city that allows enforcement of
Little Rock sewage pretreatment ordinances in Alexander.
For a while there
was a question as to whether it would be a Circle K or a Casey’s
General Store. In an E-mail on Wednesday (December 18) Jared Coleman,
of Bluefin Development in Little Rock, verified it will be a Circle
K. He said they expect to break ground early in February.
Griffin Leggett
operated a funeral home at that location but moved out a few years
ago. Since then the funeral home building sat vacant. The property
will now be divided into two parcels. One for the “Alexander and
Five” development and the other will retain the former funeral home
building, which is being renovated to serve as a medical marijuana
dispensary.
The dispensary will
be operated by Natural State Medical Group, which also purchased the
property. They will sell the eastern half to Bluefin Development.
In other business
at the December 16 council meeting;
The council
approved the study of, and possible renting of, a credit card reader.
Currently the city can only accept cash and checks when conducting
transactions for such things as building and burn permits. According
to Administrative Assistant Melissa Ratliff when someone only has a
credit/debit card they have to go out and get cash.
Ratliff explained to
council members there are two options. One involves renting a reader
for $40 per month, which includes maintenance. There is also a
4-percent processing fee paid by the card holder. Ratliff said they
are looking at getting two readers. The second option is to buy two
readers at a cost of “between $200 to $400.” Maintenance would
not be included and the 4-percent charge would still apply.
The card reader
would only be used for city hall transactions. Anyone paying fines to
the city court will still be required to use either cash or money
orders.
Council
members approved extending the 2019 budget into 2020, while the new
budget is being finalized. This is not unusual for the city since
final revenue and expenses for the year aren’t known until the end
of December. The council has until February 1 to approve the 2020
budget.
The final
plat for Phase-4 of Meadow’s Edge was approved. The streets are
completed and construction of around 90 homes is ready to begin as
soon as power connections are made by Entergy. Phase-4 is located at
the Brookwood Road end of the subdivision.
Police Chief Robert
Burnett announced the purchase of a command vehicle from the Little
Rock Police Department. The cost of the vehicle was $3,000 and it has
only 25,000 miles. Burnett says it’s fully equipped with a radio
and flood lights powered by a generator. Burnett told council members
it will be used for situations involving a stand-off or other
emergencies. He added that officers are receiving SWAT training since
local SWAT units haven’t always been available when needed by
Alexander.
The next regular
meeting of the Alexander City Council is January 20, 2020 at 6PM in
the courtroom at city hall. The public is invited to attend.