Final hurdle crossed for “Alexander and Five” development

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.