Gainesville Board of Aldermen to sign sewer project paperwork at special meeting March 23

At its Monday night meeting, the Gainesville Board of Aldermen, after sitting through the reading aloud of a mind-numbing 29-page sewer project document, passed an ordinance authorizing the issuance of $931,000 in combined waterworks and sewerage system revenue bonds to help fund a new waste water treatment facility. The aldermen will gather again in a special meeting to be held Friday, March 23, to finalize the paperwork portion of the project and begin the construction phase.
The project will be completed with financial assistance from a USDA Rural Development loan and a community development block grant arranged with the help of the South Central Organization Ozark Council of Governments (SCOCOG).

Top soil for the saddle club arena
Also at the March 23 special meeting, which will start at 12:30 p.m. at City Hall, the aldermen will vote on whether to help the Gainesville Saddle Club pay for top soil to be mixed with existing sand in the saddle club’s 140-foot-by-250-foot arena to ensure safe footing for horse show and rodeo animals.
Veterinarian Konnie Plumlee, president of the saddle club, asked the aldermen for help with the project after outlining the nearly $18,000 the club had already spent from its own funds to make repairs following the spring 2017 flood. The storm damaged or destroyed most of the club’s facilities, including the announcer stand and cook shack. All the top soil in the arena was washed away, Plumlee said, and now the 2018 season is beginning, with the club set to host a rodeo April 20-21.
Plumlee said the club had solicited bids for the screened top soil and selected Monty Hambelton of Isabella as the provider; 60 dump-truck loads at $200 per load will be required for a total cost of $12,000, she said. Unless the top soil can be purchased and brought in quickly, the April rodeo will have to be canceled, she said. The aldermen board will vote on the matter at the special March 23 meeting.

Fire department gear
Also at Monday’s meeting, the board agreed to purchase two leaf blowers and 10 new sets of bunker gear for Gainesville firefighters to wear while fighting fires – expenditures expected to total about $20,000.