Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Mayor gives state of Pea Ridge address
Pea Ridge continues to grow, as does all of northwest Arkansas. Our population estimate from July 2019 is 6,211. The census numbers will not be out until mid-year or September for us to have the official count.
Since 2010 to the end of 2020, we have issued 706 certificates of occupancy for new homes and as of Jan. 31, 2021, we have issued 30 certificates of occupancy for new homes.
It was announced in 2020 that our local Neighborhood Market was selected as the test site for the Walmart* drone delivery project. This is an exciting project for our community, just another one of a kind for our community.
Even through the covid-19 issues, Pea Ridge continued to provide services to our citizens. We had to make changes throughout the year to meet the covid-19 restrictions or requirements. Our city staff met the challenge and has done an outstanding job during this difficult time.
We had to close our offices for a while but were still able to maintain service to the citizens.
Our community has stepped up to the challenges of 2020 and together we have taken care of each other and will continue to do so.
HIGHLIGHTS OF 2020
1. STREET DEPARTMENT Projects consisted of the following:
• Carr Street, West/East ditch reshape and correct drainage (928 feet total)
• Carr Street property cleanup
• Created proper ditch on Greene Street to eliminate road erosion (290’)
• Removed large dead tree behind museum
• Removed and replaced heater at museum
• Built small pad at park for Gaga Ball
• Replaced posts/painted, cable replaced at park (15). Updated entrance to park.
• New trash cans and frames (5)
• Painted basketball court at park
• Regrade electric ditch @ 385 E. Hayes St. to streetlight
• 247 N. Davis St. culvert replacement
• Completed underground drainage Henry Little Circle to South Davis Street (897 feet pipe total)
• Replaced culvert on Sugar Creek Road (35 feet)
• Removed old gas lights on the Sugar Creek Golf Course subdivisions
• Remove/replace curb on Peck Road to eliminate standing water (120 feet)
• Greene Street concrete swell to remove standing water on asphalt. (29’x22’)
• Fire Dept. concrete paving remove and replace (53’x29’)
• Reshaped south side of Police Department, West side of parking to eliminate water running into building.
• Rebuild plumbing in Police Department bathroom
• Connected Blair Circle sidewalk to existing sidewalk at Washburn Drive (279’ total)
• Patton Street extension project (pipe, and select fill completed thus far)
• Boarded up house on Greene Street (23 sheets of OSB)
• Two 20’ light poles for basketball court at park
• Remove replace asphalt in Standing Oaks (6 tons)
• Private/public partnership for Dove and Hazelton Road improvements
• Annexation of 160 acres in total
• Started on the Baker Hayes Urban Trail with the partnership with NICA team at the school.
2. PARKS
• Movies in the park were discontinued due to covid-19 restrictions
• The Splash pad was closed due to covid-19 restrictions.
3. WATER DEPARTMENT
• Wastewater Treatment Plant — Construction complete and in the process of bring the plant online.
4. FIRE/AMBULANCE
• Updated all SOPs
• Updated all inspections and developed a new inspection program
• Narcan program
• Developed a Pre-Fire plan program
• Updated all current job classification and developed job qualifications and educational requirements
• Developed an application and hiring process
• Implemented a strict incident command structure
• Developed a strategic plan for the next 5 years
• Performed a study of like size cities comparing budget, population demographics, revenue and commercial occupancy
• Applied for numerous grants:
• AFG – Self Contained Breathing apparatus $200,000
• Received Arkansas Trauma Grant, August 2020 ($5,371)
• Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) $1,200,000
• Receive Arkansas Department of Agriculture Grant — 10 sets of fire-resistance coveralls, 10 sets of wildland firefighting gloves, two back-pack pumps, two back-pack leaf blowers and six leaf rakes
• Revamped billing process; cancelled AMB and began our own ambulance billing
• Hired a part-time billing personnel
• Assessed the fire dues and developed a program for the future
• Developed a Fire Chaplain program
• Reviewed and changed box alarms for mutual aid responses
• Developed a yearly fire hydrant program
• Adopted a new yearly maintenance program for all vehicles
• Updated all mutual aid agreements with all agencies
• Developed a policy and procedure for promotional testing
• Eight (8) personnel completed Emergency Medical Responder
• Six (6) personnel completed Hazmat Awareness and Operations
• Graduated five (5) through the Pea Ridge/Bella Vista FFI and FFII Program and one (1) through the Arkansas Fire Academy FFI & FFII and driver operator
• One (1) person graduated EMT school
• Five (5) personnel graduated from Instructor I course
• Five (5) personnel graduated from Officer I course
• Numerous outreach programs
• Social distancing parades
• Distribution of goodie bags to kids with the Ambassadors
• Various school programs
• Lunch buddies’ program
• Partnered with the Ambassadors program
• Partnered with GY6ix non-profit organization
• Received numerous donations.
• Added a UTV to the department
• Mako Air Filling Station donation from Dr. Karen Sherman
• Added a CAVS system
• Added a 75’ Ladder truck
• Two PPV fans
• Two King Visions and 20 Blades
• Added a new 12-lead monitor to the Ambulance
• Numerous sets of bunker gear
• GY6ix
• Dye-Hards
• CR Crawford construction
• Four (4) from ArvestFoundation
• Four (4) loaner air packs from Rogers Fire Department
• Battlefield mini storage (inside storage for Parade truck)
• Fire Safety House
• Misc. equipment for the ladder truck from Little Flock
• Donation of lumber for the table
• Flags from VFW
• Desk and filing cabinets for three offices
• Donation of 60 duty shirts
• 27 Total donations $384,521
5. POLICE DEPARTMENT
• Given the heightened challenges facing law enforcement and the lurking threat of covid-19, 2020 was a challenging year for our Police Department.
• Pea Ridge Police officers handled 7,294 total calls for service in 2020, resulting in 932 arrests.
• Overall, violent crime remained consistently low while there was a small increase in property and drug-related crimes.
• The most significant change in crime statistics in 2020 was due to unemployment insurance fraud. This was a nationwide problem, and these calls increased the department’s total fraud calls for 2020 by 154% over 2019.
• Breaking and Entering calls went from 22 in 2019 to 40 in 2020. However, theft calls were down by 39%.
• Violent crime such as assault and battery was down 45%.
• Suspicious circumstance calls were down by 34%.
• The Police Department investigated 129 traffic collisions in 2020, a decrease of 9% from 2019.
• Covid-19 made training much more difficult in 2020, but the Police Department continues to provide required annual and continuation training to our officers and civilian staff; in 2020, the department logged over 900 hours of training. All officers in the department received Opioid overdose training and were provided with Opioid Overdose Naloxone Kits through a grant funded by the Arkansas State Drug Director’s Office.
• The Police Department has three certified Crisis Intervention Officers who responded to seven mental health incidents in 2020. One patient was charged with criminal behavior. Five of the incidents involved a threat or action of suicide, which resulted in voluntary transports to the hospital. One incident resulted in the patient being voluntarily transferred to the Crisis Stabilization Unit.
• Using funds obtained through the sale of a drug dealer’s seized vehicle, the police department was able to upgrade our mobile computers’ capabilities. All patrol units are now capable of mobile dispatch. Mobile dispatch will decrease unneeded radio traffic while increasing the efficiency of officers and improving officer safety.
6. DISTRICT COURT
• We have seen an increase in the number of cases coming through district court in the last few years. The numbers testify to the fact that this building was severely needed. We could not have handled this number of cases in the old facility.
• Cases processed in 2015 — 1,152; cases filed — 1,453
• Cases processed in 2016 — 2,072; cases filed — 2,262
• Cases processed in 2017 — 2,120; cases filed — 2,283
• Cases processed in 2018 — 1,698,; cases filed — 1,844
• Cases processed in 2019 — 1,646,; cases filed — 1,646
• Cases processed in 2020 — 1,254; Cases filed — 1,708
7. LIBRARY
• Programs moved online due to covid-19, did have All Treats, No Tricks and Drive thru Santa.
• Digital format enhanced and usage skyrocketed
• Summer Reading program completely digital for 2020
• Computer users down due to covid-19 and library being closed, total annual users — 582
8. BUILDING OFFICIAL / INSPECTIONS
• Permits issued in 2020Misc. Permits
• Building permits — 20
• Plumbing permits — 68
• Electrical permits — 47
• Mechanical permits — 39
• Total misc. permits — 174
• Total misc. fees — $8,254.50 Building Permits
• New Home building permits — 203
• Commercial building permits — 0
• New construction plumbing — 225
• New construction electrical — 318
• New construction mechanical — 247
• Totals new construction permits — 1,167
• Total value of new construction fees — $49,392,776 Permit/inspection totals
• Inspections performed — 1,722 Impact fees
• Total number of impact fees collected in 2020 — 137
• Total impact fees collected — $294,411.83
9. CITY OF PEA RIDGE PROJECTED GROWTH
• Year 2045 — Population 13,284
10. BENTON COUNTY PROJECTED GROWTH
• Benton County, 2010 — population 221,339
• Washington County, 2010 – population 203,065
• Current census estimates for Benton County as of 7/1/2016 — 245,321
• Year 2045 — population 545,893