Batesville City Council clears way for apartments, accepts hospital donation

By Andrea Bruner, White River Now

The Batesville City Council gave the green light to a plan to build apartments on Harrison Street.

The council met Tuesday night and approved a resolution amending the city’s comprehensive plan in the area northeast of Harrison Street and east of Dry Kiln Road.

The resolution came at the recommendation of the city’s planning commission, which met Dec. 8 and adopted the revisions to the city’s zoning districts map.

Joey Markowski, a member of the planning commission, told the council that this is a strip of land on the west side of Willis Funeral Home. “There is already multifamily (use), and we want to make it contiguous with what is already there. There will be a bigger project in the future that is connected to this project.”

Markowski said there are plans for two small quadplexes.

Meanwhile, the council also approved a resolution accepting the donation of Dr. Gray’s Hospital from Markowski Investments Holdings, LLC.

Alderman Robb Roberts said the city has received grant funds to remove the hazardous substances inside the historic building, before it is razed and the site developed into a greenspace.

Gray’s opened in 1939 at the corner of Fifth and Main streets and was used as a hospital until the 1980s, and while the building itself is historic, Alderman Landon Reeves reiterated that this building is confirmed to contain a “significant amount of asbestos,” which has hindered development at the site.

In other business Tuesday night:

–The council adopted the 2026 budget by ordinance, waiving the second and third readings to make the approval. Mayor Rick Elumbaugh said this is a “working document” that will likely be amended throughout the year. He said this is a tight budget, with little capital being purchased next year.

–The council approved a resolution authorizing the Bethesda Water Association to merge into Batesville Water Utility.

–Police Chief John Scarbrough presented his monthly report, which had a drop in calls for service from the previous month – 1,026 in November compared to 2,205 in October. The department recorded 1,093 calls in September and 1,431 in August. There were 36 accidents last month (compared to 46 in October, 69 in September and 79 in August), 30 arrests (29 in October, 32 in September and 38 in August), 62 incident reports (also 62 in October), 155 citations (161 in October, 211 in September and 280 in August) and 236 warnings (204 in October, 170 in September and 378 in August).

In November, the Batesville Police Department received 13 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, compared to 20 in October.

Scarbrough said the department received two LiDARs (Light Detection and Ranging) traffic enforcement equipment from the Arkansas State Police STEP Grant.

Roberts questioned if offense reports could be run in a “rolling 13 month” period in order to present not only the previous full year but the statistics from a year ago. Scarbrough said he would check on that.

–Public Works Engineer Damon Johnson said the Riverside Park expansion project is ongoing, and the sports courts have been poured, although the coating will not happen until next year, after the extreme cold weather passes, while construction crews are working to get the events center building (below) enclosed.

Across the road, the new water treatment plant “is picking up momentum,” particularly with the beginning stages of the new water intake structure. Johnson said crews will soon start installing structures in the White River and that the intake building will be done in two phases, with each “half” of the intake system being put into service at different times to minimize operational interruptions.

He said the water plant project is two weeks behind schedule, “but at 12 months in, that’s pretty good.” Johnson said the construction crews hope to make that time up within three or four months, “even more if things go right.”

He told the council that they are happy with both the parks and water plant contractors overall.

–Fire Chief Mark McCollum presented statistics for his department for the month of November and up through the 16th of December, showing there were three structure fires, two grass or woods fires, two vehicle fires, 14 motor vehicle calls, five other medical assistant calls, 10 false alarms, 10 good intent including service calls, 93 inspections, 208 training hours, one hazardous material call, five gas leaks, four plan reviews, and three FOI (Freedom of Information) reports answered.

McCollum also said the fire department pressure tested 15,000 feet of fire hose and flow tested more than 300 fire hydrants.

Seventeen firefighters from the department including full-time and reserve participated in Shop with a Hero, an activity benefitting foster children in Independence County. Fourteen Batesville firefighters along with six police officers and six Vital Link employees helped deliver 347 food boxes to participants in the Christmas Brings Hope drive.

“It takes all hands on deck and then some, and they helped us a bunch” with the annual food drive.

McCollum said the fire department was responding to more motor vehicle accidents. “I told them (dispatch) anytime Vital Link rolls we should roll too” because firefighters may be able to respond more quickly. “It’s better to turn us around and not need us” than to need responders and not have someone arrive in time.

He did say the rescue truck is nearing competition, and the tower truck is back in service after some of the pulleys, which are custom-made, had worn out to the point of needing replacement.

Also, the new thermal imaging cameras arrived on Monday, and the department is in the process of getting those installed in the fire trucks. McCollum also said the department has several air packs that will be out of date by next year, so those are being replaced now with Act 833 funds, which are derived from a tax on fire insurance premiums in the state.

–Following a brief executive session, the council reappointed Shannon Haney and Nelson Barnett to the historic district commission.

–The council adopted a resolution in support of reviving the state-run Federal Surplus Property Program administered by the state of Arkansas. Elumbaugh said Batesville’s street, police and fire departments have purchased multiple items over the years, saving the city thousands of dollars.

The surplus program was recently discontinued due to a reported $300,000 operating deficit after federal policy shifted sales to online platforms and reduced the volume of high-value items available to the state. Elumbaugh said the Arkansas Municipal League is trying to revive the program, and Batesville is lending its support to the effort.

–The council adopted an ordinance amended various residential provisions of the city’s municipal code to “clean up” language, according to Elumbaugh. The planning commission met on Nov. 3 and recommended making the changes.

–Elumbaugh announced there would be a public safety meeting for the police department and one for the fire department in the new year, but no dates had been set yet.

There were no comments from citizens. Aldermen Brittany Bennett and Fred Krug were absent.

Images: White River Now