Four officers honored at council meeting
Dr. Gray’s Hospital might finally be closing after years of being vacant.
At the Batesville City Council’s regular meeting on Tuesday night, Mayor Rick Elumbaugh informed the council that plans are underway to apply for a Brownfield Grant, which is intended to assist in the evaluation, cleanup, and redevelopment of Brownfield properties, such as Gray’s, that may be contaminated with hazardous materials.
The first structure constructed in Batesville specifically for the purpose of serving as a hospital, Gray’s opened in 1939 and remained in operation until the 1980s.
According to Elumbaugh, the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality and the Arkansas Economic Development Commission met with the White River Planning and Development District to inspect the structure and discuss a Brownfield Grant for the four-story structure.
The worst case scenario is that we are left with a safe but vacant building.
According to Elumbaugh, he was approached by Joey Markowski of Markowski Investment Holdings, LLC, the building’s owner, about giving the property to the city.
According to Elumbaugh, several people have thought about renovating the building over the years, but many potential investors were put off by the building’s thick walls and asbestos content.
“We could help facilitate a Brownfield Grant and move forward on that if we (the city) get this in our hands,” Elumbaugh stated.
The asbestos abatement project, which might cost $150,000 and be funded by ADEQ, would be the first stage. Applying for a new grant to demolish the structure and turn it into a green area would be the second step.
That is our community’s entrance, and it is unsightly and covered in graffiti. “Who will do this if we don’t?” Elumbaugh questioned.
We don’t know enough about environmental hazards, so he asked the council for their thoughts. Alderman Robb Roberts said he was curious whether there was any possible liability.
Roberts continued, “The statutes exist to protect us as it pertains to environmental questions.” In the worst case scenario, the building is safe and vacant.
After obtaining grant funding for abatement, the council decided to proceed with the grant application with WRPDD as a partner.
Listen to Rick Elumbaugh, the mayor of Batesville, visit with Andrea Bruner of White River Now:
Tuesday night, four officers in his department received awards from Police Chief John Scarbrough.
First, Scarbrough stated that Cpl. Miguel Romero of Batesville has been chosen as the Arkansas Association of Chiefs of Police’s nominee for Police Officer of the Year. The organization requests nominations from chiefs around the state.
Romero has three years of distinguished service in the Patrol Division, he noted. He has shown a remarkable combination of professionalism, commitment, and leadership throughout his career. His capacity to engage with the community while upholding a firm, efficient policing strategy has had a major influence on the department and the people he serves.
Romero, according to Scarbrough, has spearheaded a number of community service projects, such as coaching in the local soccer league and serving as a part-time volunteer school resource officer for the Batesville School District.
Romero, according to Scarbrough, is also a dependable mentor to his coworkers, especially the less experienced ones, helping them navigate challenging circumstances and providing insightful advice. Our department’s professionalism and morale have increased as a result of his leadership.
He has continuously gone above and beyond expectations and shown incredible resilience and talent, whether he is responding to emergencies, looking into crimes, or performing specialized responsibilities, according to Scarbrough. Miguel has attended multiple training sessions, conferences, and certifications, demonstrating his strong commitment to both his own professional development and the advancement of his community.
Second, for their joint efforts on July 4, Sgt. Larry Ring and Cpl. Stephen Schlotzhauer were honored with a Life Saving Award. The two acted quickly to help a person who had suffered a heart attack.
Both cops arrived and made a prompt, competent assessment of the situation. They stabilized the sufferer until emergency medical personnel arrived by starting life-saving procedures right away, such as administering CPR and using an automated external defibrillator (AED). “Their conduct is a powerful example of the courage, skills, and dedication embodied by members of this department,” he continued, adding that their actions literally meant the difference between life and death.
According to Scarbrough, the department intends to submit a grant application to equip each car with an AED.
Third, Patrolman Jeffrey Tate was honored with a Valor Award for his extreme bravery and selflessness in responding to a single-car collision on July 7 (in front of Hardee’s) involving a person trapped inside a burning vehicle.
Officer Tate tried to pull the man from the blazing car without hesitation and with no regard for his own safety. Officer Tate showed bravery and tenacity in trying to save a life in the face of intense heat, smoke, and quickly worsening conditions, according to Scarbrough. Despite the incident’s unfortunate conclusion, Officer Tate’s actions uphold the greatest standards of bravery and dedication to service. His character, professionalism, and commitment to public service are demonstrated by his readiness to put himself in immediate danger in an attempt to save another person.
Scarbrough presented the council with more news than just the presentations. According to him, the department taught select police to use the gear it had acquired in March to enable officers enter secured premises. He claimed that earlier this month, a man need medical assistance, and officers were able to enter the home using their equipment and training. The training and tool costs have already paid for themselves.
Additionally, he mentioned that four policemen are taking part in a peer counseling program. The team has been visited six times thus far, and each officer receives 30 hours of training annually. Sometimes our cops struggle, and these guys help them get back on track.
According to Scarbrough, the BPD has received so many Freedom of Information Act requests since the debut of their website that he has had to take one officer off the street in order to answer them. Information in the Arkansas Crime Information Center (ACIC) center, for example, or private data like a person’s address and phone number must be redacted, according to Scarbrough.
According to him, editing a 30-minute bodycam footage may take two to four hours.
Scarbrough presented his monthly report, which revealed that the BPD had doubled the amount of warnings and citations issued in the previous month due to an increase in activity.
In contrast to 217 in June, 174 in May, 209 in April, and 148 in March, the police department issued 217 citations and 590 warnings last month (compared to 292 in June, 222 in May, 298 in April, and 168 in March).
In addition, the department reported 69 incident reports (56 in June, 45 in May, and 65 in April), 47 accidents (43 in June, 38 in May, and 53 in April), 33 arrests (22 in June, 25 in May, 34 in April, and 26 in March), and 1,770 calls for service (compared to 1,332 in June, 1,234 in May, and 1,323 in April).
In other business:
*The roundabout is now open, according to Public Works Engineer Damon Johnson, in time for the start of classes. It’s a useful method for teaching folks how to use a roundabout. Johnson stated that there is only one entrance and one exit.
The parks extension project is proceeding, and he anticipates the new events center’s concrete being laid next month.
With a lot of activity going on below earth, the water plant project is also progressing. In the upcoming months, Johnson added, he hopes to see buildings being constructed.
Earlier Tuesday, crews were working on the new traffic light at St. Louis and Harrison streets, which had some gremlins.
Roberts asked about theAT&T subcontractors that had workedin a residential area near the high school and damaged some yards, aggravating the homeowners. According to Johnson, AT&T has posted a bond that will cover any destruction of public property or facilities. Nevertheless, individual homeowners are not protected by such a bond.
* Fire Chief Mark McCollum presented July s monthly statistics for his department: 51 total calls (compared to 37 in June and 41 in May), one structure fire, one vehicle fire, one hazardous material call, three gas leaks, 15 false alarms and one good intent/service call.
The fire department was called out on one rescue/trench call, a nd McCollum said there was a man digging a hole that ended up caving in on him. Thankfully, he was able to leave the area thanks to the firefighters.
The big jump was in motor vehicle accidents, as the fire department worked 13 in July, compared to six in June. There were also three other medical assistance calls (compared to one in June).
Firefighters also performed 158 inspections (compared to 100 in June) and six plan reviews (10 in June) and accumulated 136 training hours (compared to 95 in June).
August is already shaping up to be a busy month, McCollum said. There was a fire on Central Avenue; there were three dogs in there, and we saved two out of the three.
Alderman Scott Fredricks asked if there was a burn ban on, and McCollum said no.
*The council passed an ordinance modifying the number of members of the city s airport commission from the current five to seven, which is required by state law. Of the seven members of the newly renamed Batesville Aviation Commission, four shall be residents of the city. Terms are for five years.
The second and third readings of the ordinance were waived, and the adoption of the ordinance took effect immediately.
*Following an executive session, Clint Howard, an aviation instructor at Batesville, was appointed to fulfill a vacant airport commission term that will expire in 2029.
During the mayor s comments, Elumbaugh said there is a plan to have Entergy install some electricity in preparation for the Christmas lighting display being moved for 2025 to the 20th Street area while Riverside Park is closed for its expansion project.
We are going to see a lot of the activities north of the tennis courts (where the old Mickey Mouse pool was located), Elumbaugh said.
He asked the council to borrow $24,000 from the city budget to pay for the work.
He said a local businessman has offered to raise some money for this, but in the meantime, the city has to start this process. If it does not come through, we will pay the city back with Christmas proceeds over the next few years, Elumbaugh said.
During council comments, Alderman Lackey Moody said the old Poke Bayou bridge going to Westside has a lot of gravel and grit, and with the farmer s market on one side and the new Dollar General on the other, it s likely to get more traffic than ever and needs to be cleaned.
Alderwoman Brittany Bennett also said there is some shredded insulation coming off a pipe that looks like trash bags and also needs to be cleaned up.
During citizens comments, the Rev. Gerald Heinecke, pastor of Hope Lutheran Church, took the time to commend the work being done by the city to install a new water meter box alongside the church for the Pfeiffer water system.
He said city crews were polite and easy to work with.
He then questioned if the city had any influence over the c potentially closing the local armory and said that would be disconcerting. After the March tornadoes, they were in less than 24 hours with boots on the ground.
The city has no ownership in the Batesville National Guard, Elumbaugh said.
All council members were present.
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