At its meeting Tuesday, the Pineville Board of Aldermen heard from a resident who is having trouble with sulfur water.
Marilyn O'Brien said she had lived in Pineville for 25 years, and her water had never smelled like sulfur before, but "it's horrible." She said public works superintendent Chris Tinsley had been to her home and seemed to think the reason for the odor was the hot weather.
"Nothing has helped," O'Brien said. She said she had drained her water heater three times.
Tinsley said the problem is that her service line is a two-inch line; it's 1,000 feet from the main, and she does not use a lot of water in a month. By the time the water gets to her home, he said, it is 45 days old. He suggested putting a hose outside on a timer and running it to the flower bed. One of the board members said that would increase O'Brien's monthly water bill by $18.
She said she was more than willing to pay $18 per month to fix the problem.
Mayor Gregg Sweeten suggested trying the hose solution and seeing if it works.
Police Chief Bill Rataczak said he was getting the decals on the police cars changed. When finished, the cars would all have the city's logo. He said it would be $1,175 for all of them. The board approved the expenditure.
Debbie Dyar of the Pineville Tree Advisory Board presented the board with a recommendation to make the cone flower the official city flower. She said the cone flower is in the same genus as the daisy and includes purple echinacea. She said the flowers provide nectar for butterflies in the spring and summer and seeds for birds in the fall and winter. They flower most of the spring and summer and are perennials, meaning they come back without replanting, she said. They also tend to multiply, she said. The board approved the recommendation.
The board also approved an event permit for the Big Sugar Gravel Race, which Sweeten said starts in Arkansas at sunrise and will stop at Pineville on mile 35. The bike race is on Oct. 31, he said.
Alderman Scott Dennis said he has had complaints about a lot of trash left behind after past events. Sweeten said he would tell the organizer.
Alderman Becky Davis told the board that I'm Your Huckleberry Rescue has had a generous benefactor or two and now has funding to set up a low-cost spay and neuter clinic at Pineville Plaza once a month. The rescue also hopes to grow to twice a month and to add a wellness clinic, she said.
Sweeten also mentioned the city has signed on the Mountain Ridge water tower and treatment system, with Branco as the contractor and Tarsco as the water tower company. He said they have a little over a year to complete the project, and work will begin the first week of October.