Bentonville City Council and Committee of the Whole Meeting - December 9, 2025

The City Council held a combined Committee of the Whole and regular meeting on December 9, 2025, at 6:00 PM at Bentonville City Hall. The meeting included recognition of community and youth councils, discussion of a Memorandum of Understanding with Walmart, adoption of the 2026 pay plan, multiple consent agenda items, and extensive debate about a proposed capacity fee for wastewater infrastructure. Public comments addressed traffic safety and charitable initiatives.

Consent Calendar

• Approval of the minutes from November 25, 2025.
• Reappointments: Sara Asplund to the Public Art Advisory Committee, Helen Lampkin and Mark Lankford to the Tree & Landscape Advisory Committee, Steven George, Christina Johnson, and Luke Powers to the Active Transportation Advisory Board, and Brooke Spenser, Ty Hoffine, and Jon Terlouw to the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board.
• Resolutions setting public hearings for alley and utility easement vacations (VAC25‑0028 and VAC25‑0030).
• Award of bid IFB‑25‑83 for two cab‑and‑chassis sign trucks to One Nation Distribution ($257,978).
• Acceptance of traffic signal equipment donation from Walmart Inc.
• Approval of Amendment 1 with Toole Design for sidewalk design and administration ($26,200).
• Authorization of EMS ambulance billing services agreement with DeLeon Billing Solutions dba Trinity Medical Billing (7% of monthly collected balance, renewable annually up to 3 years).
• Utility Board resolutions: three‑month wholesale water contract extension with Bella Vista Village Property Owners’ Association (approved 4‑0); budget adjustment of $500,000 for water service line replacement (approved 4‑0); development agreement with RLP Developments LLC for sewer upgrades; construction services agreement with Crafton, Tull & Associates ($115,770); bid award to Ground Zero Construction Inc. for Spring Creek‑Vaughn gravity sewer improvements ($1,818,008); and awards for street materials (premix to Emery Sapp & Sons, stone to APAC) and bill design/print services to Doxim.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Donna Wing (301 Cross Creek Drive) reported safety and noise concerns from newly installed stop signs near Cross Creek subdivision. She noted the signs are not at a four‑way intersection and create sight‑distance issues for westbound vehicles turning from her subdivision. She plans to appeal to the Traffic Safety and Designage Committee on January 5, 2026, and asked for consideration of a flashing beacon instead. Mayor and council acknowledged the issue and agreed to research how the signs were installed.
• Kate Wilcox (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‑day Saints) invited council to the unveiling of the “Giving Machines” on the Square on Thursday, December 11, 2025, at 11:00 AM. She described the machines as a vending‑machine concept where donors can purchase specific items for local charities, including the Boys & Girls Club, Salvation Army, Pedal it Forward, Sleep in Heavenly Peace, and Ronald McDonald House.
• Bill Butler (Randall Hinton Development) spoke about the upcoming capacity‑fee discussion. He expressed support for addressing larger infrastructural needs but asked the council to also consider funding maintenance of smaller (under‑12‑inch) wastewater lines, noting that many existing lines are at capacity or aging. He urged that the capacity fee be designed as a true proportional share and warned against stacking additional pipeline improvement costs on developers beyond the fee.

Discussion Items

• Recognition of Community and Youth Council: Members from the Youth Council (students from Bentonville High School, Fox, and other schools) and the Community Council were recognized for completing the year‑long program. Youth Council member Maggie Wolfka said participants “got an amazing bird’s‑eye view of the city” and learned how each department interacts. Community Council member Harish Sitapati thanked the departments and said the program fostered “a sense of pride, ownership, and belonging.”
• FOIA and Inter‑Council Communication: A lengthy debate arose when Council Member Bill Burkhart attempted to share a third‑party report on the economic impact of housing with other council members. Mayor, City Attorney Bonnie, and other council members discussed the restrictions of Arkansas’s new FOIA law and past practice. It was clarified that staff typically does not forward documents to council members due to FOIA concerns, but council members may share non‑opinion, factual reports directly with each other if they do not discuss positions. Bonnie committed to issuing a formal recommendation to all council members by the end of the week.
• Bentonville Police Department (BPD) MOU with Walmart Inc.: Chief of Police presented an informational item regarding a Memorandum of Understanding that allows BPD to enforce state and local traffic laws on private roadways within Walmart’s Home Office campus. He explained that the agreement does not redirect resources, does not cost the city anything, and will be complaint‑driven. Previously, officers could only respond to criminal acts or DUIs on private roads. Council members asked about other private communities and were told that each property owner must request such authority.
• Ordinance Consolidating All Boards and Commissions: An ordinance was introduced to codify all boards, commissions, and authorities into a single chapter of the municipal code. Council Member Octavio Suter questioned whether the same FOIA restrictions apply to these advisory bodies; the City Attorney clarified that bodies without final authority are not subject to FOIA restrictions.
• 2026 Pay Plan Changes: An ordinance adopting salary‑survey adjustments for Police and Fire personnel was passed with an emergency clause to take effect immediately.
• Modification of Utility Board Creation Ordinance: An ordinance was adopted allowing a Utility Board member to serve an additional year if a suitable replacement cannot be found. The emergency clause was amended from “the need to make this purchase” to “the need to make this change.”
• Capacity‑Fee and Infrastructure Funding: Following public comments, council members (particularly Octavio Suter) engaged in an extended discussion about the proposed capacity fee for wastewater. Suter argued that the methodology (growth‑based, 2.67 persons per residential unit, 100 gallons per person) is meant to cover the proportional future share of growth costs, and that requiring developers to also fund smaller‑pipe upgrades would make the fee invalid and stack costs. He expressed concern that the market cannot absorb both the capacity fee and the existing impact fees. Other members noted that the loan and fee are separate tools and that maintenance funding is a separate issue. The council agreed to have the rate consultants provide clarifications at a future committee meeting.

Key Outcomes

• Approved: Minutes of November 25, 2025 (unanimous).
• Recognized: Youth Council and Community Council members.
• Adopted: Consent agenda (items listed above) as a single bloc on a motion by Council Member Burkhart; roll call vote unanimous.
• Passed (individual votes):
  • Ordinance adopting 2026 Pay Plan changes (emergency clause) – unanimous.
  • Ordinance waiving competitive bidding for Bibliotheca RFID software ($47,980) – unanimous.
  • Ordinance waiving competitive bidding for OverDrive digital subscriptions ($68,500) – unanimous.
  • Ordinance modifying Utility Board creation ordinance (emergency clause, with corrected language) – unanimous.
  • Planning item – property line adjustment (PLA25‑0028) – unanimous.
  • Planning item – lot split (LS25‑0012) – unanimous.
  • Planning item – rezoning from R‑1 to DN‑2 (904 NW B Street) – unanimous.
  • Planning item – PUD amendment (Opal Park) – unanimous.
  • Planning item – rezoning from A‑1 to C‑3 (5927 SW Barron Road) – unanimous.
• Informational: BPD MOU with Walmart; no action required.
• Next Steps:
  • City Attorney to circulate a formal recommendation on FOIA‑compliant email communication among council members.
  • Council to hold further discussion on the capacity‑fee methodology and its interaction with developer obligations in an upcoming Committee of the Whole meeting.
  • Donna Wing’s appeal regarding stop signs will be heard by the Traffic Safety and Designage Committee on January 5, 2026.
• Adjournment: The meeting concluded after committee reports and public comments.