The Conway City Council approved the use of federal grant funds to extend the Stone Dam Creek Trail, which has an end beside the UCA tennis courts, along with entering an agreement to contract with S7 Tactical for police training.

The resolution for extending the Stone Dam Creek Trail passed 8-0.

James Walden, the city’s planning and development director, said the extension would reach past the current trailhead, located on South German Lane south of Dave Ward Drive. He said the plan is for the trail to eventually reach Mayflower.

The trail is connected to the ongoing Connect Conway greenway trail project. Connect Conway “aims to build a safe, equitable and accessible transportation system through investment in 15 miles of bike and pedestrian infrastructure,” according to the website conwayarkansas.gov.

The Federal Aid Surface Transportation Block Grant Program will provide 80% of the funding, and Conway’s street sales and use tax will fund the remaining 20%.

There is a maximum award of $400,000 available for design. If the project hits the maximum for design, then $320,000 would come from the grant and $80,000 from Conway to fund the project.

The agreement with S7 Tactical, “a strategic training corporation offering an extensive line of law enforcement, military and civilian training services,” according to its website, will utilize S7’s training facility for the Conway Police Department.

The resolution passed 8-0.

Mayor Bart Castleberry said “prices came back pretty high” on building a range and that using S7 would be an alternative until a range is built.

Chief William Tapley said S7 will not charge for using its facilities for the remainder of the year. Next year, the cost will be $25,000.

The last group of items on the agenda was an annual vote to approve millages, which are taxes on real and personal property that fund different areas.

Castleberry emphasized no increases are being made and the resolutions are something state law requires the city to do every year. He said a headline in the Log Cabin Democrat seemed to suggest there were tax increases, and some people on Facebook read it that way. 

“You have my word, there is no increase here and nothing new here,” Castleberry said.

All seven of the millages passed 8-0.

The first three millages are voluntary and go toward the animal shelter at 0.2 mill, public recreation and playgrounds at 0.4 mill and cemeteries at 0.4 mill. A mill is 0.1 of a penny based on 20% of a property’s valuation.

The remainder of the millages are mandatory and go toward general fund revenues and pension and relief funds for police, fire and nonuniformed employees. These four millages add up to 4.2 mills.

In other business, the Conway City Council placed liens on three properties for expenses incurred by code enforcement, approved nominations for the Civil Service Commission, appropriated funds from Metroplan for council members’ tour of northwest Arkansas’ greenways and trails, approved a conditional use permit, appropriated reimbursement funds from the police department and set a public hearing to discuss the closing of a street that Walden said was a “long-envisioned” development that has not been used.

All resolutions brought forward at the meeting passed 8-0. 

More details from the council’s agenda, council voting results and information about future meetings can be found at conwayarkansas.gov.