March election to be held for Gravel Ridge to join Sherwood

Wednesday's Arkansas Leader published a report indicating that the residents of Gravel Ridge will also be given the opportunity to vote to become a part of Sherwood. Although the Leader has already reported that Jacksonville has called for a special election in February, Sherwood Mayor Virginia Hillman has stated that a special election will be held in March for the Gravel Ridge residents to decide if they would rather join our city.

To read more of the story click here:
http://www.arkansasleader.com/2007/12/top-story-gravel-ridge-has-doubts-on.html

Area business owners in the Gravel Ridge area are giving a slight advantage to Sherwood but ultimately it will be down to all residents. So, why should Gravel Ridge join Sherwood instead of Jacksonville? Well, we don't have a separate property tax millage on real estate, and we have a much lower sales tax rate. Our amenities and public services are about evenly matched, but Jacksonville has done a better job of improving their park system. Adding Gravel Ridge to our city's continued growth makes more sense especially since the 2000 acres behind LRAFB are also a part of our fine city. If you know residents or business owners in Gravel Ridge let them know they'd be a welcome addition to our community.

Whatever the outcome of the February vote for Jacksonville the results will be put on hold until the March election. Let's work together to welcome Gravel Ridge in to our growing city and continue to make our future thrive. The only service that Jacksonville has that we don't is curbside recycling and twice a week trash pickup. If we add these additional folks and acres into our city, perhaps we need to look at utilizing the monthly garbage fee more wisely and bring in curbside recycling and perhaps build a dog park for the citizens to enjoy.