Centerton council votes to explore regional wastewater partnership with Decatur after lengthy debate

The Centerton City Council voted Dec. 9 to adopt a resolution expressing the city’s intent to explore options to join Decatur and potentially other municipalities in studying a regional approach to wastewater treatment.

The resolution, amended in the meeting to soften language asserting that regionalization “may be in the best interest” of the city, directs the city’s waterworks and sewer commission and staff to participate in collaborative study and to consult legal, financial and engineering advisers. Council members debated the measure for more than three hours before voting to approve the edited text.

Council members pressed visiting legal and financial advisers on whether Centerton could jointly own capacity in another city’s plant or must form a separate regional entity. Michael Moyers, an attorney with the law firm that represents Decatur, told the council: “Centerton cannot incur indebtedness for an asset that it does not own,” and said joint municipal ownership without a new legal entity is not provided for under current statutes.

That legal constraint framed much of the discussion about financing. Moyers and other advisers explained that a regional entity would likely have a stronger credit profile for large bonded projects than a single small city or an owner-city borrowing for another jurisdiction’s plant; advisers said that difference materially affects interest costs on multi‑million-dollar expansions.

Technical questions about capacity and environmental constraints were a second focal point. Aaron Benzing of Hawkins Engineers, who is leading a state-funded regional wastewater study for Northwest Arkansas, briefed the council on the study’s approach and timetable. Benzing said the statewide-funded effort will produce a regionwide report in September 2026 and a more focused set of recommendations for Centerton by April 2026, and he stressed that the state’s investment provides Centerton access to technical work the city would otherwise pay for.

Benzing noted the study will evaluate several options for Centerton—continuing to send wastewater to Decatur, sending flows to Naka (the existing regional facility serving the Illinois River watershed), or building local capacity—assessing cost, environmental impacts and regulatory feasibility for each option.

Several council members and commissioners urged caution and requested clear communication with residents. One councilor said the draft resolution’s language implying regionalization was already “in the best interest” of Centerton should be removed; the council agreed and replaced it with language stating the city is “interested in exploring options.” Another member pressed for the hiring of outside technical consultants; staff said the city has issued an RFP and is reviewing responses and that the state study will supplement local analysis.

The council and Decatur representatives also debated governance: how seats on a regional board would be allocated, who would set rates, and what protections Centerton would have for representation and rate-setting authority. Legal advisers said those details would be negotiated if the study indicates a regional approach is feasible and desirable.

The resolution is nonbinding: it authorizes Centerton to participate in study and negotiations but does not commit the city to any financing or transfer of assets. Mayor Thorp and council members urged participation to ensure Centerton’s interests are represented while the state-sponsored study and local RFPs produce the detailed engineering, governance and cost information needed for any future ordinance or agreement.

Next steps identified in the meeting: Centerton staff and the waterworks and sewer commission will continue regular meetings with Decatur, review proposals from outside consultants, and participate in the state-funded study; the council expects a focused Centerton report from the state team around April 2026 and the broader regional report by September 2026.