Benton City officials will consider naming a bridge after a fallen firefighter.  Read the agenda and previous meeting minutes below.

The story:

Lt. Paul Darrin Baker was a 39-year-old truck driver, husband, father, and volunteer firefighter at Turtle Creek Fire & Rescue. On August 10, 2007, he was on the scene of a wreck on Interstate 30 at the bridge over the Saline River. He died in the line of duty. The details of the incident, according to a statement on the FEMA website follows:

A vehicle crash occurred on a local interstate highway. One of the vehicles involved in the crash ended up parked on the shoulder of the Saline River Bridge. Firefighters were dispatched to the incident to control a gasoline leak.

Firefighters arrived on the scene and controlled the gasoline leak. Absorbent material was poured on the leaked fuel. Lieutenant Baker mounted the hood of the vehicle and attempted to reach in through the driver’s window to shut off the ignition.

He slipped and fell approximately 40 feet off of the bridge to the ground. Lieutenant Baker was pronounced dead at the scene. 

Benton Streets & Drainage Meeting – July 15, 2025:

The Benton Streets and Drainage Committee will consider whether to name the bridge after Lt. Baker. The Committee will hold their regular meeting on July 15, 2025, immediately following the Benton Parks meeting, which is at 6PM. It will be held in Council Chambers at the new City Hall at 410 River Street.

Committee Members: Jeff Hamm, Chair Judd Hart, Frank Baptist, Vice Chair Evelyn Reed, Steve Lee, Ann Spencer-Cole, Trevor Villines, Bill Donnor, Jeff Morrow, Steve Brown, and Streets/Drainage Director John Richey.

1. Call to order

2. Recognition of Attendees

3. Approval of Minutes

4. Resolution to request naming of a bridge (Paul Baker)

5. Project updates

6. Other

7. Adjourn

Benton Streets & Drainage Minutes – June 10, 2025:

In the previous meeting, the Committee considered the following:

• abandonment of Hester Street
• grant for design and engineering for Northshore Drive
• overlay of downtown streets
• stormwater solution for Shoal Creek
• drainage on Cross Street
• Congo & Shenandoah roundabout

Alderman Hamm called the hearing to order at 5:06 pm. He asked for a roll call beginning with Alderman Baptist. Alderman Brown, Alderwoman Spencer-Cole, Alderman Donnor, Mayor Farmer, John Richey, Alderman Morrow, Alderman Hart, Alderman Villines were all present.

Alderman Hamm moved to approve the minutes from the May 13th Meeting. With a motion and a second, he called for a vote, motion carried.

Next he moved to the Ordinance for Hester Street abandonment. He asked for questions from the public. With none he asked for a motion to approve. Alderman Morrow with the motion and Alderman Hart with the second. Calling for the vote, the motion carried.

Alderman Hamm then moved to the next item on the agenda, STBG Grant for design and engineering for the Northshore Drive project. He called for any discussion or questions. Alderman Hart asked how much are we putting in? John Richey stated it’s 80/20% and that this is just for design and engineering. The Construction will be done later. With no more questions, Alderman Hamm called for a motion to approve, with a motion from Alderman Hart and second from Alderman Morrow, a vote was called for and motion carried.

Alderman Hamm asked John to give any updates on projects. He began with the downtown overlay that will be in the next few weeks. He said it will be done at night, and weather pending, they should start around the 22nd of June. John explained that Sevier Street will be overlaid after the first of the year. They are not finished with the water lines yet, and his new budget will be available at that time.

John asked Taylor Clark from McClelland Engineers to explain about the work on Shoal Creek. Taylor talked about the dip that has been added, and bigger throat so the water that competes with the creek runs off instead of backing up into driveways. They have also added a weir with a door where water can be let out before a big rain so there will be plenty of area to hold a lot of water.

John then moved on to Cross Street drainage Ph 2. He said that we are in the process of getting easements signed for the drain that runs through the backyards. There were a few questions about location, and the grant and sidewalks.

John was then asked about the Congo Shenandoah roundabout-He said an offer was made to Circle K and we are just waiting to hear back from them.

Alderman Hamm then asked for any other questions or updates. Hearing none, he said that he wanted to add that in working our April and May storm debris pickup that we are real close to wrapping it up. It was a big year for falling trees and helping folks out has been quite huge for us. He thanked the county for supplying us with a place for debris and he thought we worked well with them.

He also mentioned that when he met with Streets/Drainage Dept a few days earlier, that it was mentioned that if they had a grapple truck, it would certainly make things easier and more efficient using two-three employees instead of 4-6, that could be utilized doing other needed projects. Alderman Donnor agreed and stated how happy the people he has talked with are with the service.  Alderman Hamm also said “I know this will be a sore subject, but in the future maybe putting a fee of some kind $5.00 for a pick up or something like that, and maybe condense the trips. It’s just a thought, so I wanted the public to hear that also because I think it’s something we need to think about. We’re growing drastically and it will only become more expensive to do what we are doing. Think about it. With that said, I will call this meeting adjourned.”

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