By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Possible budget changes are being considered at the county level in an effort to help ease some of the financial problems that have plagued the county for the past year.
Members of the St. Francis County Quorum Court's Budget Committee on Tuesday night were updated on the status of the county's general fund, the balance of which is near $107,000, according to St. Francis County Treasurer Ann Harbin. According to figures released by Harbin, the county began June with a balance of $32,601.76, down $65,874.96 from the June 1, 2000 balance of $98,476.72.
"We're still fighting the battle from the turnback, the shortfall that hit us earlier in the year and some of the changes in the taxes that have taken place. We're going to have to find a way to cut costs, and we're looking at the budget as one of those places," St. Francis County Judge Carl Cisco said. "One solution we're looking at is examining everyone's budget and then finding a percentage of that which could be given out on a monthly basis. Elected officials would just have to work within those parameters until we get through this."
Cisco also said that the county's accounts overall are in good shape, and that county general is the primary account that must be kept under watch.
"All of our other accounts are in good shape. We have about $200,000 in a trust specifically for general, but we don't want to touch that money because it's kind of like going into your savings account. Once you really need it, the money isn't there because you've been going into it. So, that's money that we really want to just leave alone," said Cisco.
On a related matter, St. Francis County Sheriff and Collector Dave Parkman told committee members of over $2 million dollars in bonds that have been uncollected by the county.
The bonds are associated with money that bonding companies have forfeited in St. Francis County Circuit Court with some of the bond forfeitures dating back to 1996, Parkman said.
Although the entire total cannot be recovered, according to Cisco, funds that are recovered would go into the general fund which would help the account. Cisco said that efforts by deputy prosecutor Chris Morledge to obtain funds from cash bonds are still being processed.
The budget committee will meet again next Tuesday, prior to the normal meeting of the Quorum Court in another attempt to tackle both the issues of the forfeited bonds and the general fund balance.
Plans for Saturday's first Great Rush Road Rally are in the final stages according to Laura Mazzanti, director of the St. Francis County Museum.
Mazzanti said interest in the rally has been sparse, but the museum is hoping it picks up closer to the event.
"We want to get as many people as we can to pre-register so that we can have a better grasp on what figures to expect for Saturday. People who want to participate may register by coming to the museum or by contacting the museum at 261-1744. The registration fee is $5 per vehicle. For those wanting t-shirts, the cost is an additional $10 per t-shirt which must be paid prior to the event," said Mazzanti.
The event, which will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday morning, will take participants on a scavenger hunt to historic places spread across St. Francis County. Those competing in the event should be at the museum at 9 a.m. Saturday to sign in. Clues to the different locations will be handed out and competitors are urged to tour the museum where further hints will be noticed.
Mazzanti also urged participants to have at least two individuals per vehicle so that one person could navigate and one person could drive. The rally is not a race, and a two-hour minimum time limit will be in place for each vehicle.
Each site on the rally will have volunteers handing out cards which will notify Rally sponsors that a participant reached a site. Each card will have a question regarding the site's historical significance.
Scoring for the event will go as follows: 25 points will be awarded for each site found; 10 points for each question answered and 100 points will be awarded for finding the "Wild Card" site. Each participant will be given a St. Francis County map, but no other directional signs will be given to the sites.
Following the Great Rush Road Rally, a luncheon will be held at Oscar's where awards will be given to Rally participants. There will be trophies and prizes given to the Grand Prize winner, the Best Sports Car category, Best Classic Car category, Special Award and the People's Choice Award for the favorite automobile.
Dr. J.O. Rush, whose home now houses the St. Francis County Museum, founded and served as the first president of the Arkansas Automobile Club in 1912.
The St. Francis County Museum is located in the historic Rush-Gates house at 603 Front Street.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Figures from an economic impact survey taken by staff and students at East Arkansas Community College during March's 5-A high school basketball tournament was the focal point of Tuesday's monthly meeting of the Forrest City Advertising and Promotions Commission.
Dr. John Alderson, director of business and industry training at EACC, was in charge of the survey, and said the week-long tournament, held at Mustang Arena, produced over $500,000 in money generated and re-spent in Forrest City since the tournament.
"You all basically provided what I would call seed money of $12,000 for the 5-A tournament, and a total of 6,639 tickets were sold which represented 3,607 students and 3,032 adults. That doesn't represent coaches, players, officials and volunteers who took part in the tournament. People from over 52 towns drove an average of 188 miles, probably round trip, to Forrest City for the tournament. We gave back to the Arkansas Activities Association $29,485, and from what I understand that was more of a turnback than they'd ever received," Alderson said.
"Concessions and programs were the only thing on which you know pretty positively what was spent. That represented about $20,000. In our survey of 525 people, none of them Forrest Citians, the estimated amount of money spent during the tournament week breakdown included about $9,484 on gas, $19,576 on meals, $7,831 on shopping and $54,173 on hotels. You add all of those figures together, including the concessions and programs, and you come up with $111,129, which is the estimate of money spent by the people directly as a result of the tournament," said Alderson.
Alderson further explained the use of a multiplier to find the economic impact of the money spent during the tournament saying, "A multiplier is any figure that you want to use. The lower the multiplier, the faster the money leaves the community. The higher the multiplier the longer that money stays in your community. The concept is that if you have $100,000 spent in your community, that money is going to turn over in your community. Economists use multipliers ranging from three to seven. I used a multiplier in the middle at five and came up with the figure of $555,648. That figure is neither the lowest nor the highest."
Alderson also petitioned the commission asking if an agreement could be met which would provide the commission with economic impact surveys on other events held in Forrest City which the A and P commission might provide fund. Commissioners voted unanimously to adopt the use of the surveys which will be used next during the July Mightymite triathlon. A $500 fee will be paid to EACC for each survey the board requests.
In other business, Rich Trail, Mightymite tournament director, gave commissioners an update on the status of the July 21 race.
"As far as progress, we really don't have much to tell. We spent close to $900 on applications and the fee to USA Triathlon to be certified. I'm trying to pick the brains of people right now who have done past triathlons. We're still in the ordering stage as far as numbers and swim caps and so forth," Trail said.
"We will have a group called Best Time handling the timing duties for Mightymite and that has been probably the best decision we've made so far because they will take care of getting all of the time information in to USA Triathlon so competitors can be assured they get their points for the event. To a lot of these guys the points are more important than the overall race because they do this on a regular basis so they need that information for their yearly standings," said Trail.
By CRYSTAL HOLLIS
T-H Staff Writer
Several Hughes residents expressed their displeasure Monday night at the condition of several structures and lawns located within the city limits.
Many of those attending the monthly Hughes City Council meeting this week questioned City Attorney Jerry Don Roberts about the process required for removing a structure from property once that structure is condemned, burned or torn down.
"We contact these owners by letter telling them their houses are unsatisfactory and unsafe, and their lawyers send us a letter saying it isn't so. So, there is where the problem lies," Roberts said. "We would love to clear away all of those houses, but we have steps we have to go through."
Mayor Donnie Mooney said the city can burn the houses down but it is up to the owner of the property to clear away the debris. "We give them a chance to clear it away by contacting them. If they fail to do so, then the city will have to do it and bill the home owner," Mooney said.
Still not satisfied, the group told city officials they would like to see a quicker solution.
Roberts suggested the concerned residents contact the homeowners themselves and let them know how they feel about the abandoned houses in their neighborhoods. "Tell them yourselves how you feel about these eyesores and let them know you don't appreciate it," he said.
The council also discussed junk cars parked in yards. Mooney said the city will continue trying to contact the owners of the dilapidated structures and abandoned vehicles in an attempt to get the matters cleaned up.
"If the owners don't take action, the city will have to take on the costly expense of clearing away the debris and hauling off the cars, which for now, we are trying to avoid," Mooney said.
In other business, Mooney told councilmen the annual summer feeding program has been serving meals to about 180 children a day. "It has been real successful, and I am very pleased with the program," he said. "I hope more residents will take advantage of the program."
Mooney also reported the community center will be ready soon. "We have spent $12,759 on the center thus far. We need to discuss how much we will charge and how much of a deposit will be needed," he said.
Councilmen also learned the city has been able to decrease its water debt from $23,000 to $11,000 in the past few months by relying on new ordinances recently adopted by the council.