By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Problems with the Forrest City Junior High School building, and the need for a new facility, were the topics of a presentation from Forrest City School District Superintendent Lee Vent during this week's Forrest City Rotary Club meeting.
The school district is seeking a 2.5 mill increase to construct a new junior high school and remodel a small portion of the existing facility.
According to Vent, new problems were noted in the FCJHS library Monday when suspension joists were noticed bowing in classrooms below the library. Two classrooms had to be vacated, and according to Vent, storage of books and materials will be a problem.
"We had to evacuate a pair of classrooms yesterday because of safety reasons when we noticed that some of the beams from the library floor were bending, and we didn't think that it would be safe to house students in those classes," said Vent.
According to FCJHS principal Billy Ferguson this morning, the library will more than likely not be used for the remainder of the school year for anything other than computer labs.
"We have to find somewhere to put the books from that portion of the library and there just isn't room to place them all, so we're basically going to close the library except for computer labs which only seat about five students," said Ferguson.
According to Vent the increase in the millage, and the extension of the existing millage, are necessary to replace the current junior high building.
"We need a new junior high school building for our students, our families, our community and for new jobs. I don't think that anybody can dispute that at this time," said Vent.
Vent touched on several reasons to vote for passage of the millage during his presentation, such as the benefit of good facilities to children and the positive influence a better facility would have on the economy from the standpoint of attracting business and attracting new families to the area.
"We can help our economy and make our community a more attractive place to locate to and thus bring in new business, industry and families. I think Warden Morrison did an excellent job of articulating that to you a few months ago when he spoke to you all on the fact that only a third of employees at the correctional facility move to Forrest City. A third of those employees move to Wynne and a third move elsewhere. The junior high school is one of the primary reasons," said Vent.
"It's a win, win situation for Forrest City because the projected date for completion on the new phase of the prison is in 2003 and the projected time frame for a new school is 2003. The prison will bring in 250 new families, and if just half of those families remain in the Forrest City area, it will be a tremendous boost to the economy," said Federal Correctional Institution-Forrest City Warden Marvin Morrison.
According to Vent, a large portion of the existing building cannot be used because the building is 70 years old and it cannot be updated to meet the current building codes. Vent also said the lower interest rates right now also allowed the district to ask for less in this attempt at millage passage.
A pair of amendments passed recently may help ease the taxpayer burden, and therefore help with the passage of the millage this year, according to Vent.
The $300 homeowners exemption tax which gives a credit to homeowners for their primary residence will eliminate the real estate tax for people with homes that value under $50,000. The same credit will reduce the taxes for those homes valued over $50,000 by $300 a year. The second amendment will freeze the appraisal value on homeowners over the age of 65 and disabled homeowners allowing those homeowners to have their value lowered but not raised. Taxes could increase, but values cannot, according to Vent.
According to Vent the total increase in mills would give the district a total millage rate of 29.7 mills. Vent also said that the extension of the existing 9.6 mill is actually only an extension of 3.4 mills because of a state law mandating that each school district maintain 25 mills for the building and maintenance fund.
"There are those that are saying that the 9.6 is going to roll off soon but that is not true. Because of the court order only 3.4 mills would roll off. Before the 9.6 mill increase was approved (which built Stewart, Central and Madison schools) there was 18.5 mills and we cannot roll back to that figure we can only roll back to 25 mills. We have been putting the additional money raised over the years into building and maintenance, and we would like to put that money into something that will help the district more," said Vent.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The Forrest City City Council on Tuesday condemned a building which partially collapsed almost a month ago and has blocked parts of two streets ever since.
The building, on the northwest corner of Izard and Front Streets, collapsed part-way on April 3. It was reported last week that city officials were giving the owner, Jim Taylor of Little Rock, time to clear the debris, until an insurance settlement is reached.
However, the tone was different at Tuesday's council meeting. Mayor Larry Bryant said there have been many complaints from citizens.
"I think we've been very lenient," said Bryant. "We've been trying to work with the insurance company and the owner, to no avail."
The resolution states that the structure has become "deteriorated, dilapidated, unsafe, unsightly and unsanitary." It requires the cleanup to be commenced within five days. If it has not been, the city will proceed with the cleanup, with the cost of the cleanup constituting a lien against the property.
Bryant said the city is still being lenient.
"Technically, if we actually pushed it, we could force his hand to do it tomorrow," he said. "We have been lenient and he has not moved. All this is, is to try to get the individual to move. He is obstructing traffic, and it's a health and safety hazard."
He said it might be possible to clean up the streets and allow traffic, but there is no guarantee that the rest of the building might not fall.
"We can't leave the building standing. It might fall," he said. "That's the only reason we haven't taken down the barricades. We could clean the street, but you could be driving down Izard Street, and all of a sudden the rest of the building starts going to the east, you can get somebody killed and I don't think it's worth the risk.
"It's a little inconvenience now, but I'm tired of the inconvenience and I think the citizens of Forrest City are tired of it."
The building is directly across the street from the St. Francis County Museum. It is also near a church in one direction and the county courthouse in another direction, and the blocked streets affect traffic to all those places.
In other action, two bids were accepted. One, from M&T Paving, was the only bid for asphalt and was considered fairly in line with last year's cost. There also was only one bid received, for $12,400 from Broadway Electric, for a new stop light at the intersection of Division and Buford Streets.
In other business, the council heard a request by Marvin Morrison, warden of the Federal Correctional Institution at Forrest City and Rosia Davis, a local citizen. They are members of a committee on the upcoming school millage election. They requested that the council go on record supporting the millage. The council agreed, and a formal resolution is to be presented at the next meeting.
Ron Woods, of the Little Rock architectural firm of Woods-Caradine, brought a preliminary drawing and floor plan of a proposed multi-purpose center. The building would messier 150 feet by 110 feet in outside dimensions. If built, the center would have a regulation basketball court, weight room, aerobics room and whirlpool, along with a walking/jogging track upstairs.
The council also heard from Don Myers with the Arkansas Municipal League, who talked about a Municipal employe's 457 deferred compensation plan, which he said is the governmental equivalent of a 401k plan, with payroll deductions and investments with employee input. He also talked about the Local Government Cash Management Trust, which offers near-CD rates on deposits from cities, without penalties for early withdrawal. The council will consider both.
Also present was Betty Maxwell with the Arkansas Development. She was talking about a possible $300,000 grant for the repair or construction of low-income housing.
Also at the meeting was Trish Chapman, who lives at the corner of Murry and Cherry. She was complaining that one of the recently installed tornado warning sirens was placed in her yard. Bryant told her the siren was actually placed on city right of way. Chapman said the high school was only about a block away, and said the siren could have been located there. She said the sound rattles her windows when it is checked. Bryant said the sirens were placed where optimum coverage could be achieved.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
According to Federal Correctional Institution-Forrest City Warden Marvin Morrison, at Tuesday's weekly meeting of the Forrest City Rotary Club, construction of the $86,403,035 medium-security facility has begun.
Morrison told Rotarians that construction began earlier this week and is projected to be finished in 2003. Flintco Inc. of Memphis is in charge of the building of the second phase of the prison.
The prison is expected to have a capacity of about 1,250 inmates and will employee an additional 250 to 300 employees.
The medium-security complex will differ from the low-security complex in that the medium will house inmates two to a room for security reasons instead of in a dormitory type facility like the low-security complex. According to Morrison this will allow correctional officers to lock down prison wards if needed.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
In a sparsely attended public hearing concerning a possible annexation of the Patillo 1 Addition by Forrest City, the only resident who spoke was in favor of annexation.
The area in question, generally is an area bordered by U.S. Highway 70, Patillo Road, a railroad track and a creek. There are about 17 houses in the area.
Only two residents of the area attended the meeting. Leodis Williams was the only area resident who spoke. His main concern was that city services be extended if the land is annexed.
"Now, we know, everybody in our community knows, that when we're annexed our taxes are going to be increased. We don't have a problem with that," Williams said. "But along with the annexation, we also want everything that comes with being in the city. Sewers, grass cutting and the leash law. I walk, but I walk with a stick because of the dogs."
He went on to say that most people in that neighborhood are having problems with their septic tanks.
The county is currently trying to get a grant which, if awarded, would put sewer lines in the Patillo 1 area, as well as two other neighborhoods farther out, known as Patillo 2 and Redfern.
The city has agreed to allow those sewer lines to be connected to the city system if they are built -- even the areas which remain outside the city. There has been some concern on the part of council members that annexing Patillo 1 could jeopardize the grant.
Mayor Larry Bryant said that there would later be a legal description of the area. In addition, he said eventually, each individual homeowner would be asked to sign off on the annexation.
"This is just a preliminary fact-finding, trying to get some information," said Bryant.
Councilman Cecil Twillie said the low turnout might actually be a good sign. He said if residents were opposed to the annexation, they would have shown up for the meeting.
Bryant said that as time goes on a decision will be made on whether to wait for the county to receive the grant, or to go ahead, annex the area and take care of the sewers.