By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
A special committee appointed by Mayor Larry Bryant met Wednesday afternoon to discuss an ongoing disagreement between Sanyo Manufacturing Co. and King Disposal, the company which has the contract to haul all of Forrest City's solid waste.
No solution was reached, and more information was called for from all sides.
Aldermen Roger Breeding, Louise Fields, Mary Jeffers and Brent Ponder reviewed a set of questions from Sanyo, some of which had been brought up at the most recent city council meeting and some of which were new. They also reviewed King Disposal's response to questions raised by Sanyo at the council meeting.
At issue is the amount Sanyo is being charged. Sanyo has claimed that King Disposal often goes to a landfill in Crittenden County rather than the primary landfill, located at West Helena. The West Helena landfill's tipping fee is figured by weight, while the Crittenden County landfill charges by the container. Sanyo's solid waste is too light to make it advantageous to use the facility in Crittenden County.
Sanyo also claims it is being charged too much for transporting the waste when the trucks go to Crittenden County. It also claims that the Consumer Price Index was not figured properly when the latest rate increase was implemented.
King Disposal has countered that the West Helena landfill is in terrible shape, and there is no choice but to go to Crittenden County when there has been rainy weather. King has also defended its method of charging for transport, and has stated that its interpretation of the CPI is correct.
At yesterday's meeting, Sanyo asked in writing for the formula for calculating the fuel surcharge and also asked what documentation is provided before the fuel surcharge is invoked. Breeding said that information requires a review of the contract between the city and King Disposal.
Sanyo also asked what category in the CPI was used to calculate the latest rate increase. Breeding said King Disposal has provided information which seems to indicate that it used the right category.
The list of questions also asks which city council member voted yes or voted no on the recent increase. Breeding said he didn't understand the reason for the question, but said it was public record.
Sanyo asked when the landfill problems at West Helena will be corrected. Breeding said that neither the committee nor the city council could answer that question. He did say that the West Helena facility has been the source of many complaints.
One of the written questions also asks if the city will attempt to negotiate a lower freight cost for Sanyo's waste diverted to Crittenden County.
"I would say the city will do whatever the contract allows," Breeding said.
Breeding said copies of all of Sanyo's questions would be made available to King Disposal and the mayor's office. He also said all of King Disposal's responses would be made available to Sanyo and the mayor's office. He said some research would have to be done to answer some of the questions, including one about when and where a clause was removed from the contract which supposedly exempted industrial customers from having to use the city's contracted collector.
Breeding said there was probably too much information to receive and absorb at this time to make a proposal to the full city council at its next meeting.
Forrest City Bank has received a $100,000 grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas to assist in the development of a new subdivision in Forrest City.
According to a press release from the bank, the grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank is through the Affordable Housing Program. The money will be used to assist 20 qualified families become home owners in a development to be named Royal View Subdivision, "where desirable housing can be obtained at an affordable price," the release stated.
The subdivision itself will be developed by Arkansas Delta Development Services CDC on 25 acres of land on Crowley's Ridge, known as the Southfork Acres area, east of Forrest Hills in Forrest City.
"Forrest City Bank appreciates the opportunity to work with Arkansas Delta Development Services CDC in this project, and welcomes the opportunity to work with any group in Forrest City and St. Francis County in Building an even better community," the release stated.
According to Ross King with Arkansas Delta Development Services, development of the subdivision is expected to start sometime in late August or early September, with plans for the homes to be ready for occupancy by the end of the year.
The homes will be between 1,200 and 1,500 square feet and will have three bedrooms.
"We're trying to assist low income individuals in becoming home owners," said King. "We're going to train them to become home owners."
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
Gov. Mike Huckabee's statement earlier this week that he may not call an expected special session this fall to address education reform was a surprise to a local representative, who said it was nonetheless understandable.
Huckabee said he saw no signs of consensus on a plan to respond to the court order, and said he may not call legislators into special session this fall.
State Rep. Danny Ferguson said he was caught by surprise the first time he heard it.
"I don't know if he was just reacting to the rural educators' meeting in Eureka Springs, or what his thinking is," said Ferguson. He was referring to a meeting of educators and legislators from small districts who are opposed to school consolidation.
"I will say this," Ferguson continued. "If there is no hope of any consensus, then I don't know what we'd be accomplishing in a special session."
In November, the state Supreme Court affirmed a lower court decision that said the state's public education system distributed $1.7 billion in education funding unfairly and that, overall, school aid was inadequate to provide students with equal educational opportunities.
The high court stayed imposition of its mandate See SESSION
on Page 2
The Arkansas State Highway Commission this week opened bids for improvements to Barrow Hill Road. The project will allow for 2.5 miles of County Road 311 to be paved from the city of Forrest City northward.
M&T Paving & Construction Company of Forrest City was the apparent low bidder with a bid of $182,988.73, according to an AHTD press release.
"Maintaining our county roads is always a top priority," St. Francis County Judge Carl Cisco said.
AHTD Commission Chairman Buddy Benafield of Hickory Plains said the county road project is funded through the State Aid Road Program established by the legislature and administered by the State Aid Division of the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. This program provides about $19 million annually from the state motor fuels tax to assist counties with projects of their choosing on the county road system, according to Benafield.
Construction on the project could begin later this summer, weather permitting. The project is expected to be completed by early fall.
A Forrest City juvenile is charged with arson after allegedly trying to burn a deck at a neighbor's home on Wednesday.
A neighbor who was mowing his yard told police he saw the juvenile carry two cans into the back yard of the Beverly Caruth residence at 1930 Lindauer Rd., Forrest City. A short time later, the deck was on fire, according to a report at the Forrest City Police Department.
The witness extinguished the fire, which caused an estimated $500 damage to the deck. The cans, one containing charcoal lighter fluid and the other containing oil, were found hidden behind an old cook stove in another neighbor's yard.
The 13-year-old suspect was arrested by police and charged with arson before he was released to his parents.
A window at Forrest City High School was the latest to be shot out by vandals who police believe have been responsible for a rash of window damage throughout the city over the past month.
FCHS Principal Abby Robinson reported Wednesday morning that a window in the conference room on the north side of the administration wing was broken sometime after the school was closed on Tuesday.
The Forrest City Police Department said the window appeared to have been shot out with a BB or pellet gun. Damage to the window is estimated at $1,200.
The FCPD asks that anyone with information on any of these incidents to contact Crime Stoppers at 261-1499. Crime Stoppers pays up to $1,000 for confidential information leading to the arrest and conviction the person or persons involved in a crime.
The East Arkansas Community College Board of Trustees is scheduled to meet at 7 tonight in the college board room.
The Colt City Council is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m., and the Wheatley City Council is scheduled to meet at 8 p.m.