By TAMARA JOHNSON
Managing Editor
The Forrest City School Board on Tuesday night agreed to rescind a June move that would have asked voters to approve an additional 3 mills for the district.
The board then voted to ask patrons to approve a lesser increase of 1.5 mills the minimum amount needed to bring the district into compliance with Amendment 74, which requires all school districts in Arkansas to have 25 mills dedicated to maintenance and operation.
The FCSD's current millage rate is 29.7 mills. Of that total, 18 mills are currently dedicated to M&O, with 11.7 mills dedicated to debt service. Through debt service restructuring, the district is able to transfer 5.5 mills to M&O, leaving the FCSD 1.5 mills short of the state requirement. Should voters not approve the increase, the St. Francis County Quorum Court could be required to raise the millage rate the entire 7 mills because the county cannot restructure debts for school districts.
The vote will be held during the annual school election scheduled for Sept. 16.
Superintendent Lee Vent painted a bleak picture of the district's finances in June before asking the board to send the 3 mill request to voters.
On Tuesday, Vent said, "Let me set the stage for where we are and what we need to do. We ended this school year the fiscal year in real good shape."
Before making his recommendation to rescind the previous vote, Vent presented board members with charts showing the new programs the district is being forced to implement without state funding to support the changes. The report also showed the district had a 12 percent carryover from the 2002-03 budget.
Although Vent said the figures were conservative, he suggested the district wait until after the Legislature meets in the fall to consider court-mandated changes in education, brought about by the Lake View School ruling, before requesting any additional millages. Therefore, asking voters to approve only what is necessary to bring the district into compliance.
Board member Sandra Taylor questioned Vent's report, as to how the district could be showing a 12 percent carryover this month when last month it was reported that the FCSD needed the extra 1.5 mills to operate. "I thought we sat here last time in full detail and looked through the laws and funding and came up with a recommendation. I'm kind of confused. During this time period, we've come up with different figures," Taylor said.
"What we were recommending last month would have done the majority of the maintenance work in the district," such as replacing roofs and purchasing new buses, Vent said. "But now, there are more uncertainties due to Lake View. We have much better balances than projected.
"This is a critical issue here. There are a lot of uncertainties. It could cost more than the additional 1.5 mills that we talked about last month," Vent said. "We may have to come back in the future and ask for more mills. Basically, we're saying we're going to back off that until after January. I think, at this point in time, it would be better for our community to see what happens with the legislature."
In other business, board members passed a resolution adopting a policy that the district cannot implement due to a federal court order. The resolution is in regard to Act 1272 of 2003, the school choice act. However, because the FCSD is under a federal court desegregation order, the district cannot approve enrollment of students from outside the district or the transfer of students to other districts because it would affect the racial balance in the FCSD.
"Basically, we must pass the resolution, but we cannot participate because of a federal court order," Vent said.
Board members also voted unanimously to expel a 15-year-old student from Lincoln Middle School for one calendar year. The student was arrested in May after taking a gun and a knife to school with her.
The board also approved several change orders regarding the new junior high construction.
Gary Kennedy with Keno Construction said the interior work
is progressing as anticipated, but the recent afternoon rain showers
are keeping outside work at a minimum. "It's been very difficult
to get the soil dry enough to get it ready for paving," Kennedy
said. "We're hoping July will dry up some."
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The Forrest City City Council on Tuesday heard first reading on an ordinance to vacate an alleyway, and granted three variances.
The council also heard second reading on two more ordinances, including one which will appropriate more than $2 million for a community center and other projects.
The alley in question is located behind 510 E. Cross Street, and is being requested by Preston G. Hicky and B. Michael Easley. Attorney Jennifer Hicky Collins represented them at the meeting. It was stated that the alleyway has not been used by the public for five years.
The petition is only for the alley directly behind 510 Cross Street. However, Alderman Roger Breeding said he might look into the possibility of vacating the entire alley.
Second and third reading on the ordinance will be heard at future meetings.
Two of the variances granted were also to Hickey and Easley. They were asking for a 13-foot, three-inch variance from the 25-foot setback requirement, and a variance from the parking space requirement. The building at 510 E. Cross Street is being expanded, and the variance is needed. Also, the plan calls for one less parking space than the city code requires for a building that size. The Forrest City Planning Commission had given a do-pass recommendation to the variances.
The third variance was granted to James Woodard who was asking for a nine-foot variance at 138 Gregory so he can build a garage. The Planning Commission had forwarded the request to the council, requesting only that a drawing be provided showing the approach to the garage. Woodard provided the drawing and the variance was granted.
The council got into a lengthy discussion after second reading of the ordinance to appropriate $2.1 million for city projects, with most of the discussion centering around $1.8 million for a proposed multi-purpose center.
"I personally would like to see more information," said Alderman John Gadberry.
The center would be located at the municipal ball park. It would include basketball courts and other amenities.
Cecil Twillie asked about volleyball and badminton, which were not drawn in on the plans.
Mayor Larry Bryant said the center would not be devoted completely to basketball, and said volleyball and badminton would be played on the basketball courts. Twillie also asked about a batting cage, and Bryant said he has not seen a batting cage in any similar facility that he has visited.
Twillie also suggested that some council members get together and make trips to places like Osceola and Lonoke, where multi-purpose buildings are in place, to get an idea of what Forrest City might want, and also to get an idea of what the operating costs might be.
Bryant said the city could handle the operating costs. He reminded the council that the Parks and Recreation budget already approaches a half-million dollars, with the baseball program taking up much of that. He said the city could handle operating costs of $100,000 or more.
"It depends on what the will of the people is," said Bryant. "Right now, we're getting beaten in economic development. People can move down the road and have amenities we don't have. Do we have the will to do it?"
Breeding commented that the council, if necessary, could table third reading of the ordinance until members had satisfied themselves on what should be included in the center and what it should cost.
The council also heard second reading on an ordinance which would allow the mayor or his/her representative to make purchases of up to $10,000 without going through the bidding process. Currently, the limit is $5,000.
The council also had a discussion with a representative of Sanyo Manufacturing and Joe King of King Disposal.
Ronnie Mitchusson, facilities superintendent at Sanyo, said that King Disposal sometimes takes Sanyo's waste to a landfill in Crittenden County rather than the one in West Helena. He said the tipping fee at the Crittenden County landfill is about 123 percent higher than at West Helena. This is because West Helena charges by weight, while the Crittenden County charges by the size of the container. He said the waste produced by Sanyo is too light to make it economical to dump at Crittenden County.
Mitchusson also said Sanyo was charged the same rate for hauling the waste, whether the trip was made to West Helena or Crittenden County. Mitchusson further stated that the Consumer Price Index had been figured wrong for the most recent rate increase.
King answered that when the weather gets rainy, he has no choice but to send his trucks to Crittenden County, because the West Helena landfill in inaccessible in wet weather. He also said that fees charged for freight take more into account than simply distance, such as time required. King also defended his interpretation of the CPI.
A committee consisting of Aldermen Mary Jeffers, Louise Fields, Roger Breeding and Brent Ponder, was appointed to meet with Sanyo and King Disposal, to try to work things out.
On another matter, there was disagreement over the Ophelia Street project. Land was recently donated to the city, and the city is improving a dirt road which extends Ophelia from Christ Church to Dr. Martin Luther King Drive.
Plans call for the street to be one-way. Cecil Twillie said he strongly objects to the street being one way only. "I'm 100 percent disappointed," he said.
No decision was made on the street.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
The preliminary outline for a proposed regional airport was presented to board members Tuesday night, at the regular meeting of the Delta Regional Airport Authority in Colt.
Mike Stengel, a design engineer with Garver Engineers of Little Rock, informed the board of a pair of new developments which may affect how paperwork on the project is done initially.
According to Stengel, plans to use combined entitlement funding from the Forrest City and Wynne Airports during the 2003 fiscal year will not be allowed by the Federal Aviation Administration. Stengel told board members that the anticipated $60,000 in funding for this year will have to come separately, from both cities' budgets, but future spending will be from the DRAA combined funds from both cities.
"This year Wynne and Forrest City cannot give their entitlement funding to this scope, but it's basically a paperwork issue, and it won't slow any of our work down," Stengel said.
He also told board members of regulations that will require the applications for grant funding for this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, to be completed by Aug. 1. If the scope of services is not agreed upon by members of the DRAA, an estimated application will be submitted to the FAA, and according to Stengel, the funding can be adjusted down, but not up.
Stengel presented board members with a limited draft of the scope of services last night and said a complete report should be available at the committee's next meeting, scheduled for Thursday, July 17. According to Stengel, the initial scope of work outlines two sections, the feasibility study and development site selection matrix. Both will be funded through the 2003 FAA funding, but the work will be completed during the 2004 fiscal year.
According to the outline, the feasibility study will develop several forecasts for airport usage in this region based on a five-year, 10-year and 20-year forecast. The first stage of the study will evaluate existing airport facilities in both Forrest City and Wynne and provide forecasts which will determine whether those facilities can meet future needs for aviation in this area. The study will also look into facility requirements to handle the traffic projected over the next 20 years. Those factors range from runway orientation to aircraft storage. There will also be an evaluation of the existing airports which will show whether Wynne or Forrest City has the expansion capabilities to meet future needs.
All of the information compiled by Garver will be reviewed by both the DRAA and the FAA, and committee members will have the opportunity for input.
While a site will not be chosen during the development of the site selection matrix, which will be done after justification via the feasibility study, the groundwork for potential sites will be laid.
According to Stengel, the site selection matrix will cover
geographic area, ground accessibility and other matters such as
environmental concerns. During that stage, the first public meetings
will also be held.
A Forrest City man was injured Tuesday night when he was struck by an automobile on North Division Street.
According to the police report, Pharon S. Brown, 17, of 720 W. Sharpe in Forrest City, said she was driving south at about 9:17 p.m., when a man walked into the path of her vehicle in front of the ABC School at 1000 N. Division.
The man struck was Charles McIntosh, 39, of 214 W. Scott Street, Forrest City.
According to the police report, McIntosh was airlifted from the old Wal-Mart parking lot to the Med Center in Memphis. However, the Med reported this morning that there is no record of a Charles McIntosh being admitted. No other information was available.