By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The continuing study for the possible site of a regional airport will cost more than originally planned, the Forrest City City Council was told Tuesday night.
Mike Stengel, senior design engineer with Garver Inc., the engineering firm hired by the Delta Regional Airport Authority to perform the needed studies, made a report to the council. The authority is made up of people from Forrest City and Wynne, including members of the airport commissions of both towns. The regional airport, if built, would be somewhere between the two cities.
In April, Wynne and Forrest City airport commissions voted to give $115,000 each from their Federal Aviation Administration entitlement funds to help finance the studies, for a total of $230,000. Stengel told the council Tuesday that $148,500 was actually needed from each of the entities.
Stengel also told the council that it had been determined that a regional airport was feasible. However, he said that the costs for the continuing studies was going to be more than originally estimated.
He said the funding was not coming out of the city, but was actually from the FAA. The total funding will come primarily from the FAA, with some more coming from the state.
"When you have FAA support, it helps things to go smoothly," he said.
Bill Hays, chairman of the Forrest City Airport Commission and a member of the Regional Airport Authority, was asked if he had any problem with allocating the extra funding.
"I really don't," he said, but added, "I'm a little concerned that in addition to the recent $115,000 we authorized, the FAA is now wanting (more). I think it's a matter of underestimating cost."
Stengel agreed that there had been some underestimating.
"This is a huge project, with a lot of unknowns in it, especially the environmental assessment," he said. "You don't even know yet where you're going to build it."
He said he originally presented the FAA with what Garver Engineering thought it would cost. He said Lana Logan, program manager for the Arkansas/Oklahoma Airports Development Office of the FAA, had then said she wanted additional things included in the study.
"A lot of that is in the environmental, because there are a lot of things out there that we don't feel we're going to have to do, but they can't amend a planning grant. Once the dollar amount is set you can come down but you can't increase it. So she had us do a worst-case scenario type thing, which was more than what we originally submitted."
The Forrest City Airport Commission in April had first refused to release the $115,000 originally requested, saying it was supposed to go toward local airport projects. After the city council requested that they reconsider, commission members voted to give the money.
There is some difference of opinion on just whose money it is. Stengel and Alderman Roger Breeding, for instance, said it is actually FAA money, and not costing the city anything. Others, like Mayor Larry Bryant, say the money was supposed to go toward improvements at Forrest City's airport, and giving part of the money away was hurting the local operation.
Stengel said the FAA had a deadline of Aug. 27 for the money to be appropriated and contracts signed.
That brought a protest from Alderman Roy Hancock, who complained that it seemed like every time the city is asked to approve something for the regional airport, there is a rush on it. Breeding agreed, and said the council would like to be notified sooner. Stengel said the FAA is slow in a lot of things, but he understood and would try.
On a motion to accept the proposal -- with the understanding that the $148,500 replaces, and is not in addition to, the original $115,000 -- the vote was 7-1 with only Hancock voting no.
In other action, the council agreed to seek bids on at least two options on the multi-purpose center to be built at the Municipal Sports Complex. Bryant told the council that the cost of building materials has skyrocketed in the last year. He proposed that the city advertise for bids on the original design, on a building 185-feet-by-137 feet with a rounded roof, and a building measuring 150-feet-by-150 feet with a standard roof. It was also pointed out that a standard roof would make it easier for additions -- such as an indoor swimming pool -- to be made to the building.
Alderman Cecil Twillie said it might be a good idea to go ahead and bid the swimming pool now. His reasoning was that apparently building prices were going to continue going up. Bryant said that would call for a complete redesign of the building. He also said he would want to find an architect and builder with experience installing indoor pools.
Bryant said he wants to get started on the building as soon as possible.
A vote was not taken, but the consensus of the council was to bid on three options, with option 1 being the original plan, option 2 being the smaller building with the standard roof, and option 3 being a swimming pool.
On another matter, the council accepted -- with Breeding abstaining -- a proposed contract for a caterer at the Forrest City Civic Center. The Civic Center Commission will now advertise for bids.
It was mentioned that there are several Civic Center Commission positions open, and Bryant said new members would be presented for approval at the next council meeting.
Bryant also informed the council that the city had received $20,000 from the East Arkansas Enterprise Community to help pay for the new walking track at the sports complex. He said the track is 1.1 miles long.
On another matter, bids were opened for a slide at South Side Pool. Jan-Cour Consruction of Palestine had the apparent low bid of $177,900 for the full project, $109,000 for the slide only and $68,900 for playground equipment only. Also bidding was Nolan Construction of Morrilton, which bid $189,473 for the full project, 109,080 for the slide only and $80,385 for playground equipment.
The bids will be studied.
By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
Forrest City Water Utility Manager Jim Beazley on Tuesday offered figures to support his call for a rate increase to water commissioners during the group's monthly meeting.
Reminding commissioners that the last rate increase was in April of 1997, Beazley said the rate hike is necessary to fund almost $2 million in projects that will ensure the utility's ability to provide future water and sewer services.
While discussion on exactly how much the rate will increase for residents is scheduled for the September meeting, Beazley's presentation to the board outlined the proposed improvements.
"The (Mississippi River Valley) alluvial aquifer is dropping at a rate of one foot per year," stated Beazley. "We get our raw water supply from wells drilled into this aquifer. The aquifer has been a reliable source for us, but there are cones of depression forming, reducing the water level.
"Our wells have what we call well screens," said Beazley. "The well screens have to be below the cones of depression because the cones fill up where the water was. The cones are caused by draw down, which is caused by the wells pumping water from them. The problem is that the screens rust when not submerged in water. Exposure to air causes the rust, which causes the screens to fail and the well pumps to gather sand or cave in. A good example of this at the water plant located on Division Street. There are four wells there and only one screen is submerged because the static water level is already below the other three well screens. We are seeing our water level drop at other wells too."
Beazley offered in a written proposal what he believes should be done to prevent wells in the area from running dry. Included in the seven-point proposal was the reduction of pumping at all stations and replacing the Division Street plant with larger pump at another water plant located near the Federal Correctional Institution-Forrest City.
"In 1999 we built a 2000-gallon-per-minute well at the southwest site," said Beazley. "If we built another out there, closed the Water Plant 2 (Division Street) location except for emergencies and built three more wells at Water Plant 1, we could reduce our pumping rate because we would have more wells. The more wells you have, the less work each well will be expected to do.
"For us to do this, we would have to run a 16-inch water main from the 16-inch main running east to the Fletcher Road standpipe and located on the north line of the southwest site. We would run the new 16-inch main north to the main at Forrest and Dillard streets. This would give immediate access for the new well into the alluvial and allow the southwest site to be developed into a water treatment plant in the future. It would also allow for upgrading the fire protection system in Forrest City."
Beazley then briefly addressed the wastewater and collection systems in the city.
"We need some very minor things at the wastewater treatment plant, but we need a comprehensive study including a hydraulic study of the system. The city's collection system is old and undersized in many areas. In the older parts of town, the lines were not adequate to support additions to the system, but in the past they were still done. As growth and expansion started, the lines became overloaded and this caused breaks and stoppage. The repairs were generally done cheaply, and the sewer lines were not given high priority.
"The utilities bond issue will be pay off in December of 2012," continued Beazley. "This will allow for a new bond issue for the construction of a new water treatment plant at that time, if it is need. But the comprehensive study can help us pinpoint the trouble areas that we have in the sewer system and get some of those things corrected."
The estimated cost of the entire project, which according to Beazley could take anywhere between five to 10 years, is $1.8 million. The breakdown of the costs is listed below:
* Construction of a 16 inch main from the Southwest site: $750,000
* Study to locate well sites in alluvial at Water Plant 1: $100,000
* Construction of additional well at Southwest site: $125,000
* Construction of three additional wells at Water Plant 1: $375,000
* Comprehensive collection system study: $150,000
* Generator and controls at Lift Station 1 (at the water treatment plant): $100,000
* An 8 inch main on the Lift Station facility's dam road: $200,000
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
St. Francis County will now be able to use funds generated by the Northeast Arkansas Recycling Company for any general fund or road department purpose, after Quorum Court justices adopted an ordinance Tuesday night authorizing the use of NEARCO revenue.
In June, St. Francis County Judge Carl Cisco was cited by the State Legislative Audit Committee for using NEARCO funds in a loan of over $30,000 from NEARCO to the County Transportation Committee. According to Cisco, he was told by officials with the SLAC that the county was out of compliance because there was no ordinance allowing NEARCO revenue to be used.
"I met with Charles Robinson with the Audit Committee and he basically told me that the problem that we ran into was because there was nothing in writing allowing the revenue to be used for the general fund," Cisco said. "He told me that under their rules, if we didn't have any law allocating that spending then it could only be used for solid waste. This ordinance will put us in compliance now," he said.
St. Francis County Attorney Fletcher Long also explained the necessity of the ordinance saying, "The auditor's stance on this was that since NEARCO was created using tax funds which could only be used by solid waste, then the revenues should only be used for solid waste. Our position was that once anything was disposed of, then any revenues accumulated was revenue for the county and could be placed in the general fund."
Justices voted 10-0 to adopt the ordinance. Justice Earline Smith was absent from the meeting.
The county road department budget, which has been in question, took its first downward turn in July by finishing the month with a deficit of more than $27,000 more than at the beginning of the month.
According to records from St. Francis County Treasurer Ann Harbin's office, the road department began the month of July $338,713.77 in the red and finished the month with a deficit of $365,735.22.
According to officials in Cisco's office, part of the increased spending may have been due to payments made on asphalt purchased prior to the implementation of the new budget. While the numbers were up for July, according to a report from Harbin provided to justices Tuesday, more than $95,000 has been cut from the end of the month balance leaving the road department with a deficit of $269,370.16.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
The closing out of funds from a grant that started the East Arkansas Enterprise Community does not mean the office will close, EAEC Consulting Coordinator Dr. Robert Cole said at the group's bi-monthly meeting Tuesday at the St. Francis County Courthouse.
According to Cole, the closing out of funds from the original $2.9 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture means the ending of the organization's funding from that program.
"What we have done is allocated and exhausted all of the original funding for the 10-year grant that created the EAEC in July of 1994. Closing those funds out doesn't mean that we're going to be closing our doors. It just means that our 10-year certification from USDA is concluded. We're currently in better condition financially through the programs that we've created than we've ever been, and we are hoping to be able to continue our assistance to the towns and cities in the Enterprise Zone through a partnership with the Corps of Engineers," Cole told board members.
"We've taken the $2.9 million that we were allocated and have been able to do about $26 million in development, assistance and programs throughout our census tract, and we will continue that work through other programs that we work with," Cole said.
At Tuesday's meeting, more than $41,000 was given to cities included in the EAEC census tract to close out the funding. Fifteen cities in the census tract, which includes four counties, St. Francis, excluding Forrest City; a portion of Wynne in Cross County; Lee and Monroe, split the remaining funds with grants of just over $2,700. According to Cole, the EAEC is currently operating on funds provided by grants to work with programs such as the EAEC Youth Consortium and the tobacco program.
Cole also updated board members on the building which houses the EAEC and plans for renovations there.
"We've recently closed out the account on our building which gives us complete ownership of it, and now we're planning to renovate approximately 3,000 square feet for the creation of the small town business resource center which we hope to open in early spring of next year," he said.
The EAEC Youth Consortium recently received grant funding of $110,000 for the next two years, according to Cole.
He also invited board members to attend Saturday's second annual St. Francis County Cancer Expo which will be held at the Forrest City Civic Center. The event, which will include mammograms, prostate screening and education seminars, door prizes and other activities, will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
A registered sex offender has been arrested, this time for an incident involving a member of his family.
The Forrest City Police Department on Monday charged Rayfus Richmond, 39, of Forrest City with second-degree sexual assault, a Class B felony. The alleged incident involves a juvenile family member, according to a FCPD press release.
According to FCPD Criminal Investigation Division Sgt. John Riggins, the child abuse hotline was notified of the incident involving Richmond on June 10, after which an investigation was launched by the Arkansas State Police Crimes Against Children Division in conjunction with the FCPD.