Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Fees Raised For Cleaning Lots By Gurdon City Council

Residents who have been getting the city to mow their vacant lots will be paying more for it this year.

At the regular meeting of the Gurdon City Council, Monday, March 13, it was decided to raise the rates from $12.50 per lot to $25 and $10 an hour per man.

The problem, Gurdon Mayor Rick Smith said, is the city doesn't want to be in the mowing business or compete with those who are, but there are times the city has to mow lots.

For years the city has charged $12.50 for its mowing services, while those who do the same thing in the private sector are charging $20 and up.

Additionally, he said, the mowing takes the street department crews off their normal job and wears out city equipment

The increase in cost, he continued, is strictly a break-even measure.

There is an ordinance on the city's books allowing the city to charge people for the mowing it does.

Jim Caldwell, street superintendent, said it's costing his department money to do the mowing, but could be more expensive if it wasn't done.

Caldwell suggested charging $20 for a standard city lot measuring 50 feet by 150 feet.

City Recorder-Treasurer Tambra Smith told the council there are also administrative costs involved, which aren't figured into the mowing fees. These costs are for record keeping, billing and trying to collect.

There are those, the mayor said, who don't pay. Last year the city collected for mowing about 80 lots.

A standard lot can be mowed in about 30 minutes, Smith said.

Councilman Johnny McGuirt suggested charging for two lots if a lot-and-a-half is mowed and one lot if less than a lot-and-a-half is mowed. He added the property owner should also be required to make sure the land is cleared of debris or additional charges be added.

Smith said the city can enforce the ordinance on the books if people don't keep their lots clean by placing a lien on the land.

Those working the concession stand during baseball season will do so in comfort this year.

This, Smith said, is because the city received a grant from the Arkansas Department of Economic Development to put an air conditioner in the concession stand at Cabe Field.

The air conditioning unit has been installed and Fran Monk, with ADED, was in town recently to inspect it and close out the grant. Monk took photos of the work, and wants copies of the bills for comparison.

He said the city has been fortunate in recent years as a lot of work has been done in various areas with the aid of grant money.

"Without them," he said of the grants, "we wouldn't have been able to do what we've done."

Representatives of the Horace Cabe Foundation, based in Texas, met at the Gurdon City Hall in February. This gave them a chance to see how the grant money they approved was spent on renovations to the interior of the building.

During the mayor's report, Smith said he has asked the Southwest Regional Solid Waste Management District for an amnesty on truck and heavy equipment tires.

For most tires, there is an excise tax added so they can be disposed of. However, there is no such tax for truck and equipment tires. Instead, those buying the tires are charged $100 per tire for disposal.

Many of these people, Smith said, take them home and let them sit instead of paying this fee.

The reason for the amnesty, he said, is to get these tires cleaned up. It will cost the waste district about $50,000 to do the job in Clark County.

The money is available from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, formerly known as the Arkansas Department of Pollution Control and Ecology.

The council passed a measure to have a floodlight installed at the Hours of Joy day care center. This issue was addressed at the February meeting and tabled until firm prices could be determined for the lighting.

The lighting is needed because the center has been an easy target for burglars and vandalism.

The city will have the floodlight installed soon, with the light bright enough to show the treeline.

In discussing grant money, Smith proposed having a new flagpole erected behind the Municipal Building sign at the underpass intersection.

Part of the reason for this, he said, is the city has grant money it will use to put a drive-through window at the water department to make it easier on customers.

Some of the grant money will also be used to pave the parking lot at City Hall as well.

A letter requesting $25,000 for the South Clark County Rescue Unit was sent to the Clark County Quorum Court.

Should the funds be approved, Smith said, they will be used to buy equipment to go with the jaws of life.

Gurdon's city park was inspected for winter damage, Smith said. Some plumbing needs to be done, the bench seats at the tennis courts need to be replaced and the wooden playground equipment is showing signs of aging.

The city will seek grants to replace as much of this equipment as possible, to make sure it's safe. The wooden playground equipment will likely be replaced with plastic equipment. This type of equipment usually runs around $30,000.

It was also pointed out the people who live in the newly annexed area along Highway 67 need to place their garbage on the shoulder of the road or at the end of the culvert by their driveways.

Sanitation workers aren't allowed on private property.