Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Gurdon's Animal Control Falters

Gurdon's animal control problem isn't going away, but has taken a different turn.

Gurdon Mayor Rick Smith, at the monthly meeting of the Gurdon City Council Monday, Aug. 14, said Arkadelphia is considering not taking animals from other communities, including Gurdon.

Smith said Arkadelphia officials are claiming their pound is overcrowded and the money isn't there to pay for keeping the dogs housed.

Mickey Jones, who spearheaded the effort to get animal control in Gurdon, asked how much the half-cent sales tax, passed for this and other purposes, has brought in and what percentage is used for animal control.

City Recorder Tambra Smith said the tax has brought in approximately $37,000 this year, but the money is placed in the city's general fund, not in any specific account.

Jones then asked if the council moved $24,000 if a shelter could be built.

Mayor Smith said it would be no problem if the city laid off a couple of police officers.

Jones was told the budget for animal control is $25,000 for the entire year.

Smith said about 1/3 of the budget is used for animal control, adding around $73,000 is expected to be generated by the tax this year.

He said a tornado siren is on order for the newly annexed area of Gurdon, and it will be paid for from the sales tax monies.

Gurdon, he said, was notified by Arkadelphia as to the situation. Smith and Steve Beck, Arkadelphia city manager, discussed the problem, and Gurdon was given a reprieve for a few more months.

Smith gave Beck suggestions on what Arkadelphia could do to help cut costs in the area of animal control.

But, he said, Gurdon does need to look into building its own shelter. The council needs to look into the costs involved, determine what size it should be and see if it can be done.

He reminded the panel the city does have $100,000 in contingency money it can use. If this is determined to be an emergency situation, Smith continued, there are other sources of revenue available.

Gurdon Fire Chief Jake McBride said the city has three good firetrucks, but needs to start thinking about the future and buying a new truck.

The newest truck the Gurdon Fire Department has is five-years-old, he said and will be paid off in another five years.

Smith said this truck was bought by money from a bond ordinance, which will go off the books in October 2006.

This, he said, is why Gurdon needs its share of the county sales tax. Then the city wouldn't have to ask its residents for another sales tax.

Former Mayor Darryl Potratz said the city has collected about 4.5 tons of newsprint in its recycling effort, along with about four tons of cardboard and 212 pounds of aluminum.

Currently, the efforts is netting $90 per ton from cardboard and $70 per ton for newsprint. The aluminum collected hasn't been taken to the recycling center in Hot Springs yet.

The Southwest Central Solid Waste Regional Management District, he said, has a new video out concerning recycling. The video shows the life cycle of a bag of garbage.

The video will be taken to principals in the Gurdon School District let them see it and determine how many they will need. There will also be handouts for the students.

It is hoped, he said, to find money to build a shed so Gurdon can get a cardboard bailer from Clark County.

Potratz harangued Harold Hurst, manager of the Gurdon Water and Sewer Department, asking how the books are kept for Gurdon, the rural water system and the Whelen Springs system.

Hurst said only one set of books is kept, and this has been approved by the auditors, who said it would be an accounting nightmare for the department if the records were kept separately.

Potratz asked if the city's customers were affected by this, and was told they were in an indirect method.He questioned Hurst as to how Whelen Springs and the rural water system are charged out on the books. Hurst said once the work is done, 35 percent is charged to the Whelen and rural water accounts.

Potratz said when the agreement with Whelen was made under his administration, it was done with the understanding Gurdon customers would not be affected, and now they are, in violation of the agreement.

Jones questioned the city's ability to hire a part-time animal control officer to work weekends as, she said, a lot of dogs are let loose on these days, or whether ACO Carroll Martin could work a varied schedule.

She said the city needs to do something drastic so people will see it's serious about animal control.

Martin said switching his patrol times could help, as could writing citations to dog owners.

He said the department picked up 262 dogs in its first year of operation and has picked up 146 so far this year.

When the question of cats arose, Smith said there's no way to handle them.

But, he told the panel, the Humane Society has offered to let the city use its cat trap and it will find homes for them. Cats, though, are harder to control.

Smith said all the information about the county sales tax has been gathered and given to the attorneys representing the city and all city officials involved.

The county, he said, has taken the line Gurdon isn't eligible for any portion of this tax because it has 0.02 cents in sales tax now. However, Gurdon actually only has 1.5 cents in permanent sales tax, with 0.5 cents a bond issue to pay off the firetruck.

This, though, is wrong on the county's part as state law states the city is eligible for its part of a county sales tax, which has nothing to do with the taxes levied by a city.

Even though the county is "dragging its feet", Smith said, the city will continue pursuing the matter.

The city, he continued, will have to go through the petition method to get the issue on a ballot so the people of the county can decide. It could require a special election.

Smith was given permission to hire a certified public accountant to help determine how much it would cost the city to establish and maintain a retirement fund for city employees.

The council also approved the first reading of the sewer rate ordinance. It approved a tapping fee increase ordinance, raising the price of tapping into the water or sewer system to $250 or the actual cost of getting it done inside the city limits. This fee is $350 or actual cost outside the city limits.

The sewer rate ordinance couldn't be passed by the council as a public hearing must be held before this is done.

The public hearing will be held Monday, Sept. 11, at 6:30 p.m., before the regular council meeting begins.

Smith told the council it would cost about $230,000 to complete more projects at City Hall.

One of these projects is installing a drive-through window at the Water and Sewer office. This will also include the widening of Maple Street.

The parking lot across from City Hall is to be paved under the plans, with parking spaces for 50 cars and lighting.

Additional bays for the Gurdon Fire Department are in the works for this project, as well.

The money for these projects, Smith said, come from a municipal building fund made possible by State Rep. Percy Malone and signed by Gov. Mike Huckabee.

The first of these projects will be the drive-up window, followed by widening the street and paving the parking lot.