Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Prescott City Council Hears Animal Proposal

What to do with the animals running loose in Prescott was discussed at the regular meeting of the Prescott City Council, Monday, Dec. 18.

Mary Ann Vinegas, with the Humane Society, told the council she has been working to get a shelter for all animals, dogs, cats and larger animals, established in the Hope area and wants to include Prescott and Nevada County in it.

At this time, the group is working to obtain non-profit status from the state and Internal Revenue Service, while also looking for a site.

She said the location needs to have a building with access to water and sewer.

The cost of the shelter would be split between Prescott, Nevada County and Hempstead County, with each entity paying $28,181.33 annually to keep it going.

If the details can be worked out, she said, officials with the City of Hope have promised to donate land for the society.

Once the building is in place, the society could be operating within 60 days on a small scale, and be fully operational within a year.

However, Prescott would have to hire an animal control officer to pick up the stray dogs and cats, along with the larger animals that may be abused.

The intent of the Humane Society, she said, isn't to destroy any animal if it can be saved. Instead, all animals will be adopted out if possible.

But, she said, there will be some cases when otherwise healthy animals must be destroyed. This will be when the animal has been abused mentally and/or physically to the point of being dangerous to others.

Both Prescott and Nevada County would have to pass an animal control ordinance if they want to be involved.

In order to help the city and county defray costs, the ordinances can be written to require pet owners to have their animals licensed.

The animal control officer would work through the Prescott Police Department, should the city and county become involved. Additionally, the city and county would have to purchase a vehicle to be used to pick animals up in. This vehicle would be shared between the two entities.

The biggest job, she said, will be getting started. Area merchants will be asked to donate any building materials or other goods, such as pet food, as the project gets closer to becoming a reality.

Gerald Sisson, the Hope ACO, said whoever was tabbed for the job in Prescott or Nevada County would have to be sent to school to learn how to do the job.

These classes are offered at different times of the year, usually last two weeks and cost between $1,000 and $1,200 annually.

The duties of the ACO, he said, would be to deal with animals, enforce the ordinance and write tickets.

Prescott Mayor Howard Taylor named a committee to look into this and told them to report back at the February meeting. The panel will be James Cornelius, Howard Austin, Ann Stockton and Billy House.

James Rice, with NRS Engineering, was on hand to discuss the upgrades the city needs to make to its water supply.

He reminded the council the city has no choice but to comply with a series of upgrades to be done by 2003, as these are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Health.

The cost of this would be $1,787,500.

However, he pointed out, if Prescott is to grow, the other upgrades will need to be done by 2005, pushing the overall cost to nearly $4 million.

The upgrades would almost completely rebuild the city's water system, while increasing the capacity for home and business use.

Carey Smith, with Stephens Inc., was on hand to talk about how these projects could be financed.

He proposed two options for the city, with both requiring bond issues to be passed.

Option one, he said, would have the city passing a bond issue for $1.9 million to do the work required by 2003.

It would be financed for 20 years, with a debt service reserve required. This reserve would come from revenues generated from the bond and be used to make the last payment.

At today's market prices, Smith said, the bond could garner 5.16 percent interest, as the bond market has been good since the middle of the year.However, he said, the bond rates could be lowered early in 2001, making the interest even better for the city.

This option would cost the city $153,000 a year in bond payments.

The second option is basically the same, only having a larger bond issue passed and the city's payment would be $332,000 a year.

Smith said the city's revenue is sufficient at this time to pay for the bonds, but the money is currently being transferred into the general fund.

Or, he said, the water rates could be raised to the city's customers, with this producing an additional revenue stream.

Taylor said the council hasn't had the chance to discuss how the bonds should be paid back, and this issue needs to be discussed with the city's accountant as well.

A decision could be made at the February meeting.

The current sewer bonds mature in 2014, Smith said. The city could rededicate this sewer tax to help pay off the new bond, if the city paid off the current bond early.

Taylor said the city may not be able to do this.

"If Prescott is to grow," House said, "we need to do it all now."

"We should reach a decision by February or March," Taylor said.

He added the city will then retain the services of Stephens Inc. once a decision has been made on how to pay off the bond issue.

Jon Chadwell, executive director of the Prescott-Nevada County Economic Development Office, said a cosmetics company is interested in setting up shop in the defunct Nevada County Hospital.

One of the products to be produced will be a water-free hand sanitizer-moisturizer. Another will have insect repellent added to the sanitizer.

The company, should it locate here, will have a school to teach cosmetology therapy.

Chadwell said the state has already approved funding for the business, and he's been working with Judy Smith, the EDO at Hope on this project.

The school will be connected with the University of Arkansas Community College at Hope and be fully accredited.

A second prospect, he said, is interested in 30 or 40 acres at the Prescott Industrial Park.

This prospect, Chadwell said, will either locate in Prescott or nowhere, as the company is going through a third party to handle the details.

Entergy, once crews get out from under the massive workload caused by the Christmas ice storm, will bring a site consultant to the industrial park to work with the consultant hired by the company.

Chadwell said it's important to be on a site locator map, and the Prescott-Nevada County region is. He added it's also good to have Entergy bring prospect in.

The grant to renovate the depot museum has been approved in the amount of $120,000, with the city to kick in an additional $40,000.

In addition, the city will be required to pay the architect's fee and survey costs.

This, he said, is a fast-track project and must be ready for bids by April 2001 and be under construction by August. But, it can be done in phases, he pointed out, as the overall costs will exceed the amount of the grant.

The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department wants the exterior work done first, and this will be the case as the grant is partially through the AHTD.

If the first grant doesn't cover all the costs, he said, the EDO will apply for another grant to complete the job. Getting the second grant should be easier as grant providers don't like seeing projects left uncompleted.

The depot is on the National Registry of Historic Places, Chadwell told the council, and this organization must sign off on the project.

The Prescott-Nevada County Chamber of Commerce, he said, has written a grant for playground equipment. If approved, it will be a 50-50 matching grant with the city to pay half the tab. The total would be $50,000.