Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Federal legislation key to hospital sale

It could be late fall before the fate of the Nevada County Hospital building is known.

Jon Chadwell, executive director of the Prescott-Nevada County Economic Development Office, told the Nevada County Quorum Court, at its regular monthly meeting, Monday, July 9, pending federal legislation will have an effect on the outcome of this deal.

As of now, he said, it's a wait and see game. The regulations, if approved, could make it easier for such enterprises as the cosmetics company to locate in pre-existing buildings by giving them financial incentives and breaks.

According to Chadwell, the proposal deals with manufacturing firms and educational facilities. The cosmetics company has previously stated it plans to manufacture its product at the old hospital and operate a cosmetology school there as well.

Chadwell told the court there has been a lot of activity with prospects of late. There are more good ones now, he said, than he's worked with before, and this includes his stint as the Camden Chamber of Commerce director.

"People say the economy is slowing down," he said, "but I see a lot of businesses looking at expansion opportunities."

Three prospects visited the area recently, Chadwell said. He plans to visit another prospect this week, and has been in communication with others.

However, he told the court, nothing is guaranteed at this stage. A prospect is a company looking to relocate or expand into another area.

Normally, businesses check several possible locations before making a final decision.

Chadwell updated the court on the library project, saying the conceptual drawing is in the works and will take three or four weeks to complete.

Once the plans are done and approved, the next step would be the pre-construction phase, with bids being let to find a contractor.

Plans for the Depot Museum are in Little Rock and need to be approved before renovation work can begin.

Plans for the Prescott Rural Water Project have been approved three times in Little Rock, and are expected to be approved a final time.

The biggest holdup at this time, Chadwell said, remains getting people to sign easements for the project.

Perry Nelson, superintendent with the Prescott Water Department, has been working to procure the easements from property owners in the project area and has collected about 200.

Chadwell said the project will be bid with two deductive alternates. One would be to cut anywhere along the route where no one signed up, with the second being to eliminate areas where one or two signed, but there were more who didn't.

After July 23, he said, there will be no more changes, and it will be almost impossible for those in areas eliminated to get on it in the future.

But, he said, if the project can get 75 to 100 more people to sign up before it's let for bid, no cuts will have to be made in any area.

"We'll have some hard decisions to make," he said.

It is hoped the project can be let for bids by the end of the year. Once construction begins, it will take 12-14 months to complete.

According to Chadwell, the timing of this project may be perfect as far as costs are concerned. The last two such projects bid, he said, have been less than projected a year earlier.

There is money in the grant the project received to help low-income families get hooked onto city water. Those in the low-income bracket will be required to pay $50 to get hooked up.

A portion of the base monthly payment will be used, he said, to pay off the loan.

Some, who want to put in a meter, but not have water hooked to their residence at this time, can do so, but will still have to pay a monthly fee between $13 and $18. This will be for the meter only, and they won't be paying the water portion of the bill.

Chadwell will be going to Little Rock to meet with Gov. Mike Huckabee and members of the Arkansas Department of Economic Development (ADED).

The idea, he said, is to get each sector of the state to develop and implement its own economic development ideas instead of ADED coming up with a cookie-cutter mold for the entire state.

Nevada County Judge James Roy Brown updated the court as to the Arkansas CAMA situation.

CAMA's facilities in Hope were recently destroyed by fire, with a teen arrested in the case.

This left CAMA, the group doing the reappraisals for this part of the state, with no place to do business.

However, this problem was solved when the business was allowed to rent the old Nevada County Health Unit building.

Originally, this was where the items from the Depot Museum were going to be stored while the museum is renovated.

At this time, Brown said, a search is underway for somewhere to locate the museum items.