Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Prescott To Receive $1 Million Grant For New Library

State Sen. Mike Ross of Prescott has announced that the city of Prescott and Nevada County will soon receive a $1 million grant from the state of Arkansas to construct a new library and education center.

Senate Bill 658, which he sponsored, has been signed into law and is now Act 831 of 1999.

The bill provides an appropriation from the general improvement fund for constructing and equipping a Prescott-Nevada County Library and Education Center. Representatives Sandra Rodgers of Hope and Percy Malone of Arkadelphia co-sponsored the legislation.

On Friday, April 9, House Bill 1999, which designates all the projects to be funded by the 82nd session of the Arkansas General Assembly, received final legislative approval and was transmitted to the Governor to be signed into law. The Governor is expected to sign the bill, which includes the $1 million state grant to construct the library and education center.

The legislation requires the city of Prescott and Nevada County to enter into an interlocal agreement to jointly fund the maintenance and operation of the facility and to provide the land upon which it will be constructed.

Once it has been certified to the state that the interlocal agreement has passed and agreed to provide the land, a check will be issued by the state for $1 million. The funds will be available any time after July 1.

This is the third largest local project selected during the 82nd session of the Arkansas General Assembly to be funded by the state. It is also the largest grant from the State General Improvement Fund that has ever been received by Prescott and Nevada County.

"I want to personally thank State Representatives Sandra Rodgers and Percy Malone and State Sen. Mike Beebe of Searcy for all their help," Ross said in a prepared statement.

"Rep. Malone serves as the House chair of the Joint Budge Committee and Rep. Rodgers is a member of the committee. They played a critical role in handling the legislation in the House of Representatives and the Joint Budget Committee," Ross continued. Sen. Beebe was most helpful to me in securing support for the project in the Senate.

"We all worked together to get the funding included in the General Improvement Fund.

"I also want to thank Prescott Mayor Howard Taylor, Nevada County Judge James Roy Brown, and Walt Denton, executive director of the Prescott-Nevada County Economic Development office," Ross continued, "for the vision and support of this project. It was truly a team effort and I will always be grateful to them for all they did.

"I hope the new library and education center can be built in the downtown area," Ross said. "I believe it will serve as an anchor to revitalize our downtown area, while promoting education and encouraging people of all ages to read ad utilize the facility. It will send a clear message to industrial and retail business prospects a message that Prescott and Nevada County is open for business and committed to education, economic development and growth of its retail business."

The proposed facility will include a library, media center with computers and Internet access, classroom for courses and community programs, community room and possibly an auditorium. The Southwest Regional Library has already committed to providing a larger selection of books for the new facility.

"As a result of the term limit amendment to the Arkansas Constitution, my term will end in January 2001 and I can not seek re-election," Ross said. "The people of Prescott and Nevada County have been very supportive of my family and me during my 10 years in the Arkansas Senate, for which I will always be grateful. Since this was by last regular legislative session, I wanted to do something significant to promote the future growth and development of my hometown and my home county.

"It's been a wonderful 10 years and helping to secure $1 million in state funding for a new library and education center is a great way to end my last legislative session."