Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Spec building bids opened

Bids have been opened for a spec building at the Industrial Park, with a low bidder chosen.

At this time, according to Jon Chadwell, executive director of the Prescott-Nevada County Economic Development Office, the low bidder is being certified. Once this is done, construction can begin on the building.

The best part is a company has already expressed a desire to move in as soon as the building's completed.

The city, he said, has 30 days to award the bid, with the contractor having two or three weeks to get started. From there, the contractor will have 210 days to have the building finished.

The industry, Chadwell told the Prescott City Council, at its January meeting, has plans to hire 10 people the first year, expanding to 20 in its second year of operation. By the third year, he said, the company expects to have 30 employees, possibly more.

A handful of easements are still needed for the rural water project. There will be some property condemned for the system, while highway rights of way will be used in other places.

Once the easements have been obtained, the project can be let for bid.

Chadwell said the final plans for improving downtown sidewalks are at the Partnership office.

About 10 blocks downtown will be repaired. The original plan, he said, was to remove all of the sidewalk, down to the base, but this was changed because of cost.

But, he said, most of the work can be done with overlays using the existing foundation. Some parts will have to be demolished.

Attempts will be made to move the curb back, making it smaller with steps so people can get onto the sidewalk. Hand rails will be put in place at each corner to help make the sidewalks handicap accessible.

On the drainage issue, Chadwell said two grates will be installed, with the water to run in pipes under the street. This, he told the council, should solve the flooding problem on Elm.

A curator is still needed for the Depot Museum, though the renovation has been completed, he said.

The displays, he told the council, could be moved back in, but the curator needs to be involved to make sure the displays are where they need to be, and make sure they're cataloged properly.

Prescott is one of 25 towns in America in the running as a possible location for a reality television show, Chadwell said.

He said the concept is to have two "uptown" girls from celebrity-type families live and work on a farm in a small town. The girls are also supposed to work in local businesses as well.

The network wants the farm family to have a son between 18-25 as well.

"This is an opportunity to get advertising we couldn't pay for," Chadwell said. "I think some things will come across no matter how it's shot."

Those things, he said, include how hard people in Prescott and Nevada County work and the pro-family attitude the area has.

"A lot of people are looking to get back to this way of life," he said. "They want a better quality of life for their families."

A problem with the city's animal control ordinance was addressed by the council.

The ordinance has a section concerning barking dogs.

It was questioned who would decide if the barking was a problem and who would do the prosecuting.

City Attorney Glen Vassar said this part of the ordinance will be hard to enforce and didn't want it included to begin with.

Basically, he said anyone affected by the noise made by dogs can file a complaint with the Prescott Chief of Police.

The chief will investigate and take it to the judge, with the situation then settled in court, where the party accused will get the chance to present a defense.

The ordinance, he said, can be amended with this part taken out.

"I don't know how to solve it," he said. "The council wanted this clause in the ordinance."

Prescott Mayor Howard Taylor said the animal control officer has picked up 21 dogs since starting to come to Prescott. The officer will present a report each month on what has transpired.