Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Emmet mayor jokes about turnback funds, Sorrells resigns

Emmet Mayor Dale Booker joked with the City Council about the money the town received from the county.

At the council's regular monthly meeting Wednesday, April 16, he said the council needed to decide how to spend the money and get in a mode to rebuild. He the passed around a check for $171 from turnback funds.

Once the meeting began, though, the topics became more serious.

Booker talked about renewing certificates of deposit, telling the council he looks for the best interest rate he can find for the city.

Councilman Dick Snell asked what the limitations were on how city funds can be invested.

The investments, Booker said, have to be guaranteed. The city can't invest in stocks or bonds.

"When CDs come due," he said, "it's my policy to call the banks in the area for the best interest rate and go there."

The planning committee was discussed again, with Booker asking members of the council if they'd read the plan made by the University of Arkansas in 1966. He said the plan still has many viable ideas, though a lot will have to be updated.

He suggested the council adopt the plan "as is", then allow the committee to go through it, make changes and approve the changes segment by segment.

"Something," he said, "needs to be done in planning for the future. We all have too much invested in our homes to let neighboring properties destroy it. We have, in my opinion, a good planning committee."

The committee, he said, comes from all walks of life and should put a good plan together for Emmet.

Councilman Johnny Clary said there's a lot in the plan needing to be revised and updated as it's not relevant to today. The maps, he added, don't go into any great detail and much of the plan is simply in general terms for residential, commercial or agricultural zoning.

The council, Booker said, will have to pass ordinances as each segment is revised.

Years ago, he said, Emmet joined he National Flood Plain Insurance Program. This program is now under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which is now part of the new Homeland Security Agency.

Now, Booker said, the fine for building in a flood plain is $500.

Anything built before 1965, though, is grandfathered in under the laws and, therefore, isn't affected.

The city, he said, may need to start charging for these permits, as the paperwork will increase for those who want to build in the flood plain.

Clary said he thought a lot of this was covered by city ordinance.

Booker told the council the city doesn't have the leverage to enforce its ordinances. "I don't want the planning and zoning committee to start working, put in a lot of time and the council say it's not what it wants.

"We're not trying to come up with something to abolish something, but guidelines to use in the future to prevent things from coming in and destroying Emmet. We're trying to protect what we all have in Emmet."

The council adopted the plan and will examine each portion segment by segment as it's completed by the committee.

The council discussed renting the old bowling alley, but decided not to rent it unless there was a long-term lease involved.

Rental on the Chuck Wagon will remain unchanged, for now, until the council decides otherwise, as discussion on the matter was tabled.

Emmet Secretary/Recorder Frank Faulkner said the Chuck Wagon is rented three or four times a year.

The rental, though, is $50, with a $25 cleaning deposit. The utilities, Booker said, run more than the rental annually.

"Compared to the income from the rental," he said, "we're losing money."

The council put Faulkner on the Snell Cemetery Association.

Booker said the association has gotten out of hands in recent years, while being mismanaged as officers aren't aware of their responsibilities and authority.

Booker said there are too many federal agencies looking down the collars of cities making sure they're doing the right thing.

The association, he said, needs to be examined by an auditor to make sure it's doing what's right.

Members of the association asked Faulkner to be the trustee, and this is when Booker got involved. The association, Booker said, was overstepping its bounds and didn't have the authority to name a trustee.

Hebb Sorrells, a member of the council, tendered his resignation. He said because of his job as a deputy with the Nevada County Sheriff's Office.

He said because Emmet is multi-cultural a lot of people need equal representation on the board, and suggested he be replaced by Burnis Muldrow.

The council was reluctant to accept the resignation, but did, and named Muldrow as Sorrells's replacement.