Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Property condemned, will be torn down

Several properties in Prescott will be condemned and torn down.

This decision was made at the regular meeting of the Prescott City Council, Monday, June 21, following a brief public hearing.

The hearing began at 6:45 p.m. with four properties to be discussed. Only one person was on hand to represent any of the owners. The properties involved are at Gee Street, West Second North, Ash Street and at Arnold and East Third North.

Earl Tolliver, representing his mother who owns the Gee Street trailer, said she wanted an extension because of a medical emergency in the family.

The extension was denied, with Prescott Mayor Howard Taylor saying the city has tried to get this property cleaned up for several years to no avail. "It's not right to wait till the last minute for this," he said.

City Attorney Glenn Vasser said these properties constitute a nuisance to the community and information concerning the condemnation was published for two weeks in the local newspaper. Owners, he added, can speak to the council before the property is condemned.

Copies of the condemnation resolution will be provided to the owners, who then have 30 days to take care of the property. Otherwise the city will clean it up and charge the owner. Should the owner not pay, a lien will be placed on the property by the city.

Taylor said Larry Jones and Perry Nelson have inspected all of the properties in question and determined all are beyond repair.

The public hearing then closed, with the council coming to order in regular session. While there was a quorum on hand, the panel was one short of having a two-thirds vote for the sewer rate ordinance proposed at the May meeting. Those not present were Howard Austin, Susie Meeks and James Cox, who has moved from the city and resigned his position.

Because all ordinances require a two-thirds vote, the issue was tabled until a special meeting scheduled for Tuesday, June 29.

From there the council went to the condemnation resolution, which only needed a simple majority to pass.

Tolliver said the house can be repaired and asked about the home renovation program the city is involved with in conjunction with South Arkansas Community Development (SACD). He asked if it would be possible to get a grant to repair the house, which suffered fire damage several years ago.

Jon Chadwell, executive director of the Prescott-Nevada County Economic Development Office, said to qualify for such a grant the owner must be living in the house, and it must be the primary residence.

Taylor reiterated the city has tried to get something done about this structure for years and nothing has been done yet.

Tolliver agreed and said he's been wanting to push the house over himself. "Maybe we can get something done with the 30 day deadline," he said.

The council unanimously approved the condemnation resolution.

It also approved a resolution concerning Kizer Field, Prescott's airport. The resolution allows the city to enter into an agreement with Grimes Engineering Co. to do a Type C obstruction survey. Getting such a survey done will make the airport eligible for federal funds, in addition to the state monies received.

The survey will examine obstructions five miles north and south of the runway. The money to pay for the survey will come from the airport's maintenance fund.

Gary Lewis was on hand as a representative of the Parks and Recreation Commission Board. He said the board meets quarterly unless something comes up requiring it to meet sooner.

The commissioners serve five years with staggered terms. They are appointed by the city council and are required to live within the city limits.

Lewis said the commission will provide the council with minutes of future meetings.

Chadwell, in his EDO report, said 60 people showed up at a public hearing for the housing renovation program, with 15 waiting at the Nevada County Courthouse when someone arrived to open the door.

Applications were filled out at the meeting, and have been handed out at the Partnership.

Bids for the street program, he said, will be opened the week of July 12-18, but added no specific day or time has been set for this yet.

"There's been a lot of interest in the project. People are calling about bids, which is a good sign. It means people want the work and the prices could be better. Once the bids are open and a contractor hired, work will start quickly."

Mike Marlar, with Marlar Engineering, is putting a job description together for the city's street department, so crews will be able to get things ready for the overlay project.

The city, Chadwell said, was turned down for a grant to purchase exercise equipment at the walking/jogging trail by the Nevada County Health Unit and McRae Park. The application qualified, he told the council, but it will be next year before the city can apply again.

Meanwhile, all paperwork for the walking/jogging trail has been sent to the state for its approval. The city, he said, is waiting for approval before it can begin. He cautioned about doing any work prior to getting approval because it wouldn't count toward in-kind labor.

On the sidewalk project, Chadwell said crews are knocking out a corner about every 10 days, all being handicap accessible. The ramps, though, have been left higher than street level. This was done to leave room for the overlay from the street project.

The building for the fire department/park office has been completed, with cleanup work left to be done. Both entities want to get into the building as soon as possible.

Chadwell said money can be taken from the virtual spec building fund to use for the interior of the fire/park building, with the parks department kicking in $10,000. This will give the city $40,000 for the interior.

Ramps for the building will be done next year out of the city's sales tax money.