Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Overpass a reality, waiting on presidential signature

Members of the Nevada County Quorum Court were informed the overpass project will become a reality.

However, the only catch at this time is the Transportation Act must first be signed by Pres. George W. Bush so the funding will be available.

Jon Chadwell, executive director of the Prescott-Nevada County Economic Development Office said the Arkansas Highway Department has agreed to begin the construction process once the bill is signed. "We should be driving on it in less than six years."

The location of the overpass is up to the Highway Department, but, Chadwell said, the most feasible place seems to be at Oliver's on the East side of town and around the old Prescott Motor building on the West side. Trucks, he added, should be able to cross over from Potlatch.

When Congressman Mike Ross first set up the meeting with the AHD and Union Pacific, rail company officials said there was no need because UP only ran 24 trains every 24 hours. This was the number UP gave the AHD. Officials from both organizations were invited to count the trains coming through Prescott on a daily basis and learned the number is more like 65-70 per day, as UP isn't the only company using the tracks.

Turning to the topic of house renovation in the county, Chadwell said there will be a delay before work begins as there was only one bidder, and the bids submitted were too high for the project. Under terms of the plan, a house can be rebuilt for up to $80,000. However, the lowest bid received was more than this, with some bids being more than $100,000.

According to Chadwell, the company in charge of the program knows of some other contractors that may be willing to bid on the projects. Local contractors are also encouraged to bid.

For the walking/jogging trail project, he said, things have also slowed down more than expected. The track will have to be staked out, and it's a complicated process. The staking is being hired out.

According to Chadwell, it could be Spring before work begins on this project, but once it starts, construction should be done in a few weeks.

In talking about things done during the past year, Chadwell said the EDO managed to get the electric rates charged to small industry lowered. By lowering these rates is could be easier for the community to attract small industries which hire 40-50 people.

The rate situation was discovered by accident, he said. A prospect looked at the area and compared the electric rates with other areas being looked at. Prescott's rate was higher.

"We learned the residential, industrial and commercial rates were comparable, but we were higher for small industries." Actually, small industries were paying the same rate as larger industries.

By making the rates more comparable, it could save small industries between $40,000 and $50,000 a year. This, Chadwell said, could make prospects look at Prescott more favorably.

In talking about prospects, he said there were three that looked at the area and liked it, but the contracts they were counting on with other companies fell through.

Additionally, there was a company looking at the area it was determined wouldn't be a good match, though it wanted to locate here. "We try to be good stewards of our resources."

There are times, he said, when Entergy recommends a project. From there, the EDO works to see if the company is a good fit for Prescott and Nevada County. There are communities, he said, that go after every project even if they don't have what the prospect is looking for.

He told the court there were 20 applicants for the 2005 Leadership Nevada County class, with 15 selected. "It helps bring the county together," he said. "This will be a good class. There are two from Rosston, five from Prescott and eight from different rural areas in the county."

In other business, the court voted to continue a tax the county has. This is not a new tax, but one that's been on the books for years. County general gets 5 mil, while Road and Bridge receives 3 mil.

The question of the emergency sirens was brought up, with George Clary asking what's being done about them.

Nevada County Judge James Roy Brown said several of the sirens aren't working in the county, and the battery charger on seven are bad and will be replaced. Some frequencies don't reach the sirens from the Nevada County Sheriff's Office, but the sirens work when triggered from a closer location.

Lightning, Brown added, hit two or three, knocking them out. As the repairs are made, the sirens will be better grounded to prevent this from occurring in the future. "We hope to have them all up and running by February."

Clary said the sirens need to be sounded at noon each Wednesday when the weather's clear to make sure they work. "It'll be storm season before we know it."

"This was one of the worst things I've done as county judge," Brown said of the siren system. "Most of them don't work and I wish we'd never bought them."