Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

City approves project bid

In a meeting that lasted less than five minutes, the Prescott City Council approved a resolution awarding the bid for the relocation of water and sewer lines on Highway 24 E.

The special meeting was called by the city Tuesday after questions about the legality of a similar meeting held Sept. 26. The Nevada County Picayune had not been notified at least two hours ahead of that meeting as required by the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. There arose the question as to whether the action of the meeting was legal.

Prescott Mayor Howard Taylor initially said he had no plans to call another meeting in compliance with the law in order to again consider the resolution. However, city council members began receiving notice Monday afternoon of plans for another special meeting to again consider the same resolution. The Nevada County Picayune received notice of the meeting Tuesday morning.

The resolution was the only item of business to be considered and was approved with no additional discussion.

The resolution accepts the bid of $513,000 submitted by Co Bar Construction Company, Inc. of Little Rock. There were only two bidders for the project with KAJACS Contractors of Maumelle submitting a bid of $750,000. The resolution calls for the Arkansas Highway Department to pay the entire cost.

The bids had apparently been in the hands of state engineers for two weeks prior to the city council meeting, but Taylor said the Arkansas Highway Department indicated that approval could not wait until the next regular city council meeting on Oct. 15.

The project is part of a plan to widen Highway 24 East, also known as East Main Street. Residents and property owners of the area have objected to the widening, which was apparently proposed more than two decades ago and has been waiting for funding ever since. Opposition cited loss of aesthetic value and the potential safety hazards as their reason for objecting. The highway department indicated that the only way the project would again be put on hold was for the city officials to make that request. Despite requests from residents and property owners, city officials refused to make that request and the project is now underway.