Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Greenville Project Is Moving Forward

Once water samples have been approved by the Arkansas Department of Health, Gurdon's water tank will be operational.

The tank was recently cleaned and sterilize. However, the light on the top of the tank tower is not working yet, according to Harold Hurst, manager of the Gurdon Water and Sewer Commission.

Hurst provided this information to the Gurdon Water and Sewer Commission recently. He said once the tests samples are approved the tank will be filled and placed back on line.

The Bowen Hill sewer station has been changed out. A chain link fence will be placed around the station for security measures.

There were no problems in changing the stations out, Hurst said.

Bids for a new computer for the office were discussed. One bid was for $1,480, while the other was 1,370. A brochure from Best Buy showed a system for $1,149, before taxes and after a rebate.

All systems discussed had Pentium processors and will be equipped with Windows.

The commissioners primary concern was for service once the system is purchased and in place.

Buying from Best Buy, they agreed, may be less expensive, but the system won't have local service available.

The computer from Computer Services, Hurst said, has no information on its warranty, while the one from Micro Tech did.

The panel agreed to go with Micro Tech's bid, as Hurst's brother, Jim, works there and can be reached in case of problems.

However, before the system is bought, Hurst will make sure of the warranty situation.

Hurst, in other business, said commissioner Danny Paull's term was recently renewed by the Gurdon City Council. Paull will serve on the panel another four years.

No new radios for the department have been purchased yet, Hurst said. A price of $477 was obtained from one company.

It is basically the same type of system the department currently uses, but the radios from the company being used now run $520 each.

These radios will operate on the department's existing frequency and will go through a repeater located in Mount Ida.

Before new radios are bought, Hurst said, he will look into the company a little more.

This brought the topic around to the Greenville water system.

A Greenville resident approached the Gurdon City Council on the issue recently, asking when the area would be getting city water.

She said residents have already paid their meter deposits, but nothing has been done for two years.

Hurst, talking to the commission, said this project is being treated like a brand new one, and the department had to go through the same process as if it had never been discussed before.

Part of the problem, he said, is when the Gurdon Rural Water Project was first discussed, few people in the Greenville area signed up for city water.

After plans were in place for the rural project and it was learned money would be left over, a group from hunting camps in the Beirne area asked for water to be piped there.

This fell through as the owner of the land refused to grant easement, saying these camps may not always be where they are now.

Once this happened, Greenville residents asked to be considered for the project.

Hurst looked into the matter and learned it would have to be done separately and couldn't be tagged onto the end of the rural water project then underway.

The Rural Development Agency, formerly Farmer's Home Administration, has given its approval for the Greenville project, as has the Arkansas Department of Health.

Charles Summerford, project engineer, has the easement documents ready to be signed. The next step will be to get the easement right of ways so the water lines can be installed.

Nothing has been done yet because of the weather, Hurst said. His idea is to wait until it dries up more so work will be unimpeded and the project can be finished quickly.

Hurst said this is a small project and contractors will need to be able to get it done in a hurry, once they start.

But, until the easements are obtained, nothing can be done.

He said the ADH has approved plans for the project, which includes crossing three railroads. Applications have been made and approved to drill under the tracks.

According to Summerford, by waiting to let bids until the weather moderates, a better price can be obtained.

The project will add 3,500 feet of pipe to the end of Red Springs Road to pick up an additional customer, as a total of 13 homes will be affected.