Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Rosston City Hall Not In Compliance

Getting City Hall in compliance with the Arkansas Disability Act could be a problem for the Rosston City Council.

In the regular monthly meeting of the council, Mayor Lewis Jackson informed the council of a visit from Richard Sorralls with the Rural Economic Development Commission.

Sorralls visited Rosston last month to examine the City Hall and see what needs to be done to get it in compliance. He met with Jackson, water superintendent J.D. Luck and councilman Rob Robison.

In a letter to Jackson, Sorralls wrote the restrooms need to be remodeled so they will be accessible for wheelchairs. Additionally, a ramp must be installed at the front door so wheelchairs can get into the building, and a drop box was suggested at City Hall so residents can make drive up payments without getting out of their vehicles.

The time frame listed in the letter for remodeling the bathrooms and adding a ramp show a date of May 15, 1999, while the drop box is to be installed by May 31, 1998.

However, Mayor Jackson and councilman Robison said they were informed by Sorralls the 1999 date is wrong, and all work must be done by May of this year.

In order to correct the problems, the front and back doors of Rosston's City Hall must be widened enough to allow a wheelchair to pass through. For the back door, this will involve expanding the hall.

Jackson suggested moving the lone office in the facility to the front of the building to allow for this to occur.

The two restrooms currently at City Hall will be combined into one large one, with the door being in the front and wide enough for a wheelchair. Also, the interior of the restroom will be renovated for handicap accessibility.

These required changes resulted in a good deal of conversation by the council. Jackson said making the repairs will take quite a bit of money.

Jackson and Luck will work to develop a plan to implement the changes.

Members of the council said the current City Hall is too small to make many changes to, but Robison said, "It's too late now," referring to the recent sale of the city's community building.

In late 1997 and January 1998, the council argued about what to do with the community center. Robison had suggested renovating it and making it the new City Hall. However, at a public meeting, the citizens of the town said they'd rather see the center sold and the existing City Hall renovated.

During a regular session, the council voted to sell the community center and repair City Hall. The center was sold through a sealed bid auction recently.

Robison said with the proposed changes, City Hall will be too small to hold meetings.

Edna Kelly suggested adding on to the current structure, saying according to Sorrells' letter the council has until 1999 to do the work.

The others on the council agreed there is nowhere to expand City Hall in any direction without doing away with the already limited parking.

Parking is another issue the council will have to address with the ADA regulations.

While it wasn't in the letter the council received from Sorrells, Jackson had been verbally informed paved parking was required for at least one handicapped spot. As it stands, there are no formal parking spots outside City Hall. The exterior in front of the building is unpaved grass.

Kelly, discussing voting at City Hall, said once the renovations are done one of the long tables used for council meetings can be put away. This would leave one long table and a card table as voting areas, and could pose a problem in giving voters privacy as they cast their ballots.

She then suggested holding elections at the volunteer fire department next door.

Jackson said for this to be done a phone line would have to be installed, and it, too, would have to meet ADA requirements.

Robison pointed out the renovations would still have to be made to City Hall because it is a public building and, under state and federal law, public buildings must be accessible for handicapped people.

Jackson said the renovation work must be in progress by this May.

In other business, Jackson said the city's computer will be taken to Campbell's Computer in Magnolia where Window's 95 will be installed. This is being done to help with the city's accounting.

Jackson said the city's audit went well, with the auditor having a few recommendations. One of those was to upgrade the computer system for the accounting program.

The audit will be discussed in more detail at the April meeting.

A trailer was purchased to haul the city's tractor, Jackson said. It was bought for $350. He said it doesn't look good, but is a heavy duty trailer and will do the job.

An ordinance for well head protection was passed. Representatives from the Arkansas Department of Health came down and surveyed the area around the city's two wells to see if there were any possibility of contamination.

The protection area will extend to a radius of 1,800 feet from the well. Signs will be erected showing the protection area.

BY JOHN MILLER

February was a wet month.

According to John W. Teeter, local meteorologist, the area received 6.47 inches or rain during February, when the normal rainfall amount is 4.27 inches. This gave the area a surplus of 2.20 inches of wet stuff.

So far, 1998 has started out to be a wet year. Teeter said the normal amount of rain for the region for the first two months of the year is 8.03 inches. However, a total of 14.78 inches has been recorded to date, meaning the area is ahead by 6.75inches.

Davis Benton, Teeter's counterpart in Cale, said February in the south part of Nevada County was also wet at 6.94 inches of rain fell.

In addition, Benton said the yearly total to date is 15.26 in the south part of the county. This is about twice the normal amount.

Teeter said it rained 10 days in February, with the largest single day amount being 2.92 inches on Feb. 11.

Thunderstorms with damaging winds occurred on the 10th and 11th, he said, while high winds caused damage in the wee hours of Feb. 26th.

The average temperature for the month was 45.9 degrees, four degrees above the normal of 41.9. Teeter said there were only six days when the mercury dropped below 32 degrees, which is about half the normal amount of freezing weather for the area.

Additionally, he said, there were five watches or warnings posted during February, one more than the usual amount of four.

Benton said high winds in the southern part of the county on Feb. 10th and 22nd, caused considerable tree damage in the area.

He added the area had no freezing weather during February, and this is the first time this has occurred since Benton began ke