Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Budget Woes Continue

There is $8,700 left in the Gurdon general fund for salaries for the Gurdon Police Department.

This saw the question raised as to what the city can do if the half-cent tax issue fails on Nov. 18 in a special election.

At Monday night's meeting of the Gurdon City Council Mayor Rick Smith suggested the council do nothing at this time but wait and see what happens with the election.

He said at this time there are some funds available as the city is under budget. The city had budgeted $513,775 for the 1997 general fund and has spent about $402,000 to date.

Once the results from the special election are known, the council will address the issue on GPD salaries again.

Smith asked if the county tax could be placed in a separate account. As it stands, this money shows up in the general fund, but is not the city's money. The funds are simply transferred from the city to the county.

City recorder/treasurer Tambra Smith said the state auditors require the funds go through the general fund, but will see if they can be put in a separate account when the auditors arrive.

The mayor said $190,000 is being transferred to the county for the county tax and shows on the city's budget, though it is not city money.

Smith presented the council with preliminary copies of a proposed budget for 1998, reminding them the figures were not etched in stone and will be changed as needed.

The city's revenue, he said, looks to remain much the same as it's been in recent years. Should the tax pass, it will change drastically as the tax is expected to bring in $69,000 annually, but will be earmarked for three areas.

He told the council the city doesn't have to have an official budget until Feb. 1, 1998.

Department heads, he said, need to get their written requests in as soon as possible, basing them on the current anticipated revenue.

In other business, the council talked about problems with the railroad.

Gurdon Police officer Chris Harper said the railroad crossing gates have been staying down for long periods of time causing traffic delays and requiring the GPD to direct traffic around them when no trains are coming.

Along with being a nuisance, he said, it also creates a dangerous situation because people don't know when they can cross the tracks.

Councilman Glenn Hughes said loggers have been complaining to him about the situation as they can't drive their rigs through the underpass. When they're at the track, the log trucks tie traffic up considerably.

Legally, he continued, the railroad company can't block the intersection for extended periods of time.

Smith said the GPD wrote tickets to the railroad in the past, but two years ago city officials met with the Union Pacific attorney and other company representatives concerning the situation. The city was informed the problem would be corrected, and it was for a while. "They've gotten lax again," the mayor said.

He suggested residents contact their legislative representatives about this problem as the legislature took the city's authority to ticket the rail company away. Now, the ability to write the railroad tickets is under the direction of the Arkansas Highway Commission.

But, as it was pointed out, no one from the commission is in Gurdon watching the trains cause traffic problems.

To help with the situation a letter has been written to Union Pacific requesting a meeting with railroad company officials, the city attorney, Smith and City Marshal David Childres.

The railroad companies, Smith said, have strong lobbyists.

Changing topics, Smith said the Southwest Central Regional Solid Waste Management District will be meeting in Gurdon later this month.

The reason is to get the district to allow newsprint it collects in its recycling operation to be sold to a local company using newsprint to make cellulose insulation.

Currently, the paper is being sold to a broker. Smith said it would be better to keep and use the paper locally.

He said the search is on to fund a feasibility study for an industrial park near Gurdon, similar to the new one going in at Interstate-30 in Arkadelphia.

Smith has met with economic development officials to help find the funds for such a study and has learned getting an industrial park may not be out of the question, though it won't happen overnight.

If an industrial park is constructed, he said, the businesses in it will not be manufacturing, but will be more along the lines of shipping, trucking or warehousing. Such a park, he continued, will be built near I-30.

While getting water to the park would be no problem, Smith said, providing sewer service could. The city would have two options on the sewer problem -- either extend the lines out or build another plant for the park.

The current sewer plant, he said, has the capacity to handle the expansion, and either option would, in the long run, be good for Gurdon.