Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Rosston City Hall To Stay Put

By JOHN MILLER

Rosston's City Hall will remain where it is, while the community center will be sold.

This is what the people of the community informed the Rosston City Council they wanted at a public hearing Thursday, Oct. 9.

Some 20 people filled the tiny City Hall to let the city's governing body know what they thought about what should be done concerning City Hall and the community center.

The meeting opened with Rosston Mayor Lewis Jackson talking about the petition received with 68 names. He reminded the audience the only topic to be discussed was City Hall and the community center.

It was pointed out if the community center was renovated and City Hall moved there, the upstairs of the facility would also have to meet the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. This would mean either an elevator or lift of some type being installed.

The consensus of those gathered was the council should put the community center up for sale and renovate the existing City Hall to make it comply with the ADA rules and regulations.

Some of the audience said the council should have held a town meeting before deciding to spend money for a new roof on the community center. These people were reminded, more than once, the regular meeting time of the council is 6:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of every month. They were also informed these meetings are open to the public with all interested parties welcome to attend.

In discussing how to renovate City Hall, Jackson said there is no grant money available for such projects. He told the audience it would be up to the city to pay for the upgrade.

On the other hand, he said there could be funding from the Intermodal Surface Transportation Enhancement Act (ISTEA) to help with the community center project. He told the crowd the city had missed the deadline for filing for a grant from the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.

But, he said, the city can wait until next year to file for a park grant to renovate the community center if this is what the people want.

Members of the audience said City Hall has been out of compliance with the ADA since the law was enacted and no suits have been filed yet. Because of this, they said, there is no reason for the council to be in a hurry at this time to renovate City Hall to ADA standards.

As Jackson pointed out, though, should any handicapped individual want to come to a meeting or visit City Hall and not be able to get in, they could easily file suit against the city.

Some said renovating City Hall would be no problem as two public restrooms aren't needed and it would be easy to put a ramp outside the door and rework the bathrooms making them ADA compliant.

It was also stated the ramp does not have to be permanent, but could be moveable and put in place when needed by a handicapped individual.

Several said the community center, if renovated, would have to be rewired, have new plumbing installed, a septic system put in place and this would be too costly for the city to do.

When questioned as to how much the city has available to spend on the City Hall project, Jackson said the exact figure isn't known.

He told the crowd the city controls three funds, street, general and water, but can only use funds from the general account for this type of project. The other money, he said, is dedicated to be used only on streets and for the water department.

And, he said, some of the money in the general fund actually belongs to the Rosston Volunteer Fire Department. This is Act 833 money, which must be channeled through a city's general fund and can only be used for fire department needs.

Rick Butler, a former councilman in Rosston, said the city cannot deficit spent, nor can it obligate future monies by applying for long- term loans.

He also said the community center has asbestos siding which would have to be removed and properly disposed of.

The handling of asbestos materials would involve hazardous material crews from the Environmental Protection Agency, and this will be an expensive proposition as well.

All agreed the important thing was to get City Hall to ADA specifications.

Butler said the community center is a "cash cow," for the city. Others said the center may not pass termite inspection.

Still other said the center is an old building and may qualify for assistance from the Arkansas Historical Society.

However, the audience's overall opinion was to sell the center and acre of land it sits on after the issue is discussed with the city attorney.

The attorney must let the officials know how the center can be sold and be sure the buyer knows of the asbestos siding. The audience wants to be sure the city is covered and protected from all liability in the sale.

The City of Rosston originally purchased the community center from the Masons for $500. The building has seen little use since the purchase.

Jackson said he would get estimates on having both buildings renovated, even though the center will be sold through a sealed bid auction.

Several on hand agreed to volunteer their services in the renovation of City Hall to help keep construction costs down.

Determining when the center will be sold and renovations for City Hall will be discussed at the next regular meeting of the Rosston City Council. This meeting is scheduled to be held Thursday, Nov. 6 at 6:30 p.m. at the City Hall.

When members of the audience attempted to bring up the subject of a new water tower and generator, they were informed this issue couldn't be discussed at the hearing in progress, which was only for the city hall, community center situation.