Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Rosston Council Considers Moving City Hall

By JOHN MILLER

Petitions have been circulated around Rosston to keep City Hall where it is.

Some 68 area residents signed the petition, which was brought before the Rosston City Council during its regular monthly meeting Thursday, Oct. 2.

According to the petition, the residents of Rosston do not want to renovate the community center and utilize it as a new City Hall, stating they would rather do the necessary work to the current building to bring it up to Americans with Disabilities Act standards.

The petition reads it would probably be less expensive to bring the current City Hall to specs than renovate the community center.

Rosston Mayor Lewis Jackson informed the council he had looked into the possibility of getting grants to help with the remodeling costs, but found it is too late to apply for funding from the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.

However, he said, it may be possible to get a grant from the Intermodal Surface Transportation Enhancement Act (ISTEA) to help with the work.

Councilman Rob Robison pointed out federal law requires all public buildings to meet ADA requirement, and the council has no say in the matter. He said it will be expensive to renovate City Hall and get it to spec.

In the meantime, he said, the city is still in possession of the community center which needs work. The council recently voted to have the roof on the center rebuilt.

"We still have to do something with this building," Robison said. "It's costing us money and being used for storage. I don't care where City Hall is but it better be handicap accessible."

Edna Kelly, also a member of the council, said the city could do something similar to what the Rosston Post Office did.

Robison pointed out the hallway in City Hall is too narrow to get a wheelchair down, which would limit access to the restrooms. The restrooms, he said, are also out of compliance with ADA regulations.

Kelly suggested having a public meeting to let the people voice their opinion on the matter.

Jackson said the council needs estimates on what the repairs to both buildings would be before having such a meeting, but added it would cost the city to get the estimates.

Robison said before the council could ask for estimates, it would have to decide what the specifications would be on the buildings.

Kelly said the community center will have to have a septic system, along with qualified electrical and plumbing workers to make the repairs there.

Jackson pointed out the foundation of the current City Hall may be cracked, which is resulting in cracks running up the walls. Renovating the current facility, he said, will not be cheap either.

Robison said regardless of what is done, the council still has the community center to deal with. He said until a decision is made on what to do with it, he will not vote to renovate the current building.

The council discussed selling the community center.

Talk turned to who circulated the petitions in the first place, with city recorder/treasurer Cindy Taylor saying her mother did it. Taylor said she drove her mother around Rosston to get the petition signed.

The council then agreed to hold a public hearing on what to do about the City Hall situation. This meeting will be held Thursday, Oct. 9, at City Hall. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.

In other business, the council discussed a $5,000 certificate of deposit which has matured.

The CD is for the street department and can be used for no other city business.

Jackson said the department is in good shape at this time and does not need the money. The council voted to let the CD roll over and continue to collect interest.

Then came the bad news. Jackson said the rural water commission visited and checked the city's water tank.

The tank was drained so the inside could be inspected. Jackson was told the tank's interior will have to be sandblasted and repainted. This, he said, will cost between $15,000 and $20,000.

The contractor who does the work, he told the council, will have to bring a portable water tank in so the people can have water while the work is being done.

According to Jackson, it will take two or three weeks to get the tank sandblasted and repainted on the inside.

The council batted around the idea of putting regulators on the fire hydrants to help maintain pressure, but as Jackson said, if the regulators malfunctioned the entire system could be damaged.

Robison said the tank, even after the work is done, will not be adequate for the city's needs -- especially if the area suffers with a hard winter. He said a backup system is needed to insure an adequate water supply for the people and emergency situations.

Robison suggested the city look into buying a generator along with a second tank.

Should bad weather hit, he said, there may not be water available to fight a fire if one occurs. "We can't live or fight fires without water."

Robison said when winter arrives, so will fires. This, he said, is because many people in the area use space heaters or don't have their chimney's cleaned for the season.

It was also pointed out if the winter is extremely cold and the city loses power for any length of time, water sitting in the lines can freeze and break the pipes.

Jackson said he will look into finding a surplus generator, as well as getting more information about relining the tank.

Should the city lose water pressure, he said, the Arkansas Department of Health will intervene and the city will be placed under a boil order.

Jackson said he will also look into the possibility of grants to help with the water situation.