Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Gurdon Plans November Election For Tax

By JOHN MILLER

A special election will be held in Gurdon Tuesday, Nov. 18, 1997, to determine the fate of a half-cent sales tax.

The sales tax ordinances were approved during the regular monthly meeting of the Gurdon City Council Monday night, after it was read for the third and final time.

The sales tax revenue, should the tax pass during the election, will be used to help fund the Gurdon Police Department, create an animal control department and have emergency warning sirens installed.

Should the tax fail during the election, these things will not be done and the ordinances will be null and void.

Councilman Glenn Hughes asked if there had been any changes in where the tax money would be placed in the city's budget.

He was told by Gurdon Mayor Rick Smith the revenue would be placed in the general fund with the council designating where it would go.

When the vote was called, three of the four councilmen present voted in favor of the measure, with one saying nay. Because a two-thirds vote, or four votes, is needed to pass an appropriation ordinance, Smith invoked his right as mayor and cast the deciding ballot for the ordinances.

Once the ordinance was approved, the council voted to go forward with the special election.

Harold Hurst, manager of the Gurdon Water and Sewer Department, informed the council the Arkansas Department of Health has mandated the city have a cross connection program for commercial water customers.

He said some businesses in Gurdon will have to have a device to keep water from going back into the city's system and thereby contaminating it.

The city has no choice in the matter as this has been mandated by a state agency.

Businesses which could be affected by the cross connection program include nursing homes, beauty and barber shops, gravel plants, swimming pools, apartment buildings and those with underground sprinkler systems.

Hurst said the cross connection systems must be installed at the business owner's expense and be inspected annually by a certified inspector. Once the systems are inspected the inspector will file a report. Should any repairs be needed, these, too, must be done at the owner's expense.

According to Hurst, if the customers affected by this mandate do not comply they will have their water service terminated.

He said the city council needed to pass an ordinance so it could be sent to the ADH showing the city's intent to comply. However, Hurst said, the ordinance will not go into effect immediately and those who will be affected will have time to have the systems installed.

Part of the problem, he said, is there is no set cost for every customer involved. Each will have to pay depending on their situation. But, he added, the control unit must be 12 inches above ground and protected from freezing by some type of housing.

In Gurdon, Hurst said, there may be 25 or less businesses and residents affected by this measure. But, he reminded the council, because this is a state mandate, the city has no choice but to comply.

Hurst also discussed the rural water project, saying it's progressing well.

Most of the lines are in place, he told the council, and work on the well should be finished in a couple of weeks.

The water tank, though, has not been set as yet. Hurst said the crews would work six-day weeks to get this done.

Changes were made in the well plans to get more water, he said, with everything looking good. The well, located near Gurdon High School, could produce between 350 and 400 gallons per minute once it's operational.

Talking about the 13 camps on the river near Beirne, Hurst said it would cost about $27,000 to run lines out there.

Part of the problem, he added, is what to charge these potential customers. The camps were not offered the chance to get on the system when plans were first being made. At the time, it would have cost those in the camps $125 to be hooked up.

Hurst said the water commission agreed to run the nearly 3.5 miles of line to the camps if there is money available once the parent project is finished.

Project engineer Charles Summerford suggested, Hurst said, letting the campers have the water for $125 instead of the $350 for getting lines ran after the deadline passed.

The council, though, made no decision on the matter.

In his final message to the council, Hurst said the ADH is making noise about having Gurdon raise its water rates inside the city limits.

He said the ADH compares Gurdon with other cities in Arkansas on well systems, basing the rates on an overall average. At this time it costs Gurdon customers $8 for the first 1,000 gallons of water used, which is below average according to ADH figures.

Being out of compliance with the ADH rates, he said, could affect the department's ability to borrow money for future projects as the loans are guaranteed by the minimum water bill.

City Marshal David Childres said the City of Gurdon is not getting proper legal representation from its city attorney, but didn't blame the city attorney.

He said the "low man on the totem pole," at the law firm used by the city gets the job as Gurdon's attorney. This means the barrister must also act as the city's prosecuting attorney.

Childres said several cases have been lost because the city attorney didn't know the questions to ask or have the proper paperwork done.

He pointed out there have been four city attorneys in the past seven years.

Smith said he and Childres could talk with the owners of the law firm and express the city's discontent because of this.

Gurdon residents with homemade trash bins on the city's right of ways will be getting letters delivered by the Gurdon Police Department telling them to move these containers.

An ordinance is on the books stating no permanent structures can be located on the right of ways.

Smith said the contractor the city uses to pick up garbage won't go onto private property.

This means those owners with bins on the right of way will have to get moveable trash cans.

Smith discussed the city-wide clean up campaign scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 20.

He said volunteers will gather at the park at 8 a.m. where they will be given their assignments and trash bags, along with sticks having a nail in one end to pick the trash up with.

At 1:30 p.m., he continued, these volunteers will return to the park for a barbecue. The volunteers will be issued meal tickets so they can partake of the barbecue dinner. Petit Jean Poultry has donated 150 pounds of chicken, while the Gurdon Senior Adult Center is donating the beans. Piggly Wiggly is contributing bread and cole slaw to the feed. Other businesses and industries have made cash donations.

However, people are still needed to do the actual labor.

Bids on renovating city hall were discussed by the panel. Smith said only two bids were received, one for $234,600 and the other for $206,000.

The problem is the city was giv