Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Bids For Rural Water Project Are Approved

After more than five years in the process, the Gurdon Rural Water Project will soon become a reality.

The Gurdon City Council, during its regular meeting Monday night, Feb. 10, agreed to go with the low bidders across the board, as recommended by project engineer Charles Summerford.

Summerford, who had spoken with the Gurdon Water and Sewer Commission last week (see related story), told the council phase II of the project could be started as early as late March or early April, depending on how quickly the remaining legal work is done.

The remaining legal work consists mainly of condemning land for easements, Summerford said. About 30 easements will have to be condemned so the project can actually be done.

Eric Hughes, city attorney, said the value of the land will be determined by means of appraisals, with the amount figured by all appraisals placed into an account for the court to handle.

Once a judge signs off on the easements work can begin. The money, Hughes said, will be there for the owners. But, he said, they can come back later and seek a jury trial for actual damage to the land.

This, though, is after the project has been completed.

Summerford said he would like to get the work orders issued as soon as possible so the contractors can go ahead and order their materials.

He informed the city's governing body the specifications for the bids included removal of debris along the water line and forest area right of ways. Normally, he said, wind rows are placed along the right of ways and are left to melt.

This way, he continued, the debris will be removed from the site shortly after work is completed and not damage the land.

He told the panel there were nine bids for the major portion of the project, but recommended going with G&S Trenching of Arkadelphia -- the low bidder at $1,030,370.95.

Five bids were submitted for 300,000 gallon water tanks, with the engineer suggesting the city go with a fiberglass chemically bonded panel tank instead of welded steel tanks.

His reasoning for going with the fiberglass tank, even with its higher initial cost, was these tanks don't need to be painted.

Steel tanks, he said, have to be cleaned and repainted every 12 to 15 years. Currently, it costs about $30,000 to do this. Long term savings would more than cover the difference between steel and fiberglass tanks, Summerford said.

Blue Glass, Inc., of North Little Rock had the low bid for a fiberglass tank at $142,427, while the low bid for a steel tank was submitted by NWA Steel Co., Inc., of Springdale at $104,028.

Two bids, drastically different in pricing, were submitted for the well. C&B Drilling Co., Inc., of Stuttgart turned in the low bid at $57,423, while Layne-Arkansas Co., of Stuttgart, submitted a bid of $92,577.

But Summerford had more good news for the council. He said the bids for the overall project came in under the engineers estimate, originally made three years ago. If everything goes according to plan, there will be a contingency fund left of $79,000.

Harold Hurst, water and sewer department manager, said the commission agreed last week to go with the base bids. "Time is valuable now," he said. "We've got to get (the project) off the ground as soon as possible."

Summerford said the contract has 210 days, or seven months, for completion. Weather permitting and all else going right, he told the council the project could be completely finished by Thanksgiving or early December.

In other business, the council appointed two new members to fill vacancies in wards one and three. Mickey Jones was selected to fill the slot from Ward 1, while Karen Parker has the seat in Ward 3.

While there was no opposition to Jones' appointment, Glen Hughes voiced dissention on Parker being named, saying the council should vote on the two who sought the position.

Hughes said as the council approved the nomination 3-1, it carried. Thereby giving Parker the seat.

The council also reviewed the Gurdon Police Department budget for 1997.

Gurdon Mayor Rick Smith said there is only $6,000 left in the city's general fund.

He said he and Gurdon City Marshal David Childres have talked about this, with Childres realizing he has to trim expenses for the GPD.

Smith said the GPD has a salary cap of $145,000 this year. Some months, he said, have higher salary demands than others, but they need to be balanced out overall so the budget is not exceeded.

The problem, he said, is the sources of revenues have not coincided with inflation over the years, so the city is actually bringing in less money than before.

The city's revenues are based partially on state turnback funds. These are determined by population as calculated by the census every 10 years.

In addition, the city receives money from property tax. Smith said this amounts to about $39,000 annually, and the figure will not change unless more people move into Gurdon.

The largest contributor to the city's general fund is franchise taxes from utility companies. Again, Smith said the amount these companies pay will not change unless the population rises dramatically.

Childres said the GPD could lay off one part-time officer, but will soon have a full-time officer out for three months for medical reasons.

This officer, Sgt. Don Childres, will be taking 53 accrued sick days for his time off.

According to the Marshal, Sgt. Childres has been working Friday nights with the part time officers as required by law.

"We can get rid of one part time officer and save $9,000," he said. "But the city has already cut $10,000 from our budget last year. I don't see where we can do more without being bad shorthanded.

"I hate to start getting rid of officers. The times aren't getting any safer."

Smith said he has contacted the U.S. Department of Justice seeking a grant extension for the COPS More program. He said the person he spoke with talked favorably, but there are no guarantees the city will get the money requested.

The need for two hand-held radios was brought up by Childres during the meeting, with the council approving the purchase of them with the money coming from the city's drug fund. The money in this account can only be used for drug buys during cases or to purchase equipment. It can't be used for salaries.

Smith said the city has reached an agreement with Smithpeters Oil Co. for the purchase of gasoline for the GPD. By buying the gasoline from Smithpeters, he said, the city can save 20 cents per gallon, as the company will handle all the paperwork to be reimbursed for the excise tax.

He said Mary Burns, the mayor's assistant and member of the Airport Commission, worked to get the commission to let the GPD use the above ground fuel tank at Lowe Field for nights and weekend use.

This is a 300 gallon tank, Smith said, meeting all regulations and requirement.

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