Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Property Owner Voices Concern Over Trees

By JOHN MILLER

Easements for Gurdon's Rural Water project are keeping it from going to bid at this time.

One of those who hasn't signed an easement was at Monday night's meeting of the Gurdon Water and Sewer Commission to voice his concerns.

Roy Ricketts said he has a stand of about seven trees he doesn't want cut down and asked if there is some way the project could go behind the trees instead.

He said the way the easement is worded it will run adjacent to the highway, which would result in the trees being cut down. However, Ricketts told the commission there is an open area behind this stand of trees where the line could be ran.

Harold Hurst, director of the Gurdon Water and Sewer Department, told Ricketts it is not anyones intention to cut down any more trees than necessary. He assured the property owner the project's contractor would do everything possible to miss this line of trees.

Project engineer Charles Summerford said there would be no problem missing the trees as the plans calls for using four-inch plastic pipe for the system.

He told Ricketts the property in question is fairly open and anticipates taking no trees from the area.

He added the contractor hasn't been chosen yet and, therefore, it is unknown as to what equipment will be used on the project. Summerford said when the contractor is picked, they can be told to avoid this stand of trees and meander the line behind them.

"I don't want people thinking I'm hard to get along with," Ricketts said. "But once the easement is signed, it's a blank check and you can do what you want unless it's understood beforehand."

Hurst and Summerford agreed to have Rickett's property staked for the contractor, showing where the line is to be laid to avoid cutting the trees in question.

With this, Ricketts thanked the panel and left the meeting.

Summerford then talked about the project itself, telling the board of the other easement problems.

He said there are 20 easements in the target area, with 12 or 13 owned by International Paper and the Ross Foundation. He said there should be no problem getting these easements.

This, Summerford said, leaves about eight to be condemned. One of these owners has stated he wants $3,000 for the project to cross his land, while the other asked for $2,700 for an easement.

Summerford said the project can go up to $2,500 for an easement, and suggested trying this instead of going to court for condemnation process. "Going to court would be costly," he said.

Of the 285 total easements received, 230 have been certified. Some of the remaining 55 are in estates and may not be contested if they are condemned.

However, one of the major problems for the project is cost. Summerford said while inflation has been under control of late nationally, projects such as this can expect about 5 percent hikes. This means the longer it takes to begin construction, the more the project is likely to cost.

He also expressed concerns about Hurst's idea to maintain the easements by keeping them bushhogged regularly.

The cleanup effort, he said, would be expensive up front and keeping it maintained could affect the project's overall budget.

Hurst said he is not in favor of not maintaining the right of way once the system is in place. His reasoning for this was centered around finding the lines after brush and trees grow back.

According to Hurst, if there is a problem with the line and the right of way hasn't been maintained, it will cost more in the long run to find the line and repair it than if the easements are mowed regularly.

Summerford said the entire project will cover approximately 47 miles, while Hurst pointed out not all of this is developed property, which skews the amount which would be mowed.

Hurst also said he could keep the system line maintained with his current staff and equipment.

Summerford said his main concern at this point it getting the project to bid as soon as possible so the best prices can be obtained.

Gurdon Mayor Rick Smith asked Hurst what the department would do for those landowners with timber on the easement. He said telling them they can never grow trees there again is more than having an easement, it's taking their land.

Hurst said the owners will be paid for the trees cut, but the right of way needs to be maintained and they can't grow trees there again.

Bill Dulin, president of the commission, said the owners' initial loss in timber will be the only loss they suffer, adding their remaining trees will grow better because of the thinning process.

Summerford said the bushhogging is one factor in the overall scheme of the project, but isn't the only one. He said the lending agencies involved are also concerned with the maintenance of the right of ways.

Other than this problem, Summerford said all the permits required are in hand. As soon as the easements are finalized, the project can be let for bid and construction can begin.

After Summerford left the meeting, Hurst said the easement situation bothered him.

Commissioner Carroll Coston agreed with Hurst's overall position on keeping the right of way clear of brush, saying it will be easier to work on if it's clear.

Hurst said he plans on mowing the land maybe twice a year using a six-foot bushhog.

He then suggested putting in an alternative to the bids to see what it would cost if the debris wasn't removed from the site. This, he reasoned, could set Summerford's mind at ease.

Summerford had said it could cost as much as $50,000 to clear the debris as they go. The alternate bid could be much lower than this, Hurst said.

Smith agreed the alternate bid is a good idea. However, he told Hurst when the city agreed to do the project it was understood the project would pay for itself and city equipment would not be used on it.

"We can't cause the rates to go up in the city because of high maintenance problems outside the city," he said. "I understand it's not normal (maintaining right of ways) in rural projects."

Hurst said this is because others aren't doing it right.

In other business, Hurst said tests from the airport well have came back from the Arkansas Department of Health showing no signs of plastics and meeting all ADH requirements.

The panel also agreed to give all department employees but the two newest ones 10 percent Christmas bonuses. The two new employees, who were hired in late August, will receive bonuses of $50 each.

Hurst explained these employees haven't been with the department 90 days yet and weren't hired using the city's personnel policy.