Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Easements Sought For Parent Project

Easements for the parent portion of Gurdon's Rural Water Project are in hand, though not signed as yet.

Harold Hurst, manager of the Gurdon Water and Sewer Department, told the Gurdon Water and Sewer Commission, at its regular monthly meeting Monday night, 94 easements have been returned and about 25 have been mailed out of town.

In addition, more are still out in the community, with committees working to get them signed and returned so the project can begin.

He said most people have hooked up between the city limits and the new Gurdon High School, as agreed. All lacking, for the most part, is finishing the dirt work.

The commission received a contract for property on Red Springs Road from Southwestern Bell Telephone. The land will be used as a tank and booster site for the parent project in this area.

Hurst said the land can be purchased for $3,500. City attorney Eric Hughes has the contract in hand, he said, and will look over it.

The water and sewer department will most likely buy the land and be reimbursed from project funds, according to Hurst.

Charles Summerford, project engineer, hopes to have all the easements in hand by June 15 so the project can be let for bid by early July. However, Hurst said it will be difficult to get the easements in by mid-June because of out- of-town owners and some local property owners being reluctant to sign them.

Even if all easements were in by June 15, Hurst said, and the bid was let by July 1, it would still take the contractor 60 to 90 days go over the agreement and return the signed contract. Then, there would be 15 to 30 more days before actual work began, which would put the start of the project in the winter months.

Once started, Hurst said it will take at least eight months to complete, depending on how many crews the company has working on it.

In addition, the contractor will have to install two booster stations, a well and a pumping station, along with 48 miles of pipe.

Last month, Hurst informed the commissioners there was $3,064 left over from phase I of the water/sewer project to the school. The lending agency, Rural Economic Community Development (RECD), formerly FmHA, doesn't want the money back and told Hurst to spend it on an approved water or sewer related item.

Hurst said the department needed a new trailer. One has not only been found, but purchased by the department head.

While in Lonoke looking for a dump truck, he saw a trailer for sale. Apparently it was owned by a contractor who had purchased a new one and had no further need for the old one.

Hurst told the commissioners the trailer has a 10,000 pound axle and is 20-feet long. He was also able to buy it for $1,500, which leaves $1,564 in the account.

Gurdon's City Council will be asked why the water and sewer department can't charge customers who leave owing a bill double when they try to hook up again.

Hurst said he would like to be able to do what Entergy and Arkla Gas do, which is charge customers who have outstanding debts double when they attempt to get the service again.

And, it's audit time again for the department. Hurst said auditors will be in town later this month to gather preliminary data, do the formal audit in late June and report back in August. The audit, he said, will cost about $5,500.

The cost is so high, Hurst told the board, because the department handles federal monies, and the auditors must make sure it is complying with the bond issues in question.