Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Fire, Park Grants Sought

Gurdon's City Council was asked to make decisions on three grants, three resolutions and a like number of ordinances during its regular monthly meeting Monday night.

Two of the grants involved the Gurdon Fire Department, with one, if approved, to be used to purchase red strobe lights for firefighters' personal vehicles. City Recorder/Treasurer Tambra Smith along with Mary Burns, a volunteer who's husband, Robert, is a member of the GFD, have been doing the paperwork to apply for the grants.

According to Gurdon Mayor Rick Smith, under a 1995 Arkansas code, firefighters with volunteer departments are allowed to display flashing strobe lights when going to a fire.

He said members of the GFD agreed to use the lights if they can be obtained. Primarily, the lights would be to notify other motorist of fire personnel being on their way to a fire.

Smith said the strobes will not give firemen the right to disobey traffic laws, however.

Gurdon Fire Chief Jake McBride said the lights would be an asset to the department, as they would help get people out of the way.

Smith informed the council and audience for the lights to be an effective method of getting people out of the way and to prevent firemen from abusing the use of them, a penalty would have to be established. In addition, firemen could be fined should they not use the strobes while en route to a fire.

The grant the city is applying for is through the Arkansas Rural Development Commission, and will be for $5,336.

It is a 50-50 matching grant, with the city being responsible for $5,336 to cover its half of the costs.

According to Smith, the grant would cover the cost of 20 strobe lights and 20 radio/pagers for firefighters. Along with the radio/pagers, the grant money would pay for chargers and extra rechargeable battery packs.

This would give each fireman a strobe light for their personal vehicle and a radio/pager, with two backups of each. There are 18 members of the GFD.

Smith said the GFD budgeted $10,000 for capital improvements for its 1996 budget, and these expenditures would count as such.

However, he said the city is working on another grant which, if approved, would cover the cost of the city's portion.

In addition, the city is applying for a grant to upgrade the city park's restroom and playground equipment.

In 1995, the city budgeted $6,000 to renovate the restroom facilities and upgrade them to meet the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) standards.

However, the $6,000 wasn't enough, and the city didn't spend the money.

Again, Tambra Smith and Mary Burns are doing the legwork for the grants.

The park related grant, also from the Arkansas Rural Development Commission, would be for $11,000 in grant funds. The total project is expected to cost about $22,000.

This is also a 50-50 matching grant.

Mayor Smith said in addition to making the restrooms ADA accessible, the city would like to install a concrete porch on two sides of the restrooms to make it easier for wheelchairs, for a sidewalk to be constructed from the street to the pavilion to meet ADA rules, and to purchase new equipment, including a spring see-saw, three spring action figures (a race car, jet and horse) and two toddler swings.

The grant, if approved, would also cover the cost of repainting the merry-go-round and covering the play area with small pea gravel for safety.

In addition, the funds would pay to get the tennis courts resurfaced, sealed, covered and restriped. It will also construct a sand volleyball court.

Smith said the city will provide $4,100 of in-kind labor, while Mrs. Smith and Burns have been on the phone soliciting donations for the remainder of the funds.

The two managed to raise $2,500 in donations during a three-and-a-half-hour period Monday afternoon from 2-5:30 p.m.

Smith said the city is also applying for another park grant for $2,500, which would alleviate the need for dipping into the city's coffers.

When it came time to deal with ordinances, the council wasted no time in dissolving the Gurdon Ambulance Commission.

The issue was debated in the February meeting, with the council giving its tentative approval to dissolve at the time.

With the commission now gone, the city will benefit from the $32,000 it had in the bank. These funds, however, can only be used for the enhanced 911 emergency telephone system and to do research for annexing properties into the city limits.

These properties include the new Gurdon High School, the city's cemetery, the city park and Lowe Field, the city's airport.

Wording problems kept a burning ordinance from being adopted.

According to the ordinance, it would be illegal to burn all vegetation.

Members of the council took this to mean leaves and brush.

Smith said the intent of the wording was to prevent people within the city limits from burning garbage, as a trash pickup service is offered by the city.

However, he agreed the wording needs to be modified, and the issue was tabled until the April meeting.

In other business, the council was told there has yet to be a final inspection of the water and sewer system to the new GHS, and some cleanup work still must be done.

He said the parking lot has been paved at the city's new childcare facility.

With some very good news on the housing front, Smith said the city received an improvement grant for $243,600 for improvements on buildings in the city's existing housing authority complex.

Additionally, Shirley Malcolm was named to replace Peggy Keely on the Gurdon Housing Authority board of commissioners.