Glass talks 2017 plans

PRESCOTT – Most of the plans Nevada County Judge Mark Glass has for 2017 involve roadwork.

Glass said there’s one project ready to begin as soon as easements have been collected. This involved the low water bridge at Cold Run Creek, or Wilson Creek, as it’s also known. He said he’s been in touch with the right-of-way coordinator with the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department and was told the project could begin next month if the county can get the easements.

This project, he said, will run about a million dollars and will be funded primarily from state and federal monies. The county’s portion was 2 percent, which has already been paid. The bridge will be at the bottom of a long hill on Nubbin Hill Road.

Also on the list of roads to be worked on is Hines Blvd., he said. This will be a stretch of road from Hines to Washington Road, with the project being less than a mile long. This project will also be funded under state aid and will be chipped and sealed. Another section of the area, from Hwy. 371 to the business, will be done by the City of Prescott and state aid.

According to Glass, the county’s portion of this project is 10 percent and has already been paid. The project has been let with the engineer saying some soft spots have been found and the contractor will wait to see what happens in the area over the winter. When spring arrives, the soft areas will be filled and the chip and seal work will begin. “It’s needed to be done a long time,” Glass said of the project. “It connects two highways and there’s more traffic on that road than people realize.” Overall, the cost of this project will be around $88,000.

If the funds are there, Glass said, he plans to reseal some existing county roads – especially Wildcat Road. His goal is to reseal about five miles of county roads this year, including a section of Fairview Road. However, he pointed out, what gets done will depend largely on the weather and county finances.

Concerning non-road projects, Glass said offices in the Nevada County Courthouse will be painted sometime this year. The Prescott-Nevada County Economic Development Office, he said, helped the courthouse get a grant for this. Glass pointed out the EDO has also helped the courthouse get grants for new, more energy efficient windows and improved lighting. About three years ago, Glass said, the ballast in one of the lights in an office caught fire and needed to be replaced. Mary Godwin, executive director of the EDO, helped work on a grant for new lighting. Glass said the new lights have also helped reduce the courthouse’s utility bill.

This year, he said, the county will need to buy a new grader. Before 2016 ended a county grader was being driven down a road and caught fire because of a short. The fire destroyed the piece of road equipment. Glass said the county will get about $45,000 from the insurance company to go toward the purchase of a replacement grader.

The county, he said, is looking for a grader with around 500 hours on its engine.

He reminds county residents the he may not be able to do all the projects he’d like, as money and weather will play a large part in what can be done.