RBIS approved for pipeline project

PRESCOTT – There must be something in the air or water making people unprofessional and discourteous.

During the November meeting of the Prescott City Council Monday night, members of the council began talking amongst themselves while being addressed by Mary Godwin, executive director of the Prescott-Nevada County Economic Development Office. Till then, the meeting had gone smoothly and without a hitch.

The meeting started with the council getting a report from Kiron Browning, with A.L. Franks Engineering of Texarkana, about bids for the water project from the river to the city’s water treatment plant. Browning told the panel there was a lot of interest in the project with 10 or 11 bids turned in. The low bidder, though, was RBIS, LLC with a bid of $2,134,331.

He included the deductive alternatives on the bid as well, saying they wouldn’t be needed as the bid came in under the projected cost of the project, $2,350,000. Browning said Franks has worked with them before and had no problem with them.

Perry Nelson, superintendent of the Prescott Water and Sewer Department, said he hasn’t worked with RBIS before and added the money for the projects is from a revolving loan account with the Arkansas National Resources Department financed through the sale of bonds the agency bought back. He reminded the council this project is to replace the 16-inch main running from the Little Missouri River to the treatment plant. The council approved the low bid.

Nelson continued, saying there’s been an issue with fluoride in the water. Fluoride, he told the council, is highly acidic and basically eroded the two pumps providing water to Prescott. The council, he said, voted to inject fluoride in the water years ago as there are proven benefits to the public to have fluoridated water. The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH), he added, approved of this.

Classes were taken on how to feed fluoride into the water system and the operation began. However, the method of feeding fluoride into the water resulted in the erosion of two high service pumps, which cost $50,000 to rebuild. The department figured this out after the second pump went down as the erosion was at the injection site where the fluoride was put into the system.

For now, he said, the department has stopped putting fluoride into the city’s water and would like to wait until the new pipeline project is completed before starting it up again. Nelson said he’s checked with the ADH and got the agency’s approval. In fact, he told the council, the ADH has grants for fluoride equipment the city can get later on. Once the new pipeline is completed, the city can go back to injecting fluoride into the water, but first needs to go through the ADH for the grants and a new method of injection.

Nelson pointed out the pumps in question are 14 years old, but should last 50-60 years under normal usage. He added the ADH requires fluoridation for communities serving 5,000 or more customers. Prescott, though, has around 4,300 customers. While not required, the ADH recommends fluoride being added to the water.

No action was needed from the council. Nelson pointed out this was to inform them of what’s going on. Still, the council agreed to stop adding fluoride until the new pipeline project is done.

City Attorney Glenn Vasser presented the council with a resolution for the electricity situation. The resolution, approved by the council, does three things. First, it approves hiring a new legal firm should the city decide to sue SWEPCO. It also allows attorney David Wilson to seek a 206 administrative remedy with the Federal Electric Regulatory Commission (FERC) and extend the statute of limitations involved. Third, it allows the mayor and two attorneys to handle any agreement needed.

Vasser said the statute of limitation is running out and something needs to be done. Mediation has been tried, he told the council, but SWEPCO has been less than agreeable. In fact, he said, several methods have been attempted, but SWEPCO has ignored them all. He reminded the panel Prescott’s biggest problem is with the pancaking charges (being double billed for transmission charges), which is costing the city up to $1 million a year in transmission fees.

There’s no downside for Prescott in taking this step, he said, but if SWEPCO continues doing nothing, these lawyers will be needed to help the community. Vasser said this is a time-sensitive situation, and Prescott could wind up suing SWEPCO. However, he added, there has been a settlement between SWEPCO and Minden, LA, who had a similar case against the electricity provider. The details of the settlement are not yet known.

Nobody had a problem with the resolution, but councilman Bobbie Brown asked if the city had to keep Wilson on as its attorney in the case. She said the city’s spent a lot of money with him and has nothing to show for it. Brown questioned the accuracy of Wilson’s billing as well.

Vasser said the city can change lawyers at any time, but needs to stick with Wilson until the 206 is filed as a new attorney wouldn’t have time to get up to speed and understand the case Prescott has. However, after the 206 is filed, he added, the city can change lawyers any time it likes. He pointed out the city may also decide to use federal and state courts in this situation as a means of getting SWEPCO’s attention. Or, he continued, a lawsuit and the 206 could be filed.

Godwin spoke to the council about a problem with a resolution concerning the Potlatch property. She said a company wants to locate there for 18-24 months and create 20-25 jobs. There is no problem with the company in question, but when going through the process with the state, the Arkansas Historical Preservation Agency said this section of Potlatch is on the Trail of Tears.

Godwin said a study was done on the facility in 2016 and the AHP gave clearance for the property’s use. Now, the agency’s saying there could be a problem with the parcel in question because of its historical significance.

At this point, members of the council began talking to one another and ignoring Godwin, who continued to speak. Godwin said the site has been approved by other state agencies, including the AHP in the past, and if it can get approved again, the new company would begin operation in January. She said the council may need to hold a special called meeting to address this.

Brown asked what it takes to be on the council’s budget committee, saying she wants to be a member and know how it works. She was told the committee is kept to three members of the council so the media doesn’t have to be notified when it meets. However, according to the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act, the media is to be notified of all meetings of any city or county committee.