Council informed of flood grants, houses being razed

PRESCOTT – Federal grants are available to improve drainage and prevent flooding, but the deadline to apply is Sept. 1.

This is what the Prescott City Council was told at its August meeting Monday. Mary Godwin, executive director of the Prescott-Nevada County Economic Development Office (EDO) told the panel if it’s interested in applying a special meeting will have to be called to approve applying because of the short turnaround time. This, she added, is a 75-25 grant with no limit on how much the city could apply for.

However, she added, the city needs to look at the number of grants it has and see which still need to be paid the city’s portion.

Perry Nelson, superintendent of the Prescott Water and Sewer Department, said these grants are for larger projects. The drainage in town, he added, has to go somewhere. He said the area behind McRae Park, the old Ford Place and Onion Creek need to be addressed, but these grants are for overlapping jurisdictions. Other areas in need of improved drainage, he said, are on Main Street and behind the old junk yard on Hwy. 24.

Godwin said she’s open to other suggestions and the city will need to have its 25 percent ready because an engineer will have to do cost estimates before the grant can be applied for. She said she’ll need to meet with City Accountant Carl Dalrymple to see where things stand with other grants.

She told the council the sales tax numbers are strong, but these grants will have to be done out of this year’s budget and could be paid for with the sales tax.

Members of the council suggested areas in residential areas of town needing drainage work, especially on Olive St. Nelson said this problem could be fixed by milling down the street and allowing the water to flow to the corners where it can drain properly, but such projects couldn’t be included in this grant.

She also talked about the need for area residents to apply for jobs with the U.S. Census Bureau for the upcoming census. Godwin said the county didn’t get a good count in the last census. One of the problems, she added, is people who applied are being called from a Chicago number concerning the jobs and aren’t answering their phones. When this happens, their applications are thrown in the trash. She urged those who applied to answer their phones when they see a Chicago number on screen.

Code Enforcement Officer Robbie Franks presented the council with printouts of what he’s done in the last month. He said crews are in the process of razing houses, with 22 on the list to be done this year. He added the Nevada County Landfill has stated it could handle them, but another pit may need to be dug. So far, he added, seven houses have been demolished.

The council approved a five-year contract with the Nevada County Ambulance Service, which includes a $20,000 annual stipend for the business. It was pointed out this is the same amount the county gives.

Nick Hibbs, owner of NCAS, said he’s been operating the service in Prescott for 15 years and crews have responded to around 1,100 calls already this year. He reminded the council the NCAS moved from the small building across from Hillcrest Nursing Home to its current location across from the Nevada County Extension Service, and has invested around $200,000 in improvements. The building has been renovated and a three-bay garage built for the ambulances.

Most of the ambulance crews, he said, are paramedics, though two are emergency medical technicians who are training to become paramedics at the University of Arkansas Community College at Hope (UACCH).

Hibbs said new ambulances have to be purchased every 14-18 months because of the wear and tear, and these cost $90,000 each. This is done to try and make sure the ambulances don’t break down in the middle of a call or on the way to or from a call. The NCAS, he added, participates in community events and a crew is at every home game. There are two full-time ambulances ready 24/7 with a third that can be called in if the others are on extended runs.

“I worry if we’re doing a good enough job,” he said.