Consultants hired to help with electric bills

By John Miller, 02/23/22 4:30 PM

PRESCOTT – Prescott’s City Council voted to hire a consultant to help the city deal with the exorbitant electric bills from 2021.

This was done at the February council meeting Monday night with nFront Consulting being retained to work on the city’s behalf. Prescott Mayor Terry Oliver told the council there is a cap on how much the consulting firm can spend, $20,000. He said the city has worked with this firm before and it did a good job.

City Attorney Glenn Vasser agreed, saying there’s still disparity in the bill Prescott received from SWEPCO last year and the city needs someone knowledgeable in engineering to look at how SWEPCO handled the storm and prepared for it. Prescott, he continued, needs solid data that could become part of the litigation. He pointed out this is a task-oriented contract and the city can cancel at any time.

Larry Jones, Jr., said the city has used nFront before with it was adjusting the utility bills and got good results from them when the firm helped restructure the city’s billing process.

Vasser chimed in saying he thinks it all comes down to establishing a plausible argument the cost is more than it should  have been so a reasonable agreement can be reached. He added the city is also disputing this bill on the state and federal level in court and has a Federal Emergency Regulatory Commission (FERC) ruling pending. He continued, saying the city is preparing all alternatives  so it can show the groundwork has been laid if Prescott has to refinance a bond issue in the future. “We’re trying to lay the groundwork for all the alternatives we have. I wish I could say it was easy, but it’s not.”

The council also approved a resolution for a lease agreement for a section of the Potlatch property. No Way Pulpwood is currently leasing part of the property, but is entering into a venture with Allstate Land and Timber of Louisiana and needs more area to work with. The plan is for Allstate to set up a chipping operation to chip the timber brought in by No Way Pulpwood haulers and shipped to Valiant, OK. Currently, No Way is paying $1,500 a month for its lease on 16 acres and is asking to double the property to 32 acres. This will create three new jobs, according to Mary Godwin, executive director of the Prescott-Nevada County Economic Development Office. Allstate, she said, will be under No Way’s lease and the agreement calls for these companies to clean up when they leave. The companies, under the agreement, also have to keep the gate locked and bring in no hazardous materials.

Vasser said the agreement is pretty vanilla and provides the city with a lot of protection. He pointed out the city can show the property to a prospect at any time and there’s no downside to the city.

The lease will be doubled to $3,000 a month.

In other business, Jamie Hillery, executive director of the Prescott-Nevada County Chamber of Commerce, said community coffees will be starting up next month as people are all right with gathering again. The first will be March 8 at the Nevada County Library, sponsored by OYEA, and be from 9:30-11 a.m. The next coffee will be the Rotary Club’s coffee on March 31, also at the library from 9:30-11. Other March evens include the Kiwanis Club’s chili luncheon on March 3 from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church, and a pageant fundraiser at the Potlatch Building on March 19.

Hillery said the Chamber Banquet had to be rescheduled to April 7 and will be at the Prescott Junior High School cafeteria, adding a few seats are still available as this has more seating.

She concluded reminding the panel the Eighth Annual Crawfish Boil is scheduled for April 22 and will be from 4-7 p.m. The prices remain the same at $10 for a small plate, $20 for a large plate, and $22 a pound for boiled and peeled shrimp. Tickets are available at the Chamber office or by calling 870-887-2101.

Bids for mowing city property were approved, though only one bid was submitted. Mary Colbert got the bid at $325 per mowing, which is up from $290 last year. City property was mowed 14 times in 2021, Godwin said and, with the increase, will cost $490 more to be done this year.

The council was given copies of the updated zoning information and told to study it, making changes where needed and marking sections where more information is needed. The council will met in April to discuss it, though no date was set.

In talking about cleaning up, Godwin said L.J. Earnest has property on Webb Street he’s willing to give to the city. The land was initially bought for the overpass. She said a section of land on Whiteside is also grown up and a check of the records show it is also owned by Earnest, who said the city could have it as well. Vasser told the council making the change will be no problem as he only needs to add the Whiteside property to the agreement. The council agreed to accept both properties.

Godwin reminded the council to fill out the broadband survey if the members haven’t done it yet, as the company involved is hoping to wrap it up in the next three weeks. The purpose of the survey, she continued, is to show how the community is under-served when it comes to internet access. She added a broadband company has opened across from the old city hall, South Central Connect, but it’s for residents outside Prescott and covers the county. South Central Connect is part of the South Central Electric Cooperative, she said.

Larry Jones, Jr., pointed out this broadband company didn’t apply for a loan to include Prescott as the city has other suppliers, but this could change. Now, he told the council, it’s a waiting game.

Godwin returned to the topic of cleaning up the city, saying her office has around 10 houses on a list to be razed this year. The electric department is checking to make sure none have electricity, while the natural gas provider is doing the same. She said the hopes are to begin demolishing these houses next month.

The question was raised about getting a new code enforcement officer. Prescott Mayor Terry Oliver said it will be considered if the right person comes along.

The meeting ended with City Clerk Robert Loe tendering his resignation. Loe has served the city for approximately 20 years as a fireman, member of the council and clerk. His resignation will be effective March 31.

Resident may have noticed the “Make it Better” sign on city hall.  Oliver, after the meeting, said he and Godwin found an old metal sign at Potlatch with this legend on it and he decided to have signs made for all city-owned buildings as a way to inspire city employees and residents to work and make Prescott a better place to live.