There are 64 homes on Wildcat Road and Newtown that have sewer backup. Members discussed this is going to be big and nodded in agreement. Officials also discussed possibly something to be noted that would assure the job gets fully completed. Oliver said the city has to advertise the bids and get the contractors, which can take two to three months before they can start a project like this. Mayor Oliver said city residents will have to be patient as the construction will be on the city’s right a ways, the ditches, that are mostly along front yards of the homes.
Ward 2, Position 1 Justice of the Peace, Howard Austin spoke to the council on the backed-up rain systems drainage in the city. He said he wanted people to realize the system’s mainly only problematic when flash flooding occurs, which Howard noted, has happened a lot lately to the large amounts of rain. Said Austin, “People don’t realize we can have a flash-flood, normal ditches take care of the problem with average rain. Citizens need to realize the drainage is working but with a flash-flood , it’s just not going to handle it.”
A resolution was passed to apply for a grant to fund studies in the former Potlatch Mill. There’s a 16-acre mill pond behind it, according to Mayor Oliver. He said the city has to keep up with certain studies: a type of wetland study has to be done, a threatened and endangered species study, and then a FEMA study. Lastly, he said, a license survey for maps and geographical information has to be conducted. ”We show this 3 or 4 five times a year, so far no one has bought it, but we have had several companies that have been really interested,” the mayor said. The property appraised for over two million, according to Oliver. The grant through the Arkansas Economic Development Commission is $52,250, and we will only have to pay $2,500 of that. Potlatch went out of business in 2008. He said later the Dudley family bought it and auctioned everything they didn’t want in their mills, so after that they sold it to the city for $600,000. Oliver said the city wanted it in use whether it’s split into smaller businesses throughout the facility or one big company.
City Attorney Eric Hughes stood and told the board that he is working with the estates of properties at 1102 W. Main, 1026 W. Main and 530 Greenlawn, a burned house, and an old restaurant, and another structure that is dilapidated so they can be “torn down.”
