Date to begin repaving six Alexander streets unknown

According to City of Alexander Mayor Paul Mitchell officials from the Arkansas Highway and transportation Department (AHTD) have not released an estimated start date to repave six city streets. The only information he was able to provide at the monthly October council meeting was the dollar amount of the bid accepted by AHTD, $235,217.49.

Mitchell provided aldermen a copy of an E-mail he received from AHTD. The only information provided is the dollar amount of the winning bid. Mitchell was asked the name of the contractor because that information was also not included in the E-mail. He didn’t know.

As reported last week, according to a bid summary report AHTD awarded the project to Redstone Construction Group, Inc. of Little Rock. The bid of $235,217.49 is below the $250,000.00 allowed Alexander by AHTD. The only other bid was from Cranford Construction, Co. of North Little Rock at $295,220.53. Apparently, Mitchell was not provided a copy of that report.

Alderwoman Andrea Bearden asked for the name of the contractor and who will be monitoring the quality of the work. According to Bearden there were some quality issues with a similar project in Lonoke. Mitchell said he would have to ask about the contractor and how AHTD handles the final approval on these projects.

The streets to be repaved are Autumn Cove and that portion of Magnolia Glen that intersects Autumn Cove in St. Joseph’s Glen, Brookwood Road from Don Parker to the railroad tracks, all of Cornerstone, Kelli Place, and a portion of 2^nd Street. The funding for this project is being provided by the State Aid City Streets program.

Mitchell told council members because the remainder of the $250,000 is less than 10-percent ($25,000) under the maximum the city can add streets to the project without further approval from AHTD. He said he would like to use the remaining $14,782.51 on Don Parker Drive from Brookwood Road to the area near Rosewood Lane.

“They’re going to be right there on Brookwood anyway,” Mitchell said. “Part of the school bus route is Don Parker.”

Mitchell said he’ll have to find out how much it will cost to add that section of Don Parker.

He also wants to know what the contractor will charge to pave the road and parking lot at the city park off Highway 111. It’s currently all rock which washes away. He told the council there’s plenty of money in the park fund and once he gets a quote he’ll bring it to the council for approval. The park fund receives dedicated revenue from a portion of a one-percent sales tax.

The next regular meeting of the Alexander City Council will be held Monday, October 19 at 6 PM in the courtroom at city hall. The public is invited to attend.