The Alexander City Council tabled three agenda items to be dealt with at a future meeting. The three items are a request by a developer to approve a connection to the Little Rock sewer system, selecting a bid to install a fire alarm system at city hall and approving the lone bid to repair the water fountain at the City Park. The council meeting was held Monday, April 17.
The Cottages at Meadow’s Edge Tabled
Grobmyer says before he begins drawing plans for the subdivision he wants to verify the city will approve the connection. He doesn't want to spend the time and money making plans and then learn later the council won't approve the connection to the LRWRA system.
Part of the council's calculation in that decision involves a maximum limit on how much sewage flow LRWRA is allowing Alexander. The maximum amount is 750 Gallons Per Minute per day. Currently, North Alexander is producing 300GPM.
St. Joseph's Glen has already been approved to transfer its connection from a privately operated sewer plant to the LRWRA lines. Making the switch has been held up by legal issues, but once the connection is made it is estimated to add another 139GPM, increasing the 300GPM to 439GPM. That leaves 311GPM to finish developing the rest of North Alexander and connect the proposed development to the system.
The Cottages at Meadow’s Edge (the current working title) will consist of two-story townhouses built across Highway 111 from the entrance to Meadow's Edge. The plan is for 150 rental units; grouped into buildings consisting of two to five attached units.
"What we're proposing is 150 town homes," Grobmyer said. "So it's not apartments, it's not section eight. ...
It is not government housing. It is market rate product that we plan to build. To develop, to hold long term as an investment to provide a rental, a nice rental product for this community."
The first option for the sewer connection is to connect to a sewer line that runs along Highway 111 between the former Alexander Human Development Center and the LRWRA lines. The issue there is it must be inspected first to determine if it can be used. If it passes inspection Grobmyer said LRWRA will accept ownership and maintain the line.
"Little Rock Water Reclamation would be the group that would service the sewer and would actually own the sewer and who our development would actually pay to for the sewer service," Grobmyer said.
At this point Grobmyer asked who he needed to talk to from St. Joseph's Glen concerning a possible second option. Ironically, Chris and Tonya Prowse were present at the council meeting. They have both been involved in getting the subdivision connected to the LRWRA system.
Speaking to the Prowses, Grobmyer said, "Our option B would be we have the ability to gravity feed with our pump station through St. Joseph's Glenn to where you all ultimately are going to have to put your own pump station in and your new service line that runs up by the railroad to tie into the new (connection), I think it's a twelve inch line, in the city."
"If we were to split that cost with you all for the pump station and for the main that you all have to build to tie onto, is that something that you all would be open to?" he asked.
Tonya Prowse explained that St. Joseph's Glen's original plan was to connect to the same sewer line that's along Highway 111.
"We were told that we could not" (by LRWRA), she said.
They then developed a second path which takes their new sewer line along the railroad tracks to the LRWRA sewer line at Vine Street in North Alexander, doubling the cost.
Prowse said, "So it's kind of upsetting that you (Grobmyer) could possibly get the green light over us because the distance is much shorter" (to Highway 111).
Council members voted to table the issue again to give Grobmyer and St. Joseph's Glen representatives time to discuss which option to pursue. It was noted a special meeting can be scheduled before the next regular May meeting if necessary.
Fire Alarm System Quotes Tabled
The bids range from $9,800.00 to $12,625.00. To add complexity to the issue, apparently each vendor was allowed to decide what the building needs and how many of each item is needed. So, it's not a straight forward comparison.
American Fire Protection Group, Inc., from North Little Rock, has the high bid of $12,625.00 for the alarm system, $325.00 for five fire extinguishers and one year of monitoring for $660.00. Bid specifications include,
1 - Fire Alarm Control Panel;
1 - Wireless Communicator;
20 - Smoke Detectors;
5 - Pull Stations;
6 - Heat Detectors;
6 - Horn/Strobe Notification Devices, Ceiling Mount;
9 - Strobe Only Notification Devices, Ceiling Mount;
Batteries;
Lot of FPLP Cable;
Program and Testing;
5 - 2.5lb Fire Extinguishers; and
1 Year of Monitoring.
Alarmtec Systems, in Sherwood, has the second lowest bid at $11,000.00. Bid specifications include,
1 - Remote Annunciator;
10 - Smoke Detectors;
3 - Pull Stations;
5 - Horn/Strobe Notification Devices, Wall Mount;
6 - Strobe Only Notification Devices, Wall Mount; and
1 lot - Labor, Cable, Programming and Testing.
State Systems, Inc., in Conway, is the low bidder at $9,800.00 for the, "Installation of an EST Fire Alarm System w/ Monitoring. Cellular Monitoring Charge Per Year Following $500.00." Bid specifications include,
8 - Addressable Smoke Detectors;
2 - Addressable Heat Detectors;
10 - Standard Smoke Base;
6 - Ceiling Horn/Strobe;
4 - Ceiling Strobe;
2 - Duct Detector;
2 - Addressable Relay Module;
3 - Address Pull Station;
1 - Addressable Fire Panel;
1 - Remote Annunciator;
1 - Programming;
1 - Testing/Certification; and
1 - Training.
Quote to Repair Fountain in City Park Tabled
Anyone following the saga of the city park knows there is a dispute over ownership of the eastern end near Highway 111. After the city made improvements to that end of the park, which includes not only the fountain but the gazebo and lights, Little Rock resident David Jacks claimed it is his property. A title search indicated after the property was donated to the city by its previous owner, the eastern end may have been accidentally sold to Jacks. Hence, the confusion by city officials.
Former Mayor Paul Mitchell first attempted to settle the dispute, but most of the negotiating was between Mitchell and himself, since Jacks refused to respond to any offers. Based on two independent assessments, Mitchell offered Jacks $68,000.00 for the 2.13-acre parcel near the end of 2022.
Jacks did finally contact Herrmann, after she became Mayor in January, and at the March council meeting both Herrmann and Attorney Lana Fraser, who is handling the case for the city, updated the council on a proposal by Jacks. Essentially, he was willing to accept the $68,000.00 offer if he could also have it documented as a donation for tax purposes. Herrmann said she told him he can't donate the property to the city and be paid the $68,000.00.
As of the April 17 council meeting there has been no response from Jacks after the city filed an Eminent Domain case in Saline County Circuit Court on March 22. Along with the filing the city deposited a $68,000.00 check with the Circuit Court.
Council Member Juanita Wilson presented council members and Herrmann with an Email from Fraser explaining that the city has ownership of the property.
"She sent it to me today and it shows that we have possession of the park," Wilson said. "(A)ll we're waiting on now, they're waiting on now, is for him to answer the subpoenas and we are able to go ahead and get the repair work done."
According to the filing posted on Arkansas Judicial, Judge Brent D. Houston, 22nd Circuit, Division 3, has already made a ruling on the Eminent Domain claim.
His ruling states, "After the City deposits $68,000 into the registry of the Court, the City and its agents or contractors may take immediate possession of the property described in the City of Alexander’s Complaint filed on March 22, 2023, and may enter upon the lands in controversy and proceed with its operation, construction, maintenance, and ensure safety for the public park. Ark. Code Ann. §18-15-303(b)(2)."
Based on the Email from Fraser, Wilson said Jacks has not responded to the court's subpoenas.
"If he doesn't do that (respond) by Wednesday (April 19), they're going to send a process server to him," Wilson said. "If he doesn't answer that, then they will turn it back over to the judge and the judge will then adjudicate what he will get out of the money."
According to Wilson the question is no longer whether the city owns the property, the question now is whether Jacks wants the $68,000.000, or does he want nothing.
As for repairing the fountain, finding someone in Arkansas who works with marble, and can make it waterproof, is not easy. The fountain must be disassembled, the repairs made, and then reassembled making it watertight.
Wilson said she and council members Harold Timmerman and Tony Staton contacted several marble installers and only one is equipped to repair a marble fountain.
"And basically, there are a lot of people that install marble and tiles but not a lot of people that repair something like that," Wilson said.
McElroy Tops and Floors from Benton submitted a bid of $47,000.00. Wilson said that does not include the cost of materials.
"And then what they're going to do, I was told, is to have us pay for the materials over at ... Daltile in North Little Rock, which they will give us their discount so we don't have to pay taxes to McElroy," Wilson said. "And then we just go pick up the materials that we're ordering with a check. And then that will discount the cost to us anywhere from two hundred and Fifty dollars to three hundred and fifty dollars more."
"I wish you would have visited with me a little bit because we have a department head," Mayor Crystal Herrmann said. "I could have had Dave (Durham) work on quotes for this and I could have visited with you. I actually did years of waterproofing historical restorations and included fountains all over the country."
"So I wish I would have had time to visit with you about this because if this is something that we could do in-house, we could save the city a lot of money," Herrmann said.
"We can't do it in-house," Wilson said.
"We do have the capability to do it in-house," Herrmann responded. "We have equipment and we have employees."
"And David has already agreed to do part of the work to help us," Wilson replied. "That's what's saving us."
"And it's still going to cost us this much," Herrmann said in shock.
Days after the meeting Wilson explained that the street department has the equipment to lift and move the marble sections. The equipment will be used to help McElroy dismantle and reassemble the fountain.
Unlike other projects, funding the repair of the fountain is not an issue. The Parks and Recreation Department is financed through a dedicated quarter-cent city sales-and-use tax. When the ownership of the property became an issue, former Mayor Paul Mitchell stopped all planned improvement projects until it was solved. Since then, the account has been accumulating unspent revenue.
Council members voted to table the quote allowing time for more study.
The next regular meeting of the Alexander City Council is Monday, May 15, 6:00PM in the court room at the Alexander Municipal Complex. The public is invited to attend.
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