Alexander council members were provided a list of new, or one-time, expenditures to be included in the 2027 budget. The list includes items for the General Fund, the Street Department, and Parks and Recreation.
Listed under the General Fund are proposed expenditures for, “HVAC Units for the 3 remaining cottages, HVAC unit at Community Center #1, New roofs for cottages, Brownfield grant expense of $500,000.00, Design plan expense of $100,000.00, Property signs,” and “Increase community engagement (classes, etc.).”
Mayor Crystal Herrmann told council members the HVAC units listed in the proposed budget are the same age as the ones that needed to be replaced this past summer.
“So we've already replaced two units this year,” she said. “So we're looking at three more units that are the same age of the ones that we just had this year that completely gave up. ... And then we're looking at the small community center.”
The “small community center.” referred to is Community Center #1. It’s located along Main Street in the Pulaski County portion of Alexander.
About the roofs needed for the cottages at the former Human Development Center (HDC) Herrmann said, “We're losing shingles every time the wind blows.”
Moving on to the burned out hospital building on the former HDC property, Herrmann said there’s been a rule change involving the funding. The grant applicant must now provide a 50/50 match and there is a funding cap.
“But the deal is, is now they've changed the funding for the Brownsville (Brownfield) cleanup,” Herrmann said. “Prior it was a zero match. And now the federal government is requiring a match, 50/50. 50/50 match and the only thing that they will supply is $500,000. So we would have to be able to match the $500,000. Meanwhile, the abatement, the abatement, the amount, I believe it came in close at like $900,000 just to abate the whole building.”
Herrmann and the city council have been attempting to acquire a Brownfield Grant in order to make the HDC property safe for development. The grant program is funded by the EPA. According to the EPA website, "A brownfield is a property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant." The expectation is the hospital building contains asbestos, lead paint and potentially other unknown hazards.
The HDC property, along Highway 111, was originally built as a tuberculosis sanitarium for African-Americans. Eventually it was converted into a home for adults with special needs that required care and training from professionals.
When the Arkansas Department of Human Services no longer had a use for the property it was deeded to Alexander in 2018. Under state law the property could not be sold to an individual. It could only be taken over by another government entity such as a municipality or county.
“I just want y'all to understand, that's not fixing it,” Herrmann added. “That's just cleaning out all the asbestos and the materials that are considered toxic.”
The goal is to eventually have it demolished and removed so the property can be developed for commercial use. The city failed to be approved in the 2026 cycle. Herrmann says the next submission cycle begins January, 2027.
Explaining what she means be, “Increase community engagement (classes, etc.)” Herrmann said, “And then I would like to put some funds aside for our general funds for increased community engagement. I think it's very important in my opinion that the citizens have alternatives in our own city, which they don't have to draw some of our ills for different activities. Maybe some senior classes or maybe some dance classes or that extra. Yes, some activities maybe for the kids this summer. Maybe a couple of art classes in the big community center. I mean, maybe we could host a good night. Yeah, and the night or we could give a lot of negative coverage and for the business stuff.”
Moving on to streets and parks the Mayor lumped two wish lists into one. The list includes, “Replacement of Dump Truck, Stormwater Expense/Planning, Overlays of streets, Replacement of corrected culverts, Street sign replacements, Benches and trash cans,” and “Comm(unity) Center #2 upgrades.”
“And then we've got stormwater expense and planning,” Herrmann began. “So we did receive our grant and had the flood study done on the West County fund. And we do have some suggestions for improvements as far as the flood study goes.”
Herrmann also wants the city’s unspent revenue to start earning interest.
“But for us to do the best that we can with our cash dollars, I think we need to make a little different for some of the funds and next month we'll have one of the representatives from over the First Security (Bank) because we have options if we go to put back a million dollars while we wait to see if we get this grant, or if we're being proven, we need to put that into a CD or something,” she began. “It needs to be, it needs to not just be sitting in that, that account. ... Yes, so where we have six months of our payroll, sitting there in case of emergency, we can walk that six months of payroll into a CD or money market account. Those are things that they put in the bank or the resident comes over. I think y'all would be interested in possibly what we would for me because I was thinking about the capital improvement line out of and we want to build that in this seems like an event while we are saving for the capital improvement. I was talking about the plan on what capital improvement we want to do first. Well then at least the money's not just sitting and depreciating in the bank account.”
Subdividing lots facing 3rd Street and Alexander Road approved
Each of the three lots had homes located on them. With the redrawn property lines, the lot that faces Alexander Road (8R) now has two residential structures on it. The plan is to sell that lot so a single home can be built there.
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