Monticello Live

The Southeast Arkansas Regional Intermodal Authority met on July17, 2013 in the Bradley County Economic Development Board Room in Warren, AR with 24 people present.

Here are the results of that meeting, as reported by SalineRiverChronicle.com.

According to SalineRiverChronicle.com, The Southeast Arkansas Intermodal Authority conducted a called meeting Friday, April 5 at the offices of the Bradley County Economic Development Commission.  

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The Southeast Arkansas Intermodal Authority met Wednesday with engineers and the involved funding entities.

Here is the report from SalineRiverChronicle.com.

The board of the Intermodal Facility met last week to cover several items, including…..

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Last week, Commercial Bank, Union Bank, and First State Bank of Warren, jointly approved a $1 million loan to the Southeast Arkansas Intermodal Facility board, in order for them to pay past due bills to contractors, until government grants are received.

SalineRiverChronicle.com has more on the story.

For more background on the issue, click here.

The meeting was contentious from the onset as the board immediately went into a discussion of cash flow issues and the fact that numerous bills are past due including one from T&T Construction in the amount of $278,000.00. Mr. Tracy Rawls, owner of T&T was present and indicated he had pulled off the job pending being paid. He indicated he had borrowed a substantial amount of money to cover his costs while waiting upon payment from the Authority. Mr. Rawls stated that he wanted to be exempt from liability for the work he has completed should there be substantial rain before he can complete more work. There is a danger that repairs could be costly.

Click here to read the full story on SalineRiverChronicle.com

The Southeast Arkansas representative delegates presented a $7,500.00 check to the Southeast Arkansas Intermodal facility to help defray cost to Drew county and Bradley County.

The presentation was held Tuesday, at the Intermodal site on Hwy 278 West.

David Dempsey of the Southeast Arkansas Economic Development District received the checks from Representatives Sheilia Lampkin, Jeff Wardlaw, and Eddie Cheatham.

Report by combined staffs of MonticelloLive and SalineRiverChronicle.com.

The Southeast Arkansas Regional Intermodal Authority met in Monticello on February 15, 2012. The board reviewed the financial statement and bills paid and owned.

Action was taken on bids received Tuesday, February 14, 2012 for water and sewer line installation on the Intermodal site located on Highway 278 just east of Wilmar. The companies submitted low bids on various portions of the project: (more…)

Last week, the first project of the Intermodal Facility, it’s access road, was dedicated in a public ceremony, attended by more that 50 business and political leaders and representatives from around the area.

The intermodal facility, set up under act 690 of 1999, is designed to unite regional entities, like the cities of Monticello and Warren and Drew and Bradley Counties, to work together to facilitate economic development.

The most important phrases included in the ceremony were “team effort” and “persistence and patience.”

John Lipton, chairman of the intermodal facility board, was not aware until the dedication that the access road was being named in his honor.

The full project encompasses 354 acres.

U.S. Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor and U.S. Representative Mike Ross have announced that the Southeast Arkansas Regional Intermodal Authority, made up of the Cities of Monticello and Warren, and Drew and Bradley Counties, will receive a $1.9 million grant from the Economic Development Administration under the U.S. Department of Commerce to construct water and sewer infrastructure for a new industrial park outside Monticello. 

The funds will be used to construct water and sewer infrastructure for the new industrial park, which will support new and expanding industries. The project is expected to create 40 jobs and leverage $5 million in private investment. (more…)

It was announced at a recent Intermodal Authority meeting,  that SeaArk Marine has agreed to sign a “letter of intent” with the intermodal authority, which may eventually lead to the Monticello boat manufacturer re-locating to the new industrial site, just west of Monticello, across from the sports complex.

The intermodal authority has applied for a grant from the Economic Development Administration (EDA), and one of the requirement for further consideration is a promisory “letter of intent” from an industry that would become a part of the facility. This part of the process of finalizing the grant process will hopefully lead to funding by EDA. (more…)