Monticello Live

The Monticello City Council heard a presentation from ETC Engineering and Architects, Inc. in its regular meeting April 23. Two representatives of the company presented conceptual designs of a new splash pad at Jordan Park, a new fire station and a new city hall building.

PLANS FOR SPLASH PARK-CITY COUNCIL-2009-04-23 from MonticelloLive on Vimeo.

According to Perry Carr of ETC, they loosely based the design on a splash pad in Paragould, Ark., which totals 4,000 square feet. As the splash pad will be the only water feature at Jordan Park, the designers doubled the design of Monticello’s splash pad to 15,000 square feet. The design presented to the council Thursday evening totals approximately $600,000 with everything included.

The conceptual design places the splash pad near the existing pavilion at Jordan Park. The design features a concrete slab with several water features enclosed by an ornamental fence, as well as a new pavilion and benches inside and outside of the fence. Carr said they like to start big and cut back.

ETC may cut the design down by 10 percent to fit the budget. This will allow for a 10,000 square feet facility, which would cost $450,000. The smaller design may have less water features, but Carr said it will still be the most significant stand-alone splash pad in the state.

According to the team, the age range spans from toddlers to 12 year olds. However, parents often join their children, and no other cities have set an age limit for their splash pads. Since the law does not require the city to have supervision at the water feature, some council members questioned the safety of the pad.

Carr said the pads are being built all over the country, and they have not heard of any serious injuries. The splash pad is painted with a slip-resistant paint to help reduce the possibility of accidents, though it is not foolproof. Carr provided the names and numbers of park directors in Paragould and Jonesboro, which have had splash pads in operation for 3-4 years, to discuss potential safety hazards and ways to address those issues.

The team also said the facility will have little maintenance and all the features have a long life span. In addition, they also said the splash pad is energy efficient, and is designed to reduce safety hazards such as water collecting around the pad.

The design features a closed-loop system that collects the used water, filters it through a sump, and recycles the water. The city will have to check the water levels and occasionally refill the system due to evaporation. The city will also have to check chlorine levels of the water everyday for sanitation purposes, but the costs of chlorine are relatively low on a yearly basis.

The facility is automated and energy sensitive, so it automatically shuts down when the last person leaves the pad. Maintenance in the winter is also minimal, as the facility can be completely drained and easily weather-proofed to prevent water from reentering and freezing.

The pad is made of concrete, and the amenities are made of brass, stainless steel and fiberglass, so all the components have a long life. The sanitation system usually lasts for 10 years. The city will receive warranties from the manufacturer of the components and the control system, as well as from the contractor. However, the warranties generally last for only 1-2 years.

“The cost of maintenance, installations and supervision are a lot less,” Carr said, “and it will be great for kids in the summer time.”

The mayor requested a comprehensive cost estimate in order to fit the allocated budget and know exactly what the design will include for the cost.

The ETC representatives also presented a conceptual design for a new fire station. Since the site of the new station has not yet been determined, the design is preliminary. The team will need to adapt it to the site and discuss the features with the council and fire chief. Though an accurate estimate will be difficult to make until the site is known, the designers estimated the costs at $850,000 to $1 million for a 10,000 square foot facility.

PROPOSED MONTICELLO FIRE STATION-2009-04-23 from MonticelloLive on Vimeo.

The current design features four truck bays, a large living quarter, three bedrooms, a basic office space, a training facility, and working room for such chores as hanging hoses to dry out. The design will blend in with the look of a residential neighborhood.

According to Monticello Economic Development Commission Executive Director Truman Hamilton, the MEDC has begun work compiling information for a grant application to fund the construction of a new central fire station. Under the FEMA grant opportunity through Title VI funds from Homeland Security, Monticello may qualify for up to an 80/20 match. Hamilton said they hope the grant comes available soon, as it is a “pretty substantial grant.”

PROPOSED MONTICELLO CITY HALL COMPLEX-2009-04-23 from MonticelloLive on Vimeo.

The ETC representatives also presented a preliminary conceptual floor plan for the new city hall building. According to Carr, this project has a long way to go due to budgeting reasons and needed input from the council. The facility will allow room to expand, and will provide more space for current operations.

In regular business, Hamilton presented the MEDC report, which included several updates on grants, appropriation requests and projects the commission is currently working on, including the county siren warning system, tree harvesting around Lake Monticello, and property inspections.

According to Hamilton, Congressman Mike Ross has requested several appropriations, which, if received, will total $15 million in funds that will directly benefit Drew County and Monticello. The Homeland Security Drew County Disaster Preparedness funding is set for a little over $366,000 for the county-wide siren warning system.

The MEDC has been working on funding the system. However, if they receive the appropriation money for the disaster preparedness funding, the siren system will be essentially free. The congressman’s appropriations requests also include funding for the Southeast Arkansas Intermodel Facility. According to Hamilton, the appropriation requests could provide $475,000 towards the facility. The MEDC has also applied for a $3.1 million grant, and Hamilton said the initial response from the funding agency has been positive.

Hamilton also provided an update on tree harvesting around Lake Monticello, which has recently stopped due to wet soil conditions and access problems. In order to address these access problems, Hamilton announced a 66-acre block of land for sale adjacent to the property on the northwest side

The property is privately owned, and is currently for sale for $150,000. The land currently has timber on it, which City Attorney Bill Daniels said includes 12-15 year old pine. Hamilton said the costs would be more expensive in the long run if they do not gain the needed access this property would provide.

“I believe it is in the best interest of the city to buy this property,” Hamilton said. “It will assure that we have a good access point to this entire compartment and cleanup the erratic property line.”

Mayor Rogers suggested checking the possibility of an easement first. An easement is the right held by one property owner to make use of the land of another property owner for a limited purpose. The land for sale currently does not have an easement.

In light of recent concern about a property on North Main Street, the council discussed the possibility of a zoning or planning ordinance to address such eye-sores in the community. There is currently no ordinance that allows the city to request a property owner repair or cleanup his/her property. Councilman Ray Hubbard said he has seen buildings in disrepair all around town and on main highways that the council has not addressed.

Attorney Daniels said discussion of a zoning ordinance has been difficult in the past, but needs a great deal of consideration. Daniels strongly recommended the council to consider some type of action before they face more situations like this.

City Clerk Andrea Chambers provided information on the upcoming 2010 Census. Census workers will soon be verifying addresses in neighborhoods, which will take approximately six to eight weeks to complete. According to Census Bureau Regional Director Dennis Johnson, address verification is a critically important step to assure that every housing unit receives a census questionnaire in March 2010.

Census workers will not be in uniform, but will have official identification. The workers may knock on doors to verify addresses and inquire about additional living quarters on certain premises. All information collected, including addresses, is kept confidential and protected by law. The Census Bureau cannot share respondents’ answers with any other government agency, court of law or law enforcement agency. In addition, all Census Bureau employees, including temporary workers, take an oath for life to keep census information confidential.

According to Johnson, census data helps inform the process of reapportioning seats to the U.S. House of Representatives. In addition, over $300 billion in federal funds is distributed every year to state and local governments based on census data.

In other business:

- Finance Director Kimberly Fletcher provided the Financial Report, which showed local sales tax receipts were down for March, but are up for the year-to-date. Fletcher said Monticello is doing well compared to other cities in the area.

- The council approved a resolution to accept bids for improvements at the Monticello Municipal Airport, including T-hanger access taxiway improvements and an agricultural operations access drive and staging area. The Arkansas Department of Aeronautics has approved and authorized the bid from Davis Development LLC of Monticello. The bid accepted was $65,000 under the engineer’s estimate, which will allow for more additions for the improvements.

- Kathy Hood with Tyson Foods said the company is starting another second-shift bus, which accommodates 35 passengers, to transport workers to the Pine Bluff plant. Tyson recently held interviews for additional employees at the Work Force Center.

- The MEDC has applied for a Farmers’ Market grant in the amount of $9,694 for this year’s operation. The amount would cover the cost of the market manager, advertising and temporary sanitary facility. The grant application has been received, though there is still no word on funding. According to Hamilton, for the past two years the Farmers’ Market grant requests have not been funded.

- Hamilton showed the council the new Tree City flag for Monticello. Wednesday, April 22, Jerry Lynn of the Arkansas Forestry Commission presented the city with road signs proclaiming Monticello as Tree City USA. Hamilton said, “It is only fitting, since we have a world-class forestry school, that we’re a tree city.”

- The MEDC plans to visit the 2009 development sites for the Ridgeway Project during the week of April 27.

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 25th, 2009 at 12:36 pm and is filed under City. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.