Company makes quick work of debris

The long loading arm of the Crowder Disaster Recovery truck grabs a pile of debris from the right-of-way on Sixth Street as part of the company's work in brush removal for the city. The Rector City Council has set the final date for brush pick-up as Monday, April 20. Residents are encouraged to have all their brush moved to the nearest right-of-way by that time.
(Democrat photo/Ron Kemp)

[Click to enlarge]

In fact, Crowder representatives have estimated the removal of 90 percent of brush brought to the rights-of-way for pick-up. Current estimates show that nearly 13,000 cubic yards of brush have been gathered and taken to the city's burn site by the company, to match a similar amount already hauled by the city crews.

The next stage for removal will take place in two weeks. Crowder will begin its second phase on Monday, April 20. This will allow residents more time to gather their brush along the rights-of-way in order to be eligible for removal. Residents are asked to have their brush in place by the end of Sunday, April 19. Any brush not in place by then will be the responsibility of the resident to have removed. Residents are asked not to place their brush piles under low-hanging wires, if feasible, as this creates a hazard when the debris is loaded.

"Right now, the town has been picked up," city superintendent Todd Watson said. "They've gathered most of the brush from the right-of-way. There are still a lot of limbs in people's yards. That's where the clean-up is going to focus next. We're asking everyone to have their limbs pulled out to the right-of-way by April 20th so Crowder can haul the debris away."

By giving residents two weeks to have their brush piles in place, the city hopes to make the effort a little easier for the people of Rector.

"That'll give people two weekends to move their piles to the right-of-way," alderman Cam Cate said. "I think that will give most people plenty of time to get things squared away."

The number of trees on city property with dangerous limbs is expected to be considerably more than was initially estimated by the Army Corps of Engineers. Solid Resources, the company contracted by the city to monitor the clean-up process, has separated the town into seven zones. So far, all the qualifying trees in three zones have had their hanging limbs trimmed. Ahmed Itayem, the project manager for Solid Resources, told the Rector City Council during Monday night's meeting 268 trees have been trimmed. The Army Corps of Engineers estimated the number of trees with hanging limbs which met the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) guidelines at 281. Itayem said Solid Resources has worked with FEMA in the past, and he assured the council all the trees which have been trimmed meet the specific guidelines set forth.

When Crowder returns on April 20, the company expects to have all the remaining debris removed within five days. Crowder will likely bring seven or eight large trucks to haul the brush to the city's burn site to make the work go faster.

The city's initial Project Worksheet has been signed by FEMA officials. The documents approve the work already done, and ordered, by the city. The paperwork approves the city for estimated work costs up to $470,000, although the final total will be less than that. Only documented work by the city or the contractor will be reimbursed.

With the total clean-up project considerably past halfway through, the cost has been nearly $16,000 for monitoring services and $62,514 for Crowder's trimming and removal. These amounts, coupled with the cost for brush hauled by the city, should fall well below the amount approved by FEMA.

"Everything is in good shape there," mayor Ron Kemp said concerning meeting FEMA's standards. "We kind of weaved our way through it, but I think it's gone about as well as can be expected."

Bridge On Sixth Street

Mark Watson of Watson Construction Company updated the council on the work being done on the concrete bridge on Sixth Street. Watson said the project is expected to be finished within a month's time.

Car Wash On Highway 49

Mark and Jodie Watson also discussed their intent to purchase the carwash property along Highway 49 from the Magness Oil Company. The Watsons provided a signed copy of the contract for the property, which was signed late Friday night.

The couple expressed their intent to restore the carwash to working order. First, though, they said they will make the necessary repairs to the site's damaged exterior, eliminating the potentially dangerous hole in the outer wall. The car wash has long been a concern of the council, primarily to the potential danger of its damaged exterior.

"We're just as anxious to get this taken care of as you guys are," Jodie Watson told the council.

NewWave Status

Ed Gargas, the regional general manager of the city's cable provider, NewWave Communications, met with the council to offer an update on the status of local services. Gargas said the company has all their services "back up and running." Gargas further said that, if any residents have any remaining problems with their services, the problems were isolated issues and would be taken care of once NewWave was notified.

"We want to make ourselves available to the community," Gargas said. "If there's a problem, please let us know and we'll do our best to make it right."

Gargas was asked by Kemp about the availability of Channel 7 from Little Rock on NewWave's cable package. Gargas said NewWave had been in contact with the station, but no headway had been made, due to the station requesting a "premium" charge for the inclusion of their programming. Channel 7 features exclusive Arkansas Razorback telecasts and statewide news which local viewers have not been able to receive from NewWave.

Community Appreciation Banquet

Kemp told the council the Chamber of Commerce is planning to make its annual banquet a Community Appreciation Banquet to honor all the emergency officials, community volunteers and city employees who worked diligently during the ice storm.

Kemp said the event would likely be a fish fry dinner with entertainment. Kemp also said the event would be free to those in the aforementioned groups. The event, still in the planning stages, is scheduled to take place April 30 at the Rector Community Center.

In keeping with the goal of recognizing the hard work done by so many throughout the community, meeting attendee Robert Plant added his approval of the entire effort, saying to the council, "As a citizen of Rector, I feel you really need to be complimented on the way you handled everything during the ice storm."

The council voiced their appreciation of Plant's compliment, and noted the efforts put forth by hundreds of local residents and workers.

In other business, the council:

* Heard from police chief Glenn Leach the Rector Police Department had issued 12 citations for the month. Leach also said his department had sent three letters for five vehicles which did not meet city codes.

* Tabled discussions on Ordinance 461. The council will continue to discuss the matter during next month's meeting. The ordinance deals with allowing a residence in a downtown business. The discussion had previously turned toward whether or not residence-only buildings would be allowed in the downtown district.

* Heard from Kemp that part-time Economic Development employee Cyndi Corkran will resign at the end of the month. Kemp said the city will be hiring Tracy Cobbs in Corkran's place. This will not affect the current budget. The city is currently working on a grant which would cover both Cobbs' salary and the cost of the Life Skills Class she will be teaching at the NEAITC.

* Agreed to meet at 6 p.m. next Monday to review bids for repairs at the airport.

* Heard from Kemp the city is attempting to receive stimulus money for use in resurfacing city streets. According to superintendent Watson, the program is available to only those cities which have a population less than 5,000.

* Approved the minutes from both the regular March meeting and the March 23 special meeting.