JP's discuss county's role in regional development effort

Clay County's involvement in the Northeast Arkansas Regional Intermodal Facilities Authority (NARIFA) may not be a foregone conclusion. The organization, founded with the goal of bringing a Fortune 200 industry to the area, has been attempting to develop a location near the Walnut Ridge airport in the hope of attracting a major corporation and bringing new jobs to the area.

First approached in August 2009, the court showed interest in the organization at the time.

Since then, however, there has been little contact and almost no discussion of the matter by the court. During last Tuesday's meeting at the county courthouse in Piggott, justice Dennis Haines told fellow court members he had been approached by an unnamed representative of the organization who inquired about the county's annual membership payment of $11,500. Haines said he told the representative he did not believe the court had authorized membership in NARIFA and that the matter would need to be discussed during the meeting.

"My understanding was that they (NARIFA representatives) were supposed to come back and go over that with us again," justice Greg Ahrent of Corning said. "They didn't ever do that."

Members of the court expressed an interest in learning more about the organization.

"I'm not opposed to it in principle, but I want to be convinced it will help us before we kick in $9,000, $10,000 or $11,000 a year," said justice David Cagle.

After discussing the matter, the court asked justice Haines to contact the organization to ask that a representative attend the next Quorum Court meeting, slated to be held at the county courthouse in Corning beginning at 7 p.m. on Feb. 15.

Historic Fencing

Larry Holifield of the Clay County Genealogical and Historical Society (CCGHS) discussed the possibility of gathering sections of what he believes to be original fencing which once surrounded the original county courthouse. Holifield said he found portions of the cast iron fence at the Dragonfly Antiques store in Piggott. He said the store's owner has agreed to donate the fence portions to the CCGHS.

Holifield suggested using the eight sections to make a pathway to another CCGHS project, an historic marker featuring the names of the county's first elected officials. Holifield believes donors would be willing to do the concrete work needed to set the fence portions in place, but said any work likely would take place in the summer.

While Holifield believes the fence is the same which encircled the courthouse until the late 1930s to early 1940s, he said he can't be 100 percent sure. He listed photographic evidence as the main supporting detail in his belief.

The court approved Holifield's request to move ahead with the project.

Sheriff's Department

Clay County Sheriff Gerald McClung gave the court a brief update on his department. McClung noted the continued fiscal effectiveness of housing prisoners for other departments. Since the end of 2009, the sheriff's department has accrued $390,926, with more than $190,000 of that amount coming from the working agreement with the Paragould Police Department.

McClung also asked the court to allow the employees of his department to carry over their compensation time, although it currently is higher than the established maximum amount allowed. McClung said his employees have significantly cut down their accrued comp time compared to recent years. He expects to have the comp time in his department scaled down to the appropriate levels during the course of 2010.

Road Department

County Judge Gary Howell advised the court he had declared a disaster following the holiday rains in December. The flooding caused damages to many county roads, requiring extra work for county crews in order to make repairs. Judge Howell said he expects to receive either federal or state assistance. Federal assistance would be preferable, he said, since it would cover 75 percent of the estimated $200,000 in damages, as opposed to the 35 percent offered by the state.

In other business, the court:

* Appointed Mike Hill of Greenway to the district three position of justice of the peace.

* Approved court orders 2010-07 and 2010-08, allowing for the disposal of obsolete library equipment.

* Appointed justice Cagle as a delegate to the Arkansas Quorum Court Association.

* Approved the minutes from the December meeting.

* Heard from treasurer Carolyn Morrisett the county purchased a nine month certificate of deposit in the amount of $100,000 at a rate of 2.05. County general now has $496,869.66 in CDs.