City preparing to prioritize capital projects

A draft list of unfunded capital projects presented to the Hot Springs Board of Directors earlier this month totaled almost $50 million, doubling the total from the list a committee developed in 2010.

The city plans to appoint a new committee to prioritize the projects. City Manager Bill Burrough told the board it first needed to adopt a resolution endorsing the list.

The draft list included $2.5 million for a fire station south of the King Expressway, a need the city said was first identified in 1989. The need has grown more urgent as the city has expanded south. Annexations in 2016 and 2018 added about 1,000 acres to the incorporated area. The station at Lakeshore Drive and Panama Street is the farthest south.

“At some point in time in the very near future, we plan to make a formal presentation on that,” Fire Chief Ed Davis said at Wednesday’s Civil Service Commission meeting.

Some of the needs identified in 2010 have been funded, such as the 105foot tilled aerial ladder truck that will provide fire protection for multistory buildings. Last year the board approved a $2 million contract for a new ladder truck that will replace a 1995 model. Amendment 78 financing is paying for the new truck, the cost of which is being amortized over five years as part of the $2.95 million in debt-financed 2021 capital expenses.

The draft list presented earlier this month included $3.2 million to replace two engines and a truck.

Burrough told the board some items on the draft list could be absorbed by operating budgets, such as the police department’s handgun replacement program and additional license plate reading cameras, but an armored recovery vehicle, $300,000, and armored rescue vehicle, $280,000, would require additional funding.

The city said it’s having trouble finding parts for the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected, or MRAP, vehicle it purchased from the U.S. Department of Defense in 2014. Burrough said two armored vehicles may not be necessary.

“We may just need one,” he told the

board at its Aug. 6 goals and priorities workshop. “We do have to have some type of secure vehicle for our SWAT team. If we can’t use the MRAP, we have to have something. We can’t send them out there in a Tahoe.”

The 2010 list estimated a $1.75 million cost to demolish the old St. Joseph’s Hospital complex on the campus of the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts. The draft list presented earlier this month estimated a $3.5 million cost, which the city has said may actually be closer to more than $4 million.

A nonbinding commitment the city entered into with the school in 2010 requires the former to demolish the main hospital building and its Pine Street wing after receiving ASMSA’s notice to vacate. The school told the board earlier this year that it expected to vacate the complex by 2024.

The $2 million the city set aside to raze and abate the hospital complex notwithstanding, the demolition project represents one of its largest unfunded liabilities.

Airport

The draft list included more than $6 million in unfunded needs at Hot Springs Memorial Field, including $500,000 to remodel the interior of the airport terminal. Deputy City Manager Lance Spicer told the board the Federal Aviation Administration doesn’t provide funds for terminal repairs.

“The farther you get away from the runway, the less money there is,” he said.

The draft list estimated a $3 million cost to demolish the World War II-era community hangar and replace it with a new hangar and fixed based operator. An FBO is a terminal for private aircraft.

“The clientele we get from Oaklawn and the people coming for their second homes, they’re used to a certain style of offerings,” Spicer told the board. “That’s something that’s always brought up. If you make your space a little nicer it could probably add some traffic to the area.”

Sports recreation

The $1.5 million for a 12-court pickle ballpark at the old Greenwood Elementary School was the highest cost item in the $4.2 million of unfunded sports recreation needs. Burrough told the board the park would have lights, bathrooms, a playground and ample parking.

“If we had a facility like this, we would have some major tournaments coming here,” he said. “Twelve courts isn’t a lot, but it’s enough to have a league and bring others in. It’s the fastest growing sport in the United States.”

The draft list included $900,000 for new soccer turf at Kimery Park, but Burrough recommended doing away with soccer there and building more soccer fields at Linden Park. He told the board Kimery Park gets crowded when soccer and softball games are played simultaneously.

“We have so many people out there it’s not conducive to both sports,” he said. “We have a great facility we can use at Linden.”

Burrough said the park has enough room for a second regulation-sized field and several youth fields.

“We have a brand new bathroom, and we’re putting in a playground,” he said.

The list included $750,000 to install LED lights at Linden and Kimery parks. Burrough said a charity he’s been talking to expressed interest in donating lights to the parks.

Utilities

Burrough said a wholesale replacement of meters across the regional water system’s 145-square-mile service area is needed. The list he presented earlier this month estimated a $12 million cost to replace the more than 30,000 meters.

He said the current meters are close to 13 years old but retain a high book value because their expense was allocated over too long of a time frame.

“The issue we have is getting them booked at the wrong life span,” he said. “Those should’ve come on the books somewhere around a 10-year life span, but they were placed on a 20-year depreciation schedule.”

Burrough said a low-interest, revolving loan from the state Natural Resources Commission could pay for the meter replacement.