Resources panel approves project loans
The Arkansas Natural Resources Commission on Wednesday approved $8.8 million in loans and $4.7 million that won’t have to be paid back.
The loans went to water and wastewater utilities throughout the state.
The funds are in addition to a $51.4 million loan to Little Rock’s wastewater utility, also approved Wednesday.
Commissioners also approved de-obligating $2 million in a loan to Star City, which opted for another funding source or method, said Mark Bennett, the commission’s water development division manager.
Approvals included $8.4 million for a sewer line from West Fork to Fayetteville. The city’s wastewater utility has sewage ponds that are not meeting state requirements. A few big rains could cause them to overflow, and the water could eventually flow to Beaver Lake, Bennett said. Beaver Lake supplies drinking water to more than 400,000 people in Northwest Arkansas.
The commission will provide a $4.5 million loan to West Fork in Washington County that will be immediately forgiven. A $3.5 million loan also will pay for the sewer line and pump station, and a $412,000 loan will secure rights of way for the sewer line.
On Wednesday, some commissioners questioned why a city in the growing Northwest Arkansas region would need a $4.5 million loan with principal forgiveness.
West Fork is not as affluent as the rest of Washington County, Bennett said, and sewer bills will already rise to $70 per month.
“This is not the normal Northwest Arkansas community,” he said.
West Fork had grown to more than 2,500 people as of 2016, according to U.S. Census Bureau population estimates. More than a quarter of the residents have incomes below the poverty line.
Commissioners also debated whether to increase funding to Helena-West Helena by $700,000 for a drinking water project now costing $4.2 million. The project will in part be paid for through energy savings from a solar farm, Bennett said.
Commissioner Bruce Leggett questioned whether the city’s new mayor, who will be determined in a runoff, would want to continue the project pushed by the outgoing mayor. Bennett said current Mayor Jay Hollowell wanted to start work before he leaves office at the end of the year. Commissioners approved the loan increase with the promise of more information on the project at the commission’s January meeting.
Washington County Property Owners Improvement District No. 5 will receive a $618,000 loan to cover cost overruns for a project connecting the area to Prairie Grove’s sewer system. The area’s original wastewater treatment plant experienced failures that affected a golf course.
The commission approved $2.8 million in loans, collectively, at 0.5 percent interest over 10 years to Bearden, Carlisle, East Johnson County Water Users Association, McCrory and Pocahontas for meter replacements. Commissioners authorized the same terms, but with the application fee waived, for meter replacement projects worth $925,000, collectively, to Dyer, Guy, Piggott Southwest Arkansas Water Facilities Board and the Baxter-Marion Rural Water Association.
Commissioners also approved $850,000 to Vilonia for waterline improvements and $154,500 to Stamps for more water meters.