Directors: City departments running smoothly
City departments are operating smoothly, according to the directors of each agency.
The mid-year reports were shared during a recent city council meeting.
Kenneth Taylor, director of parks and recreation, told the council they have had 105 rentals so far this year and 356 active members at the Larry S. Bryant Multipurpose and Wellness Center and 75 active members at the Aquatic Center.
Councilman Danny Capps asked Taylor if he anticipates an increase in day passes and memberships over the next few months, to which Taylor responded he does.
"It will increase," said Taylor. "The rentals already have more coming in."
"You run a good ship," said
Capps.
Civic Center director Jimmy Gaines reported the cameras and alarm system at that facility are being upgraded.
"This year, rentals picked up for us," Gaines also told the council.
Councilman Jason Evansingston asked if Gaines had a lot of employees working the center with him, to which Gaines responded, “Just one.”
Evansingston asked Gaines if he needs more equipment for the facility.
"Probably, later on when things pick up," said Gaines. "Me and the mayor have talked also about getting a propane buffet and more tables. We are trying to see how things will go with events coming up, but we've have been communicating with the mayor."
Jimmy King, code enforcement officer, reported on projects in the city.
"We have the high school, where they are building a new industrial arts building," said King. "Most of our projects are moving forward."
Councilman Chris Oswalt asked King about pursuing public nuisance abatements on cars sitting in yards.
"How much of that is being enforced?" asked Oswalt.
"If they have tags and insurance on them, there isn't much we can do," explained King. "A lot of the time, they park their cars in the yard for some reason."
Capps asked if the storm water analysis had been done at the new Speedway store being built on North Washington.
"They've addressed that," said King of the survey. "They have large pipes and sent in plans to the state and the state approved it."
(Continued from Page 1) Evansingston asked about businesses dumping grease in dumpsters in the city.
"The owners of the businesses are not dumping it, but people are coming in at night and dumping in their dumpsters. They have a vat that grease goes into," said King, adding that he suspects the oil is from car oil being dumped. "I've advised them to put up a fence."
Evansingston also asked about those using their residences as auto repair shops.
What are we able to do about that?" asked Evansingston. "I know in Ward 2 there are a lot of complaints regarding that."
"Some are grandfathered in and we can't do anything with those, but the new ones, we have been contacting them," said King.
Evansingston also expressed a desire to see city vehicles properly marked as such, to which Oswalt responded there is an ordinance pertaining to marking city vehicles.
“We can look at what is and isn't supposed to be tagged," said Oswalt.
"It isn't just singling you out, Mr. King," said Evansingston, adding that he had received several complaints regarding city employees being where they are not supposed to be.
Forrest City Mayor Cedric Williams asked Evansingston to share the complaints with city officials so they could review them as well. "Please give those to us so we may do something about that," said Williams.
Williams also requested specific issues regarding zoning regulations with businesses operating out of homes.
"If there are specific issues, please give those to us," said Williams. "Some businesses in some homes are viable."
For the public works department, assistant director Richard Rice shared several projects with the council.
"We are working on repairing a storm drain on Court Street, but it will have to be taken over by private contractors soon," said Rice. "We are about 8 0 % complete on our pothole project and will start crack sealing.
"We are also putting glass reflective beads on crosswalks and speed bumps so they are visible when the schools are having games at night," said Rice.
Rice said the department is working to get all of its drivers certified to operate each type of truck in the department, including CDL certifications.
"They learn each truck so this way if one of our guys is out on route, it doesn't matter if a CDL driver is running a chipper truck," said Rice.
Rice told the council the department is also working on a project on Old Madison Road that they hope to have completed by the end of the year.
Evansingston asked if anyone in the department held the certification required to operate the city landfill.
"Yes," said Rice. "We've also set up a real testing station for ADEQ out there. They've already collected a sample and that has already gone."
Evansingston also asked about equipment for the department.
"We can always use equipment," said Rice. "The bulldozer is working well now. We did have to borrow the water department's for a moment. We are willing to accept the challenges this year and move forward with them. We were able to get the equipment to do what we needed it to do.”
Evansingston asked if the department needed additional personnel.
"Yes, we are in need of additional personnel, but we also need to hang on to the personnel we have," said Rice. "We train people and lose them to better benefits or better pay."
Evansingston commented on the overgrowth in his ward as well as the cloverleaf needing work.
Rice told the council that holidays are always difficult for the department, but the recent one put them several days behind due to shortages and equipment not working.
"Again, I’d rather have one good man who is going to do a good job than a handful of people who are clueless to what work is," Rice told the council of the shortages in the department and the struggle to find replacements. "But, I think my guys have done an exceptional job and have gone above and beyond."
Evansingston asked if a rumor he heard about work order numbers not being given out anymore is true, to which Rice answered it is not.
Edward Gregory, water department manager, told the council the department is performing several sewer evaluations.
"Part of the plan is to find all the problems and then plan ways to fix them,” said Gregory. "It's a big deal."
Gregory told the council that smoke testing has been done on lines.
"Unfortunately, we didn't find a whole lot. We found a few caps, but not the smoking gun we were hoping to find," said Gregory.
Gregory told the council that of the 720 work orders the department had, it had completed 609.
"Four per day is what we are doing," said Gregory, explaining that during the summer the department tends to get behind due to the ground changing and putting pressure on lines when it’s warmer.
"We get behind in summer and caught back up in fall," said Gregory. "That is typical for water distribution systems with sandy soil like ours."
Gregory also said the agency would begin an in-depth evaluation of smart meters for the area.
"We will be able to notify customers sooner and it will help us evaluate water pressure and other different things," said Gregory.
Gregory said the department has also been working closely with the fire department to test the flow of fire hydrants.
"We have had our water treatment 2020 survey, and it came out good," said Gregory. “We took care of minor things after the survey."
Gregory told the council a new UV unit is being installed for the department.
"Unfortunately, when it was on its way to us, it was in a car wreck and had to be sent back to the manufacturer because they came in damaged, so it has taken longer," said Gregory.
Gregory said other items soon to be needed for the department include a clarifier and a boil replacement.
Gregory also encouraged the council to remind ward members to apply for the current rent relief program to help them get caught up on bills.
The applications for the program can be found online at ar.gov/rentrelief.
“We’ll be able to notify customers sooner and it will help us evaluate water pressure and other different things.”
– Edward Gregory, FC Water Department Manager