LITTLE ROCK — Little Rock residents can now see signs of their tax dollars at work — literally.
On Thursday, the city’s Public Works department began work on the first project funded by the three-eighths of a percentage point capital improvements sales tax passed in September. The city will post signs alongside the projects funded by the sales tax to let residents know how proceeds from the new sales tax are being used.
The first project under the tax is a drainage fix at the corner of Beechwood and Club streets, where a storm drain collapsed in July 2009, trapping the homeowner and resulting in the homeowner getting a $190,000 settlement from the Little Rock Wastewater Utility. The owner has since demolished the home and the utility took ownership of the property, but the collapse left a need for major drainage repair work.
The project will cost about $147,000, according to design documents. Overall, the city’s Board of Directors approved about $1 million in drainage projects and $3.8 million in street resurfacing projects for the 2012 construction year under the tax.
The remaining revenue over the 10-year life of the capital improvements portion of the tax is estimated to amount to $65.5 million with 90 percent of the funding being evenly distributed among the seven wards and 10 percent being reserved for a quick-action fund that will encompass urgent projects and those that cross over ward boundaries.
The 2012 projects, approved by the board in February, stretch across all seven wards and were chosen because of urgency or because they were ready to begin construction as soon as funding became available. The first round of sales tax revenue, from both the three-eighths percentage point capital improvements tax and the fiveeighths percentage point general operations tax which does not expire, started flowing into the city’s coffers in March.
The following projects are included in the 2012 list:
Ward 1 — Drainage: 13th and Gaines streets, Allis Street and Wright Avenue; resurfacing: Third, 12th, 17th and Chester streets.
Ward 2 — Drainage: Windamere and Walpole drives; resurfacing: Geyer Springs Road and the east lanes of South University Avenue.
Ward 3 — Drainage: Beechwood Street; resurfacing: H Street, Pine Street and West Markham Street.
Ward 4 — Drainage: Summerdale Lane and Hinson Road; resurfacing: Hinson and Rodney Parham roads.
Ward 5 — Drainage: Westchester subdivision and Chevaux Court; resurfacing: Napa Valley Drive and two sections of Chenal Parkway.
Ward 6 — Drainage: Sunnymeade Drive and 44th and Potter streets; resurfacing: South Shackleford Road, the west half of South University Avenue and Marlyn Drive.
Ward 7 — Drainage: Chicot Road and Angel Court; resurfacing: Vimy Ridge Road, Mabelvale Pike, Sardis Road and Otter Creek Parkway.
The city plans to hold meetings in each of the wards to seek community input in projects for future phases of the capital improvement tax.
Arkansas, Pages 13 on 05/25/2012