LITTLE ROCK — The Pulaski County Quorum Court will hold a special meeting tonight to decide whether to use $20 million in county road and bridge money to pay for its share of an enhanced Broadway Bridge.
Pulaski County Judge Buddy Villines called the meeting after the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department’s top official told him the department needed to know this week what design its consultants should work on.
After proposing a simple bridge design, the department has been working on a more costly double-arch “basket” design that Villines said he favored since December when the county judge told state highway officials he had commitments from 13 of the 15 justices of the peace for the county to share in the cost of the new link between Little Rockand North Little Rock over the Arkansas River.
Last week, the Quorum Court put off a vote after two justices of the peacewithdrew their support, a third justice of the peace who supported the proposal was absent and a fourth said he was wavering. At that time, Villines said he would hold a special meeting Feb. 12 to put the issue to a vote.
But Scott Bennett, the Highway and Transportation Department director, told Villines that “we must make a decision now or risk losing the federal funds dedicated to replacing the Broadway Bridge,” the judge said in a memorandum to the justices of the peace distributed Wednesday.
State highway officials said if they didn’t learn until Feb. 12 that the county would not share in the cost of the enhanced design, they feared they would not have enough time to begin work on the other, less expensive design and still obligate the $59 million in federal bridge replacement money by the end of the fiscalyear, which is Sept. 30.
“I hate to say we’re getting to crunch time, but we’re there, knowing what needs to be accomplished,” said Randy Ort, a department spokesman.
The Highway and Transportation Department has agreed to replace the bridge with a safe, efficient and functional substitute that would cost an estimated $59 million. The enhanced, and more costly, double-arch “basket” design would cost an additional $20 million and the money to pay for it would have to come from another source.
The special meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the regular Quorum Court meeting room on the fourth floor of the county administration building at 201 Broadway in Little Rock.
“A lot of money has beenspent by the Highway Department based on the commitment we made,” Villines said. “I wasn’t representing Buddy Villines, I was representing the county, I was representing the Quorum Court when I made that commitment. It’s more than money. Our credibility is on the line.”
Should all 15 justices of the peace make tonight’s meeting, Villines still believes he has at least 10 votes needed for passage of the ordinance. The ordinance’s 10 sponsors include Justices of the Peace Robert Green of North Little Rock, Curtis Keith of Mabelvale, Wilma Walker of College Station, Bob Johnson of Jacksonville and Julie Blackwood, Donna Massey, Teresa Coney, Lillie McMullen, Tyler Denton and Kathy Lewison, all of Little Rock.
Villines has championed what he calls “America’s Bridge,” which includes a white arch and a red arch with the deck trimmed in blue. Other details would include a list of all recipients of the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military honor for valor, by state; a registry of all the nation’s wars, leaving spaces blank for future conflicts; and another section to honor peace.
The proposal has attracted support from veterans organizations and others but has critics, too, who believe the $20 million is too much money forthe county to pay when the state can build one without that money.
Under the proposed agreement with the state, the county would pay the $20 million in three almost equal payments over three years, beginning with a payment of $6,666,666 after construction bids are received but before the contract is awarded.
The county’s share would come partly from its road and bridge reserve, which now totals $9 million. The county sets aside about $1.5 million annually to provide local match funds with other money that may become available. Villines also would use the $1.5 million going to the reserve annually over the next four years to pay for the bridge, or an additional $6 million.
Villines also anticipates that the recently approved temporary half-percent statewide sales tax for road construction will produce $2.5 million each year for the next 10 years for the county. His proposal would utilize that revenue from the years 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Altogether, the financial maneuvers would produce an estimated $22.5 million, enough to provide the county some wiggle room.
Villines’ proposal came after months of discussion over replacing the 90-yearold crossing after the Highway Department concluded three years ago that the bridge’s increasingly costly maintenance made clear it had to be replaced.
Many in the community saw an opportunity to replace the bridge with a signature design, but in the end only Villines and the mayors of Little Rock and North Little Rock reached a broad agreement late last year to incorporate the two arches into the design.
Arkansas, Pages 9 on 01/31/2013