Review of rail yard finds ‘flawed’ case
A review by the North Little Rock city attorney’s office of residents’ complaints about noise and odor from a rail yard adjacent to the historic Argenta neighborhood doesn’t recommend legal action.
The opinion signed by City Attorney Jason Carter states that it is doubtful that the city could meet its “evidentiary burden” and that a civil case would be “too flawed to proceed.”
The North Little Rock City Council approved Resolution No. 8645 on Oct. 13 requesting the review of numerous resident complaints against Nevada Railroad Materials Inc. at 601 N. Broadway, which operates within the Union Pacific Railroad rail yard. The area is zoned for heavy industrial use.
Nevada Rail manufactures railroad cross tie assemblies used by Union Pacific in the replacement of cross ties along Union Pacific rail lines. It moved to its current location in 2012 after it had previously operated between Eighth and 13th streets.
Several Argenta neighborhood residents have complained to the city for almost two years about excessive noise and the odor of creosote, a wood preservative present in railroad ties. The “volume and persistence” of the complaints warranted the city’s examination, Carter’s summary said.
Nevada Rail has previously made voluntary changes in response to the complaints at Mayor Joe Smith’s request, the report stated.
Treasurer retiring; post to be merged
North Little Rock’s elected positions of city clerk and treasurer will be combined as of Jan. 1 with the retirement of longtime City Treasurer Mary Ruth Morgan.
The combination of duties would provide City Clerk Diane Whitbey a $3,000 annual raise and a new title of city clerk-treasurer, according to an ordinance the North Little Rock City Council will consider Monday. The increase would raise Whitbey’s annual salary to $66,737. She has been city clerk/collector since 2001.
Morgan, who turned 86 Wednesday, has been city treasurer for the past 40 years. The elected office is a part-time position. She is a former civics and history teacher in the city’s public schools. Morgan is also secretary for the North Little Rock Senior Citizens Commission.
A Christmas reception for Morgan will be from 4:45 to 5:45 p.m. Monday in the lobby of North Little Rock City Hall. The City Council meeting will be at 6 p.m.
Commission hosts Civil War display
The North Little Rock History Commission will host “Fought in Earnest: Civil War Arkansas,” a traveling exhibit that chronicles major events in the state during the 1861-65 war.
The exhibit will be on display Jan. 5 through Jan. 23 at the North Little Rock History Commission, 506 Main St., 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. The free exhibit contains 15 free-standing banners that showcase images from the Arkansas History Commission’s collection, a news release said.
In addition, information will be available about Civil War sites in North Little Rock such as Confederate fortifications at Park Hill; the duel in 1863 near Rose City between Confederate generals John Marmaduke and Marsh Walker; and the Confederate ship C.S.S. Pontchartrain, which was scuttled before Union forces captured Little Rock.