Members of the Little Rock Board of Directors discussed a troubled apartment complex on Colonel Glenn Road at a city board meeting Tuesday afternoon after the city attorney informed them last week that officials planned to undertake a thorough inspection.
The Big Country Chateau apartment complex at 6200 Colonel Glenn Road in Little Rock has been the subject of recent news reports.
A July 19 report from television station KARK said residents had received fliers informing them that water service would be discontinued indefinitely starting Sept. 1.
A THV 11 report updated July 20 said the apartment complex's management had informed residents there would be no water service stoppage, but the television station reported that according to the regional water utility Central Arkansas Water, service was still set to be shut off in under two months.
In an email addressed to the mayor and city board members last week, Little Rock City Attorney Tom Carpenter explained the apartment complex's history in light of reports of the impending water shutoff.
A 2019 report of the smell of leaking gas led to a shutoff; in addition to the faulty lines needing repairs, an inspection revealed lines that were not up to code, Carpenter wrote on July 19.
"This has never been done," he wrote, adding that the owners pleaded no contest in December 2019 to a citation in the Little Rock District Court's environmental division. At the moment, approximately nine buildings have not met code standards, Carpenter wrote.
"The concerns about water service arose recently," Carpenter wrote. "The gas lines are actually encased in pavement without [a] conduit, which would help detect leaks and repair them, but [they] have not been inspected again since 2019."
Officials from several city departments held a meeting that same day to discuss the apartment complex, Carpenter wrote, adding that "the first conclusion is that [the] extent of damage and danger cannot be determined without a thorough inspection of the entire complex." Kevin Howard, the director of the city's Department of Housing and Neighborhood Programs, would coordinate the inspection with the other departments, Carpenter wrote.
In a follow-up email to city officials sent Monday morning, Carpenter wrote, "Data is needed to determine which next steps we should be taking. I do not have that data."
With regard to the question of whether the city could pay the outstanding utility bills for the complex, the general answer was no, Carpenter indicated. The city might be able to impose a lien on the property in order to make repairs to the natural gas lines, Carpenter wrote, but he went on to suggest that such a step would be impractical.
"In any event, the work towards the apartments is not the purview of this office now, and will not be unless and until the Board makes the requisite policy decisions. Again, that discussion seems totally premature until the Board has information about the issue," he wrote.
At the city board's regular meeting Tuesday to set the agenda for next week, Carpenter indicated that officials had learned of the complex's "substantial" unpaid bill to Central Arkansas Water, as well as the fact that power company Entergy planned to cut off electricity as of Sept. 1.
Mayor Frank Scott Jr.'s chief of staff Kendra Pruitt began leading the effort on the Big Country Chateau on Monday, taking over for Howard, Carpenter recalled during the meeting.
Scott indicated that city officials would "step up as best as possible" and work with the city board to arrange "temporary placement" for individuals if necessary.
At-large City Director Antwan Phillips, an attorney in private practice, asked to be told of possible "legal remedies" beyond the ongoing matter in environmental court so the city board could direct the city attorney to take certain actions with protecting tenants in mind.
Carpenter said more information was still needed, but noted that in the event water or electricity is cut off, "then we're going to have to get people out of the place that are living there." Some of the residents have Section 8 housing vouchers, Carpenter said.
A hearing in environmental court was scheduled for August, the city attorney said at one point.
While she said she supported Carpenter taking the time to ensure the I's are dotted and T's are crossed, City Director Doris Wright of Ward 6 urged officials to take action in light of the fact that tenants in the complex are receiving vouchers for housing. She referred to the possibility that the city might have to relocate individuals and the Little Rock public housing authority proves to be uncooperative.
Vice Mayor Lance Hines of Ward 5 also encouraged officials to talk to the housing authority. Hines suggested that the possibility of "some type of fraud" might be "the biggest stick to get something done" while pursuing all avenues in search of a resolution. Scott indicated that he agreed.
The site appears to have drawn the attention of police officers, too, with regard to violent crime.
During a community meeting Thursday, the Big Country Chateau was one of several apartment complexes Maj. Casey Clark, the head of the Little Rock Police Department's Northwest Patrol Division, referred to in the context of properties where crime is frequent, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. Two homicides have been reported at the Big Country Chateau so far this year, the newspaper reported.
While responding to a resident's question, Clark suggested that the situation involving utilities at Big Country Chateau would change within days but did not offer more details, the Democrat-Gazette reported.
A voicemail left with the apartment complex was not immediately returned Tuesday evening.