FORT SMITH -- Sebastian County followed through with spending covid-19 relief money to get a number of initiatives going last week, including a project meant to improve the county's emergency communication radio system.
The Quorum Court voted to approve spending more than $3.6 million in American Rescue Plan money for a variety of projects at its meeting Tuesday. It decided to set aside the money for most of these projects at a special meeting Sept. 13.
However, the Quorum Court amended the ordinance to include spending an additional $400,816 in covid relief money to pay the required sales tax on building two Arkansas Wireless Information Network towers at Sugarloaf Mountain south of Hackett and the Witcherville unincorporated community.
This is due to the fact the $5.25 million it approved spending for the project in July didn't include what the Chicago-based Motorola Solutions estimates will be needed to cover taxable equipment, services and freight charges. The Arkansas Wireless Information Network is a statewide communication system.
County Judge David Hudson wrote in a memo included in the meeting packet the project is necessary to support the county's pending consolidation of its 911 dispatch centers, which it needs to do as a result of the state legislature passing the Public Safety Act of 2019.
"If this project is put on hold in regard to appropriating the sales tax, it is probable that a price increase will be implemented based upon market conditions of 8-10%, or approximately $500,000," Hudson wrote.
The county is also responsible for either purchasing or leasing the land on which the two network towers will be, building a road by which to access the Sugarloaf Mountain site and providing the sites electrical power, as well as facilitating ongoing site operation, according to a letter from Motorola.
Hudson said property at Sugarloaf Mountain is being reviewed in connection to the county providing power to a potential tower close to land the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission bought earlier this year. This power, which the Southwestern Electric Power Company would provide, has been quoted at $250,000.
Hudson said it appears "very favorable" the county can procure the 1/4 of an acre it needs to build a tower at Sugarloaf Mountain, although Motorola is reviewing certain details on the project.
Shawn Looper, justice of the peace for District 3, expressed concern over the additional costs this project will mean for the county that weren't factored into its original $5.25 million appropriation. The Quorum Court previously discussed the sales tax money at its Sept. 13 meeting.
"These Motorola guys are not instilling a lot of confidence in me," Looper said.
Hudson attributed much of the lack of clarity regarding the project to himself.
"I accept full responsibility for all of the confusion that has occurred on this project," Hudson said.
The motion to include the $400,816 to pay the sales tax in the appropriation ordinance included the stipulation the county would verify what was owed on the project through the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration and wouldn't pay anything over that amount.
Funding for Other Projects
The ordinance the justices of the peace approved Tuesday also included money for projects designed to alleviate crowding issues at the county jail, which have plagued the facility for years.
This included $88,479 to pay an Assertive Community Treatment Team through the Guidance Center in Fort Smith through the rest of the year to support more participants in the county's mental health specialty court. This money is part of the more than $2.5 million the Quorum Court approved spending Sept. 13 to continue the alternative sentencing and jail diversion program and expand its capacity through 2025.
The mental health court opened Jan. 1, 2021, with $550,000 from the Quorum Court, according to an overview in the Sept. 13 meeting material. The funding will last through the end of this year.
The ordinance also included spending $675,300 for the establishment and operation of a sobering center from Saturday through 2023 via the Guidance Center. The facility, another jail diversion program, will be a place to which law enforcement could divert intoxicated people who aren't dangerous or violent from the county jail to receive short-term treatment.
Other appropriations included:
• $1.5 million for a drainage project at the softball complex at Ben Geren Park.
• $711,750 for four air conditioning units for the county Courts Building.
• $285,000 for improvements to the county Health Department.
• $12,285 for a federal audit fee.
Sugarloaf land
The Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission bought 1,191 acres in south Sebastian County from SGW Mountaintop for more than $1.7 million in late May. This led to the land becoming the Sugarloaf Mountains-Midland Peak Natural Area.
Source: Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission