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Saturday, March 9, 2019 EL DORADO NEWS-TIMES — 3C
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City: Continued from Page 2C
of business was to redecorate the mayor’s office to give it a more homey, inviting feel.
Visitors are greeted with a warm, sunny-yellow color scheme with flower bouquets, family photos and other decorative items containing inspirational messages.
Smith-Creer has said that she wants to make City Hall more inviting for residents.
To further that goal, she has also asked city council members to host town hall meetings in each of the city’s four wards. The first was held Tuesday in Ward 1.
The purpose of the meetings is to inform residents about the roles and functions of city officials and the various city departments and services, and to allow residents the opportunity to meet their city council representatives, the mayor and other city officials and department heads, including the police and fire chiefs and the director of public works, Smith-Creer has said.
“That’s one of the things I talked about in the (mayoral) campaign as part of the movement. People need to understand the practices and procedures of the city and how to get things done, who are the right people to go to so they don’t have to waste time talking to the wrong person,” she reiterated.
Ward 2 council members Vance Williamson and Judy Ward have scheduled the next town hall for for 5:30 p.m. April 16 in the South Arkansas Community College Library Auditorium, which is located in the college’s west campus, 300 S. West Ave.
Hillsboro/U.S. 82B gateway plans
In the meantime, Smith- Creer said she is boning
up on proposed projects that are still a ways off, such as improvements the state is planning to the Hillsboro/U.S. 82B gateway, and others that are more immediate.
The city has already agreed to adopt and maintain U.S. 82B upon the completion of an Arkansas Department of Transportation project to widen and improve the U.S. 82 corridor and gateway through town.
The project, which is still in its developmental stages, calls for roundabouts at the South West Avenue and College Avenue intersections, landscaped medians and the replacement of two bridges — the Hillsboro viaduct and the Rock Island bridge.
The city’s portion of the project will cost $3 million to $4 million.
“I’ve had a couple of meetings on that to get up-to-date on it in my position as mayor. I already had some insight on it from citizens before I was elected,” Smith-Creer said.
City improvement projects
Smith-Creer, city council members and city department heads are keeping their eyes on city improvement projects for 2019.
One is an issue about which Smith-Creer said she heard the most complaints during her mayoral campaign in 2018.
“We’re working on a comprehensive plan for street repairs,” the mayor said.
She said recent rainy weather has created a two- fold problem, noting that it has delayed some street repairs and worsened damage in some areas that were already problematic.
“That’s going to be major undertaking for the city and it’s an issue everywhere. It’s one of those things where you can see the top, but you don’t know what’s underneath,” she explained.
File Photo New Chief: Outgoing El Dorado Police Chief Billy White
including the cleaning of the city’s six above-ground water storage tanks; the installation of a new sewer main on West Eighth Street between North West Avenue and College Avenue; and the repaving of five miles of city streets.
“We also cleaned out a lot of ditches. It was probably four or five miles of ditches,” he said.
Construction of a new recycling drop-off center took place over the course of several months in 2018 and the new drive-thru facility opened Feb. 6 at 401 Liberty.
The project was largely covered by a grant and Edmonds said another grant has been awarded for improvements that will take place this year at the city’s recycling processing plant on South Jackson Avenue.
A lost bid
Last October, the city learned it had lost out on a bid for the 2019 Arkansas Governor’s Conference on Tourism.
The event was to have been hosted in El Dorado for the first time in March, but after state officials learned that the availability of local hotel rooms during that time would not accommodate visitors that were expected to attend the conference, the host city was changed.
The rescheduling of a local industry turnaround that was expected to bring in hundreds of contract workers affected hotel- room availability.
Though city officials expressed disappointment about the conference having been moved to Hot Springs, they said the situation also benefits El Dorado.
During a recent city finance committee meeting, city council members said they are hoping an influx of workers for two industry turnarounds and construction of a new boutique hotel downtown this year will boost sales tax revenue for the city.
And with the construction of the new downtown hotel expected to be completed in 2020 and the opening of Candlewood Suites last year and the new Marriott Fairfield Inn in February, city officials said they could try to lure the annual governor’s conference back in the near future and the availability of local hotel rooms will not be an issue then.
For the first time since 2015, city officials have reported a slight increase in sales tax revenues for the city.
However, the city council and finance committee still prepared a conservative 2019 budget and as of November 2018, the city’s state turnback funds were less than the same period of 2017.
City officials also recently learned that the U.S. Department of Transportation has selected Southern Express Airways as the Essential Air Service provider at Goodwin Field for another two years.
Southern has served El Dorado since spring 2017.
Changing of the badge
The El Dorado Police Department also got a new police chief this year.
Chief Kenny Hickman’s first official day was Feb. 1, following the retirement of former Chief Billy White on Jan. 31.
White had been with the department 28 years, having served as chief since January 2013.
Shortly after White stepped down, the EPD bid farewell to another longtime officer, Capt. Kevin Holt.
Holt retired after 28 years with the EPD. He had been the department’s public information officer for the past several years.
Sgt. Chris Lutman now holds the position of PIO.
Tia Lyons may be contacted at 870-862-6611 or by email at tlyons@ eldoradonews.com.
hands incoming Chief Kenny Hickman his new badge. During the ceremony, White told Hickman that this is a new step, a milestone, in his life. Hickman has been with the El Dorado Police Department for 24 years.
“We want to make sure we come up with a long-term fix and not just a temporary fix when we roll out the plan,” Smith-Creer continued. “And we also need to see how we’re going to fund it.”
Robert Edmonds, director of public works, said the El Dorado Water Utilities is getting closer to completing right-of-way acquirements to start a project to move a water main just outside city limits on U.S. 82 west to make way for another state highway project to widen the highway through Arkansas.
“We’ve got to move that line out of the state’s right of way,” Edmonds said.
The city’s portion of the cost to relocate the line, $1.2 million, is being covered by the El Dorado Works economic development tax.
The water line at Del- Tin Highway will also be upsized from 6 inches to 10 inches, which will help relieve water pressure problems for residential and commercial customers in the area, Edmonds said.
The El Dorado Works tax is also being used to purchase a new digital sign for the entrance of South Arkansas Regional Airport at Goodwin Field.
Also in response to the planned widening of U.S. 82, the existing sign at the airport’s entrance has to be moved and members of the El Dorado Airport Commission agreed the time was right to replace the old sign with a new digital sign to capture the attention of passers-by.
Expanding the Rec Complex
El Dorado Works money is also being used to fund the first phase of a master improvement and expansion project at the El Dorado- Union County Recreation Complex on Champagnolle Road.
The work, which is expected to get under way in late spring or early summer, includes the completion of two fields on the south end of the facility; the addition of two new fields for baseball and softball in the same area; four new youth soccer fields; and improvements to existing fields.
The city approved $2.6 million from its economic development tax for the project.
Edmonds pointed to infrastructure improvements that were completed in 2018,
Abe’s
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