Earlier this year, the El Dorado City Council placed a moratorium on spending for non-essential services and some projects for which money had already been allocated due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
While city officials remain cautious and await a year-to-date financial report to see how the virus has impacted city revenues for the year, they have given Robert Edmonds, director of public works, the go-ahead to move forward with the city’s 2020 street repair program.
Edmonds said work is expected to get under way next month on annual street overlay and drainage improvements.
“Now that I’ve been told that I can do some streets, we’re probably going to start working the second or third week in July,” he said, adding that the work will cover streets in all four wards in El Dorado.
Crews will work from a list that was compiled from suggestions by city council members, street department and calls and complaints from residents around the city.
An announcement is forthcoming about the streets on which the city will start.
“Our guys are out every day working on various streets and they have a good idea of the streets that are in the worst shape,” Edmonds said. “And, of course, we have to do maintenance and repairs to those streets that are heavily traveled.”
Main thoroughfares are given top priority and crews then thread their way to feeder and side streets, he previously explained.
Smackover Paving Company has been awarded the bid for the paving and compacting and Jet Asphalt received the bid to supply the asphalt mix.
The bid packages were based on square footage and tonnage, so the total amount of the contracts will not be known until the work has been completed.
“It can vary. Some of the little collector streets are narrow, so they don’t take as much tonnage and some of the wider streets take more tonnage, so we don’t know what they’re going to do yet,” Edmonds explained.
Budgets for the city’s 2020 and 2021 street improvement plan have been bolstered by a $5 million allocation from the El Dorado Works tax, a one-cent sales tax that is earmarked for economic development, municipal infrastructure and quality-of-life projects.
Council Member Judy Ward suggested last August that the council approach the EWB with a funding request to beef up the 2020 street budget and to develop a “solid” street improvement plan.
Several council members said that they frequently hear complaints from El Dorado residents about the condition of city streets.
“I think we should ask for $5 million, put that money in the budget for next year and divide it equally between each ward. That would give us $1.5 million for streets in each ward,” Ward said at the time.
The El Dorado Works Board and the city council agreed approved the funding request and council members agreed to split the $5 million pro rata for two years.
The El Dorado Street Department budget is funded by state turnbacks, money that is collected from tax revenue and is “turned back” to counties and cities to provide essential services, including street and highway maintenance, law enforcement and fire protection, solid waste disposal and schools.
Edmonds said $1.2 - $1.5 million is typically available each year for street maintenance.
There are 160 miles of public streets in El Dorado and with the cost of repairs averaging $185,000 per street, Edmonds said the annual street budget “gets eaten up pretty quick.”
Though the street budget has expanded this year with the El Dorado Works money, COVID-19 has prompted some revisions to the plan for street repairs.
The city council has directed Edmonds to start with the $2.5 million allotment from the El Dorado Works tax before dipping into the street department budget.
“They want to see what kind of impact the virus is going to have on our budget. Union County told me (their 2020 street and highway budget) is down 9% and that’s pretty significant,” Edmonds said.
New City Treasurer Trena Dean, who was appointed to the position June 10, is working to compile financial records and obtain approval to access city accounts to prepare a year-to-date financial report.
Prior to Dean’s hiring, the city had gone without a treasure for nearly two months.
Edmonds pointed to other factors can affect the cost street repairs and maintenance — including unforeseen problems, such as issues with drainage and curbs and gutters, that can arise when work begins.
Such issues are typical and street repair plans are fluid, Edmonds said.
“If we get in there and find some problems that we don’t the have money to fix, it will have to be kicked up for the next year,” he said.
Edmonds encouraged citizens to report any street maintenance issues to the Department of Public Works by calling 870-863-4244.
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June 27, 2020 at 07:18PM
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Street work to start in July - El Dorado News-Times
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