Watershed zoning changes delayed
Amendments to the Lake Maumelle Watershed zoning ordinance aren't on the Pulaski County Quorum Court's June agenda as task force members had hoped.
The final language for amendments from the watershed task force has not been drafted yet, said District 2 Justice of the Peace Tyler Denton, D-Little Rock.
With the help of District 13 Justice of the Peace Phil Stowers, R-Maumelle, Denton commissioned the task force to review the zoning code during a yearlong moratorium on most development in the watershed. The task force was created as a part of an amendment to the ordinance passed in April 2013.
Last week, Denton asked Pulaski County Attorney Karla Burnett to draft the zoning amendments proposed by the Lake Maumelle Watershed Task Force. However, the task force did not give Burnett a line by line revision of the code, instead giving her a list of changes.
Denton said officials are now putting together a line by line revision that would help Burnett more accurately draft the amendments and that he hoped they would be ready soon.
"This is a comprehensive and complex document, and the last thing I want to do is present something that's not accurate or doesn't truly represent the opinion of the task force," Denton said.
Lake Maumelle, owned by Central Arkansas Water, provides the drinking water for about 400,000 people in central Arkansas. Landowners and business proprietors in its watershed have disagreed with county and Central Arkansas Water officials about the extent to which zoning regulations are needed to prevent pollution.
Once the zoning amendments are submitted to the Quorum Court, they must have three readings and a 30-day public hearing with the planning board.
Library tax refund sorting underway
Pulaski County residents who believe they might have been illegally taxed in 2008 when the county collected a Central Arkansas Library System millage too early won't be able to claim any money just yet.
Barring an appeal, Circuit Judge Tim Fox's order allows the county 60 days from May 27 to notify people who are eligible for a tax refund, and taxpayers have 60 days after receiving notice to submit claims.
But Treasurer Debra Buckner said the county needs to finish sorting through a taxpayer database to determine who is eligible for refunds under Fox's order. Still, Buckner said, the order and the timeline will be met.
Taxpayers are eligible if they paid the library millage between May 14, 2008, when the lawsuit against the county was filed, and up until Dec. 31, 2008; if they did not receive a Homestead Tax Credit reimbursement from the state; and if the amount claimed is more than the cost of administering the refund.
With the restrictions in place, Central Arkansas Library System President Bobby Roberts said he expects the library will refund about $1.5 million in total.
Roberts said the library system has been placing money in reserve funds since the lawsuit was filed and that it now has about $3 million total in reserves. The money was intended for ebooks and digital resources, among other things, and Roberts said it simply won't be spent on those things now.
"In the day-to-day operation, I don't think we'll see much of an impact," he said, while noting that the issue has still been a problem for the library system.
Panel appointees on county agenda
The Pulaski County Quorum Court moved the appointment of two new planning board members to its full June agenda in two weeks Tuesday night.
Only one of the appointees was present for the meeting -- Earl Hillard, a member of the Lake Maumelle Watershed Task Force and a contributor to the watershed plan. Hillard is a longtime resident of the watershed area.
The other appointee is Derek Franklin, a land conservation specialist for The Nature Conservancy's Arkansas field office.
If approved, Hillard and Franklin would serve four-year terms.
County Judge Buddy Villines appoints planning board members, who are then approved by the Quorum Court.
The Quorum Court voted 8-2 to recommend approval, with lead sponsor District 1 Justice of the Peace Doug Reed, R-Roland; and District 12 Justice of the Peace Karilyn Brown, R-Sherwood, voting no.
District 4 Justice of the Peace Julie Blackwood, D-Little Rock; District 7 Justice of the Peace Teresa Coney, D-Little Rock; District 9 Justice of the Peace Wilma Walker, D-College Station; District 10 Justice of the Peace the Rev. Robert Green, D-North Little Rock; and District 15 Justice of the Peace Shane Stacks, R-North Little Rock, were absent from the meeting.
JPs give approval to apply for grant
Pulaski County Judge Buddy Villines is now one step closer to being able to apply for an Arkansas Department of Rural Services grant for a Sweet Home community center after the Quorum Court preliminarily approved 10-0 applying for the grant Tuesday night.
The grant would be for $150,000 for a new community center that would be operated by the community, much like others in the county. The county operates only the Higgins Community Center.
In that same meeting Tuesday night, the Quorum Court tentatively approved 10-0 making $125,000 in grant funds available in state Senate District 30 through the Department of Rural Services. State Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock, told the Quorum Court that it needed to approve the funds' availability but that the community would be responsible for applying for the grant money.
Chesterfield's district includes much of rural Pulaski County.
Also Tuesday night, the Quorum Court tentatively approved 10-0 Villines' application for $45,000 in rural services grant funds for improvements and maintenance to the Woodson Fun Park in southeast Pulaski County.
County grants administrator Frederick Love told the Quorum Court that the county is not responsible for the park and that it also belongs to the community.
Metro on 06/13/2014