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Little Rock notebook

LR Wastewater set to replace station

Little Rock Wastewater is replacing its pump station and a force main on Cantrell Road.

Half of the equipment is "original to the station," while the other half is made up of a 1986 model, said John Holloway, the agency's director of engineering. The replacements are "reliability upgrades" for an area of town that serves the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, the Arkansas State Hospital and the state Capitol, he said.

Along with the renovations, the utility company is planning to add a generator to the pump station that sits to the west of Episcopal Collegiate School on Cantrell. The entire pump station project will cost about $10.5 million and is expected to be completed by Aug. 6.

The force main, which takes the sewage to a treatment facility, was built in 1958 and is also a reliability upgrade, Holloway said, adding that the work has shut down a westbound lane on Cantrell Road near North Street. In replacing the force main, the utility company will also change the route.

The current route runs underneath the Episcopal Collegiate's parking lot, but the new route will run parallel to Cantrell and underneath the railroad crossing, he said.

The $3.1 million force main project, which began Nov. 10, is expected to be completed by May 29, he said.

Directors allocate$4,050 to pay fine

The Little Rock Board of Directors has appropriated more than $4,000 to pay a state environmental fine.

The board OK'd the $4,050 fine from an Animal Village account and earnings from the 2012 three-eighths percent capital improvement sales tax, according to the city resolution.

Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality officials inspected the Animal Village crematorium Oct. 23, 2013, and reviewed its use from November 2008 to September 2013. The city has used the crematory since 1999 and has made several repairs to the old unit, city officials have said.

Little Rock Animal Services Manager Tracy Roark said the Environmental Quality Department normally conducts inspections annually, but it hadn't done so for the Animal Village in five years. The inspection puts into place monitors for the machines to ensure they comply with the Clean Air Act.

During the review period, Animal Village used the machine nearly 300 times, Roark said. On 12 occasions, employees were over the weight limit for the machines, and for 18 occasions, officials didn't meet the temperature requirements, he said.

The city has contracted an engineer to design a new crematorium to replace the 15-year-old one, city officials said. The environmental agency would not waive the fee in lieu of the city buying a new machine, Roark said.

Donations of foodto cut library fees

The Central Arkansas Library System will hold its annual Food for Fines program Dec. 15-21.

The program allows patrons to donate nonperishable food in lieu of an overdue book fine. Each donated item represents $1, and patrons can donate items to cancel up to $10 in fines. The library system won't take donations in lieu of lost books.

The food will go to the Arkansas Rice Depot, which has helped the hungry for more than 25 years. The donations also will help the depot's Food for Kids program, which gives out backpacks full of food for schoolchildren to take home during the weekend.

The library system is asking for ravioli, peanut butter, tuna, canned fruit, pudding cups, cereal and granola bars for the Food for Kids program.

Stodola: Won't quitposition in league

Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola said in a letter Friday to the Little Rock Fraternal Order of Police that he would not resign as president of the Arkansas Municipal League.

In a letter addressed to Jarred McCauley, the president of the police organization, and distributed to the media by Stodola, the mayor said he appreciated "the concerns raised in your November 24 letter" about the city's decision to switch its health insurance from QualChoice to one provided by the Municipal League.

The Little Rock Board of Directors approved the switch in an 8-0 vote Nov. 19. Ward 2 City Director Ken Richardson was absent, and Ward 1 City Director Erma Hendrix voted present. The mayor, who was not at the meeting, did not vote.

The vote came after John Gilchrist, the vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police, raised concerns that city employees would have reduced benefits under the Municipal League plan.

Stodola wrote Friday that the decision to change insurance providers was made by the Board of Directors, adding, "The City Board ... believes the health benefits provided to employees under the MHBF [Municipal Health Benefit Fund] are equal to or better than those offered by QualChoice and at a reduced cost to both the City and its employees."

Hendrix was one of the first to bring up Stodola's new position with the Municipal League, saying at the board meeting that she was concerned about a conflict of interest. The Fraternal Order of Police later raised similar concerns about Stodola's elected position with the Municipal League.

"Finally, as to your request that I resign as president of the Arkansas Municipal League, I respectfully decline," Stodola wrote, adding that the position is unpaid.

Metro on 11/30/2014

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