Surrounded by the recent construction of the NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital, the building of new apartment complexes and restaurants and a large annexation, Brookland had doubled in population over the past five years.
Now the Craighead County city of 3,150 needs to upgrade its water system to keep up with the growth, and town officials are placing a 2 percent citywide sales tax on the Nov. 10 special election ballot to pay for it.
Brookland Mayor Kenneth Jones said if the tax is approved, it would generate about $400,000 a year that would fund the construction of a new 450,000-gallon water tank, a new well and waterlines. He expected the entire project to cost between $3.8 million and $4.2 million.
Jones said the tax would end once the system is paid for.
The town built its water system in the 1960s and upgraded it in 2007 to last an additional 13 years. But Jones said a recent inspection showed that it's now expected to last "for only a few more years."
The city will keep its existing water tower as a backup reservoir for emergencies once the new system is built, the mayor said.
"It's showing signs of age," he said. "The water gallons-per-minute rate is slowing down in town. We need a new system."
Water pressure is a concern, Jones added. He noted that all businesses are required to have fire sprinkler systems and that adding a new larger business, such a grocery store, would put additional pressure on the existing system.
"Ninety-nine percent of the time, it'll never be used," Jones said of sprinklers. "But if it ever is, we'll need the water pressure."
Brookland already has a 1 percent citywide sales tax. If the new tax is favored, residents would pay a total tax of 10.5 percent when county and state sales taxes are added.
If the tax fails, officials said they would have to add $17 to $20 on residents' monthly water bills to pay for the new water system.
"If it helps Brookland, I'm all for it," said Tammy Trantham, owner of 3Junk Ladies Flea Market on U.S. 49 in Brookland. "It's a better way to collect it than on our water bills. I pay $39 to $50 now. That will be a huge increase each month.
"The tax is easier for people to swallow," she said.
Jerry Blain, owner of Jerry Blain Auto Sales on Nelda Lane in Brookland, said he would also support the tax.
"If you put it on the water bill, it's going to be the same amount on the bill each month," he said. "A tax will vary, and sometimes you will collect more. I think we can pay [the debt] off a lot quicker.
"Now we have a choice," Blain said. "Later, we won't."
Jones said he expects to hold public meetings about the tax within the next few weeks.
If the tax is approved, construction should begin on the system in April and be completed by November 2016.
"Brookland is blessed with growth," he said. "We have a new Sonic and Taco Bell, we've got more apartments coming in and we've got a great school system. A lot of our residents work at the hospital. We're centered in a good area between Jonesboro and Paragould.
"We're preparing ourselves now for a lot of growth."
State Desk on 09/29/2015