The El Dorado City Council will consider funding requests for several major projects when they convene for a regular meeting at 5 p.m. today in the Council Chamber of City Hall.
Greg Downum, chairman of the El Dorado Works Board, is expected to present the requests, all of which were approved by the board Tuesday.
The EWB administers the one-cent city sales tax of the same name. The tax initiative is geared toward economic development, municipal infrastructure and quality-of-projects.
The board hears the funding requests, vets the projects and then makes a recommendation to the city council for consideration and final approval.
Council members are expected to hear funding recommendations for:
- A long-running problem with a drainage project on 10th Street between North West and North Washington avenues. The issue has threatened a nearby apartment complex and business with ground wash-outs.
The city is working on a permanent fix for the problem, which will include installing a concrete culvert.
The low bid for the project came in at $1.24 million, the amount that was approved by the EWB.
- Two projects that were previously proposed by the El Dorado Parks and Playgrounds Commission and revisited by the EPPC and EWB Tuesday.
EWB members approved a funding request to resurface the tennis courts in Mellor Park and convert one of the two sets of courts into pickleball courts.
The three courts on the south end (upper courts) will be repurposed for eight pickleball courts.
The three north (lower) courts will be filled, leveled and resurfaced for tennis.
The job also entails new lighting, fencing, sidewalks, court furniture, signs and paddle holders.
The total cost estimate is $369,983, which includes an $11,400 contingency for the overall project.
EWB members also voted on a $26,851 request to install new fencing for the dog enclosure in Mitchell Park and the basketball court in Lions Club Park.
- Ongoing efforts to renovate and repair the terminal at South Arkansas Regional Airport at Goodwin Field.
The EWB approved $46,920 to cover a funding shortfall to cover the cost for building envelope stabilization for the terminal -- one component of the overall restoration and repair project.
The work for the stabilization entails sealing off the building from outside, unconditioned air that permeates the terminal, particularly around the windows.
Replacing corrugated asbestos paneling on the upper floor of the terminal building is a part of the work.
The stabilization project will largely be funded by an $84,320 grant that was awarded last year by the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.
In August of 2022, the EWB approved matching funds of $42,610 for the grant.
The match was pulled from $1 million that was OK'd by the EWB in August of 2019.
The El Dorado Airport Commission presented the funding request with the expectation that the city could potentially receive a grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to renovate the SARA terminal.
The $1 million was to be used as matching funds for the grant but the application with the USEDA stalled with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the matching funds were placed on hold.
On Tuesday, the EWB dipped into the $1 million set aside for the $46,920 ask.
The stabilization project was initially estimated at $126,480; however, no proposals were submitted when the project went out for bid in 2022.
Architect Blake Dunn subsequently reached out to local contractors to review the project and Ideal Construction Company quoted a cost of $159,700.
A $2,000 balance remains for professional services, for which $11,700 has already been paid, bringing the total cost of the project to $173,400.
In other business, the council is expected to consider appointments and reappointments to the parks and playgrounds commission and the El Dorado Civil Service Commission.