Community Projects
Fiscal Year 2024
North Arkansas Regional Medical Center Electronic Medical Records System Update
Recipient: North Arkansas Regional Medical Center
Location: 620 N. Main St., Harrison, AR, 72601.
Amount of Request: $1,029,842
Details: The funding would be used for the purchase of Meditech EXPANSE software to upgrade the North Arkansas Regional Medical Center’s (NARMC) electronic medical records system. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because the upgrade to Meditech EXPANSE software will improve the NARMC’s ability to provide emergency care, treat chronic disease, perform surgery, manage financial records, keep patient data private, and ultimately save more lives. EXPANSE enables efficient sharing of patient information and identifies data inconsistencies in health records – a critical issue at NARMC. Implementation of this project will ease the burden on NARMC’s staff and improve communication with patients and community partners.
City of Mountain Home Water Projects
Recipient: City of Mountain Home
Location: 720 South Hickory Street, Mountain Home, AR, 72653
Amount of Request: $1,250,000
Details: The funding would be used for project engineering and planning. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because the project is to provide a means to withdraw water from Lake Norfork in Arkansas, transmit it to a water treatment facility, and provide adequate water treatment and solids disposal to meet EPA Drinking Water and Arkansas Department of Health regulations. This water system provides water for almost 75 percent of Baxter County, AR, serving a population of approximately 32,000 people, as well as commercial and industrial businesses.
City of Jonesboro Fire Station and Public Safety Center
Recipient: City of Jonesboro
Location: 300 S. Church Street, Jonesboro, AR 72403
Amount of Request: $1,000,000
Details: The funding would be used for the infrastructure costs of a new Fire Station and Public Safety Center for the City of Jonesboro to expand the Jonesboro Police Department Real Time Crime, Fire, and Emergency response capabilities into a central, modernized hub. The center will also house modernized technology and equipment to improve officer and citizen safety by improving situational awareness in the field in real-time and aiding in criminal investigations using modern technology, cameras, and analytics. Additionally, the City of Jonesboro is committed to provide $2,000,000 in matching funds towards some of the construction costs and for modern first responder technology and analytics equipment.
The center will provide more staff and personnel space to provide relevant information to field officers and first responders to answer calls for service, and to provide relevant interoperable information to all public safety departments and entities in the City of Jonesboro and the surrounding Northeast Arkansas region. The convergence of these public entities would ensure interoperable communication, collaboration, and growth of all parties – ultimately increasing safety for first responders and all the citizens of Jonesboro.
McClellan-Kerr Arkansas Navigation System Catastrophic Failure Prevention
Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Location: 700 West Capitol Avenue, Federal Building, 7th Floor, Little Rock, AR 72203
Amount of Request: $91,400,000
Details: The recommended plan includes the construction of a new containment structure approximately 2.5 miles long at an elevation of 157 feet with a relief channel through the Historic Closure Structure, beginning on natural high ground just south and west of the existing Melinda Cutoff Structure located on the south side of Owens Lake. It would continue east and cross south of the existing Melinda Structure, then head northeast and connect to the existing soil cement containment structure north of Jim Smith Lake where it would follow the existing containment alignment and terminate at the Historic Closure Structure. A section of the Historic Closure Structure ranging from 500 feet to 1,000 feet wide, would be lowered to elevation 145 feet to facilitate earlier water exchange during flooding to alleviate extreme head differentials between the two rivers. The Melinda Cutoff Structure would be demolished to reduce turbulence and erosion in the immediate Melinda Structure vicinity. This action would also reestablish the hydrologic connection of the two arms of Owens, increasing spawning and nursery habitat for native fish species. An opening would be constructed in the Owens Lake Structure to prevent changes in flood duration that could adversely impact forested wetlands (bottomland hardwood forest).
Justification– Since the early 1970s, continued erosion across the isthmus increases the probability of a catastrophic cutoff forming between the Arkansas and White rivers. Depending on the size of the failure, loss of the navigation channel would range from months to over a year while temporary measures are constructed. This project will save the taxpayers a tremendous amount of money in emergency work and prevent economic loss for the US economy while this crucial waterway is closed.
O&M, McClellan-Kerr Arkansas Navigation System, AR & OK
Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Location: 700 West Capitol Avenue, Federal Building, 7th Floor, Little Rock, AR 72203
Amount of Request: $74,000,000
Details: Funding will be used to address the backlog of critical maintenance projects along the 50-year-old MKARNS system. The future economic viability of the MKARNS is at risk as there is currently more than a $300 million backlog for projects including locks, dams, and other important equipment that is deteriorating to dangerous conditions. The MKARNS is vital to the economies of Arkansas and Oklahoma, as well as Kansas, which sends or receives 49 percent of the tonnage coming through ports along the MKARNS. A critical failure on the system could result in it being shut down for months and even a temporary shutdown could put future use of the system at risk, as businesses would no longer see the MKARNS as reliable and would likely find other means to transport their goods. Losing navigation on the entire MKARNS would cost over 6,000 jobs and cause national GDP to decline by $723 million.
Craighead Technology Park
Recipient: City Water and Light of Jonesboro
Location: 400 E. Monroe Avenue, Jonesboro, AR 72401
Amount of Request: $1,000,000
Details: Will prepare an approximately 620-acre site in the new Craighead Technology Park (CTP) South industrial park with water infrastructure for interested industries looking to locate in Jonesboro. CWL is the provider of water, wastewater, and electric utilities in Jonesboro, and owns approximately 220 acres of the land for the proposed site. The Jonesboro Economic Development Corporation (JEDC) owns the remaining acreage. JEDC’s stated purpose is to encourage and promote the economic, agricultural, and industrial development of a city or county in this state. Adjacent to I-555, this site sits South of the current CTP, making it an optimal location for future industries desiring large-scale sites and direct access to the interstate. Aside from a single circuit, three-phase electric line bordering the western edge of the land there are no utilities currently on the site making it less than attractive for potential industries. Funding will be used to extend a 24” water line to the property. This line will provide approximately 9 million gallons per day of water flow to CTP South. As needed, CWL is committed to drill new wells and build a 30” water main extension to the commerce pumping station at an estimated cost of $5.5 million. CWL is also committed to pay for the needed electric infrastructure upgrades for the park, estimated at $7 million, in accordance with CWL approved policy. Manufacturers are looking for opportunities to relocate and/or expand to geographic locations with a lower cost of living, lower taxes, and fewer governmental restrictions and regulations. Jonesboro offers these economic benefits, but currently has no shovel ready tracts larger than 200 acres. Projects requiring a site of that size or larger, typically carry heavier investments and provide higher-wage job opportunities. The goal for this property is to make Jonesboro attractive nationally to large-scale industry and bring high wage jobs to Jonesboro and Northeast Arkansas.
North End Clean Up/ Eaker Air Force Base, Mississippi County, Blytheville, Arkansas Congressional District 1
Recipient: Mississippi County, AR
Location: 200 W. Walnut, Blytheville, AR 72315
Amount of Request: $2,500,000
Details: Will provide for all equipment, labor, and transportation necessary to complete the “wet demolition”, hauling away, and disposal of approximately 238 dilapidated duplex structures (476 units) on the north end of Arkansas Aeroplex (formerly Eaker Air Force Base) in Blytheville, AR. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because after closure of Eaker Air Force Base in 1992, the Department of Defense has provided little support in repurposing and cleaning up the site, which is located adjacent to a school and a retirement home. Core components of the project include the remediation of toxic chemicals such as PFOS and lead paint and level the existing dilapidated structures on the site which are beyond repair. After the closure of the base the community was hit hard by the massive job losses. However, in recent years Mississippi County has attracted several businesses and now boasts the title of the largest steel-producing county in the United States but without the land available to support the housing demands that have with a growing economy.
Highway 412 Corridor Improvements, Various Counties, Arkansas, AR-01 & AR-03
Recipient: Arkansas Department of Transportation
Location: 10324 Interstate 30, Little Rock, AR 72209
Amount of Request: $5,000,000
Details: The funding would be used for improvements on the Highway 412 corridor in Boone, Lawrence, and Washington Counties. These improvements consist of various interchange and intersection improvements, passing lanes, and major widening on various sections of Highway 412.
Construction of Future I-57 from Walnut Ridge to Missouri State Line, Various Counties, Arkansas, AR-01
Recipient: Arkansas Department of Transportation
Location: 10324 Interstate 30, Little Rock, AR 72209
Amount of Request: $10,000,000
Details: The purpose of this project is to construct a section of Arkansas’ remaining portion of Future Interstate 57. This project will complete a continuous freeway facility, linking Little Rock, Arkansas to Chicago, Illinois. The benefits of this project include increased mobility and safety, enhanced economic competitiveness regionally as well as accelerated interstate commerce. The addition of a four-lane highway with a full Interstate designation would attract business to this area of Arkansas as well as provide a direct link from Little Rock, Arkansas to St. Louis, Missouri and Chicago, Illinois.
Previous years can be found below: