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Advertising and Promotion (A&P) Commission Needs Help October 24, 2008
Although the A&P Commission collects literally millions of dollars from tourists and locals alike through their infamous "hamburger tax," it is apparently still not enough. Witness the method in which the grounds are being kept (or unkempt) around the convention center. The grass has not been cut for a couple of months. With the same number of employees as the Dallas Convention Center, one would think they could at least mow the grass and pick up trash a couple of times each month. There is really not that much grass. Is it time we start wondering what kind of stewards of our tax money those folks are? Remember all the leaky roofs. They spend millions on out-of-town consultants, attorneys, advertising agents, etc. Perhaps they could hire some out-of-town grass cutters. Aren't these the very people responsible for developing and promoting the image of Hot Springs? Can they not understand that conditions such those depicted by the following pictures hurt the image of our town?
This is
Embassy Suites property, quite a difference, yes?
County Judge Desires Citizens Advisory Committee for New Jail Tax October 14, 2008
During the October 13 Garland County Quorum Court meeting, County Judge Larry Williams announced his desire to see a "Citizens Advisory Committee" formed to research and recommend what should be done to achieve a new county jail. He also made the same announcement Tuesday (October 14) on the "Talk of the Town" radio show. Some work has already been done due to efforts of the Garland Good Government Group (GGGG). The county judge and county sheriff both attended the most recent GGGG meeting where the group selected their representatives to each of 4 subcommittees. The subcommittees are: Funding, Size-site-design, PIT programs, and Technology.
The Funding subcommittee will study and report on such items as how to fund all proposed capital equipment items including the jail, communications equipment, court security, IT systems, etc. The group agreed that these items must have a "sunset clause" meaning that when the capital investment is paid, the tax will cease. Items such as jail operations, salaries, resource officers, etc. would likely require a 1/8 cent sales tax which would be permanent. A major consideration is a final determination as to whether a county-wide sales tax would legally have to be shared with the city.
The Size-site-design subcommittee will study and report on items such as the best initial size with expandability, the best location, and a general design especially with respect to functionality. It was generally agreed that the professional report recommended by the city was severely flawed. There was also much concern that the attorneys and bond counsel used for the last jail bond proposal worked more for the city than for the county.
The PIT subcommittee will study and report on "prevention, intervention, and treatment" programs designed to prevent individuals from going to jail or being repeat residents of the jail. It was generally agreed that such programs have proven successful in various other areas and likely should be part of any public safety proposal placed before the voters of Garland County.
The Technology subcommittee will study and report on items such as a new IT (information technology) system, communications equipment, court security equipment, etc. There have been so many problems with the radio system proposed that system reliability issues must be addressed before again being proposed to the public for their vote.
Hopefully, the county and other groups will participate with the proposed "Citizens Public Safety Advisory Committee" because a jail is probably our current greatest need.
Motorola Radio Info from the Expert August 9, 2008
Many times during the past few years I’ve talked with police and fire executives who are considering replacing their radio systems with new digital equipment because they believe it is mandated by the FCC’s requirement to convert to narrowband operation prior to January 2013. This is a common, but highly inaccurate myth.
There is no mandate to convert to digital and there are many compelling reasons to stay with analog. Narrowband analog operation works fine and meets the FCC requirement for 2013. There are thousands of narrowband analog radio systems in use by government agencies and businesses all over the United States. In most cases, the radio system users can’t tell the difference between wide and narrow operation. Most analog police and fire radios manufactured within the last ten years are capable of narrowband operation merely by reprogramming the radio.
The FCC required all two-way mobile and portable radios manufactured after February 14, 1997 that operate below 512 MHz be capable of operation on wide and narrow channels. Furthermore, the FCC has mandated all two-way radios that operate below 512 MHz must use narrowband mode prior to January 1, 2013. FCC rules allow for analog or digital modulation, so long as the narrowband requirement is met. There are more disadvantages to digital operation than benefits. It is not necessary to replace analog equipment with digital in order to meet the January 2013 requirement.
At some point in the future, it's expected that police and fire two-way radio systems will need to reduce bandwidth even more. Most current radio channels user 25 KHz of bandwidth. We must reduce this to 12.5 KHz prior to January 1, 2013 and can do so with analog or digital modulation. We believe that is likely that we will be required to again reduce the bandwidth of two-radio systems to 6.25 KHz in the distant future, however no deadline has been set. The technology for 6.25 KHz operation has not been standardized, so it is premature to purchase this type of "narrow narrow" equipment.
We recommend that public-safety agencies use narrowband (12.5 KHz) analog modulation for the forseeable future. At some point in the future, we will need to convert to "narrow narrow" digital technology, but we're at least one more generation of equipment away from recommending this.
More information is available at http://blog.tcomeng.com/.
Press Release - June 9, 2008 April 9, 2008
For immediate publication
The Garland County Election Commission was given notice today that a lawsuit is being filed against the commission addressing illegalities in the June 10th election.
Attached is a copy of the letter to the election commission from the attorney that is filing the lawsuit on behalf of the Garland Good Government Group and the Watchmen of Garland County.
The leadership of the 2 groups are furious over the election commission’s flagrant violation of election laws.
On June 2nd, a Hot Springs voter filed a formal complaint with the Arkansas Board of Election Commissioners claiming that the local commission unlawfully closed every customary polling place.
Three days after the complaint was filed, the commission was required to publish a notice of the election and it’s polling locations at least 5 days before the election and they failed to do so.
A special election is being held tomorrow that will prohibit the voters from having a vote to decide if they want to continue hamburger and hotel taxes for the next 10 years. Over that period, tax revenues will exceed $60 million. This is an important and misunderstood issue yet few people even know where to vote.
Attached is a copy of the complaint to the State Election Commission and notice from an attorney to the local election commission of intent to file suit regardless of the outcome of the election.
For further information please contact:
Diane Silverman (501) 623-8239
Diane831@sbcglobal.net
Employment Changes for City Director, Perhaps City Manager April 9, 2008
It was reported that as of today, City Director Steve Smith is no longer the Director at the Quapaw Community Center. This action appears to be a result of an ultimatum to resign or be terminated option approved at a QCC board meeting last evening. City Manager Kent Myers has once again made the short list by being selected as one of the final 4 candidates for the city manager position in Bend, Oregon. This can be confirmed by clicking www.ktvz.com/Global/story.asp?S=8292752 which is the website for the Bend, Oregon NBC affiliate, KTVZ or the local talk radio at www.kbnd.com/ which provided the following story today (April 9, 2008).
The final candidates are announced in the search for Bend’s next city manager. More than 70 candidates initially applied for the job, and that has been whittled down to four. They are Bend’s current Interim City Manager Eric King; Sam Kim, a global product development manager for Hewlett Packard from Vancouver, Washington; Chris Morrill, the Savannah, Georgia, Assistant City Manager; and Kent Myers, Assistant City Manager of Hot Springs, Arkansas. The finalists will be invited to Bend May 19th and 20th for personal interviews and to be quizzed by the public during an evening session at the Tower Theatre.
News blogs and reports from the area seem to predict that the interim city manager, Eric King, will be picked for the job. Salary for the job is listed at $150,000 plus vehicle allowance, executive benefits, etc. The following ad appeared recently in the Wall Street Journal.
THE CITY OF BEND, OREGON
SEEKS CITY MANAGER
(Starting Salary $150,000, D.O.E. + Car Allowance & Executive Benefit Package)
Minimum requirements include Bachelor's degree in Public or Business Administration, Finance, Management, Government or related field with 10+yrs of executive management experience.
Click Here for An April 1 Submission Concerning A&P Actions
Local News Blog has Article on City's Proposal to Buy CodeRed System April 3, 2008
There is a very perceptive article posted on www.spacityvoice.com relative to the city's proposed new early warning system, CodeRed. You can click here to go directly to the article.
City hopes to purchase new Emergency Communications System January 26, 2008
We attended a meeting of city department heads for a viewing and demonstration of the city's proposed new "Code Red" emergency notification system. The system is primarily being sold as an "early warning system" for storms but can be used for various other "warning" functions. The company's website is www.codeREDweb.com so our readers can determine for themselves the capabilities and necessity for buying this system.
Basically, our view is that the proposed system is a map-linked database which will automatically dial phone numbers in selected areas of the city. We have several concerns and comments relative to the need for such a system.
First - It appears to be duplicating much of what the National Weather Service already provides. In fact, our initial comments to the Hot Springs city board of directors was that the National Weather Service has a well proven system in place. We are now notified by this existing system of all weather related emergencies on television and radio. If we need notification when we are not watching television or listening to the radio, we can purchase a "weather radio" that will automatically sound an alarm and come on to notify us even when we are sleeping such as 3 AM.
Second - It appears that the county sheriff's office may already have such a system. We have not yet verified this but will do so in the near future. Even if this is not the case and such a system is proven to be needed, why not do so in conjunction with the county and share the exorbitant cost?
Third - The price itself is quite expensive. We were quoted an initial cost of $160,000 just to set up the software. Apparently, there is no actual hardware which means that any dangerous storm-water rising conditions would have to be monitored and reported locally. Consequently, the price for any such hardware would added to the price of the software. Oh, there is also an additional $40,000 per year just to be a subscriber to the service.
Fourth - The city already installed an early warning system back in 1990 but apparently was not concerned enough about replacing batteries, etc. to keep the system working. Check out the equipment where the Hot Springs Creek enters the underground tunnel on Whittington Avenue.
Fifth - If we have money to spend on communications systems, how about we use those funds to purchase an adequate radio system for our police and fire departments. The existing system was antiquated and had no replacement parts available when the city bought it. The existing system does not currently have the capability or necessary frequencies to communicate with other area emergency responders as required by Homeland Security. In other words, if we have this kind of money, lets use it to improve the security and welfare of citizens for functions not already covered.
Consider this as "food for thought" and do your own research at www.codeREDweb.com. As usual, if the city does decide to purchase this system, don't expect to be allowed a voice or a vote before our hard-earned tax dollars are spent.
