Support for Arkansas Week provided by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

The Arkansas Times and Little Rock Public Radio.

And welcome to the show.

Welcome to Arkansas Week.

I'm Dawn Scott and East Arkansas City is again experiencing a water system failure.

This is the second in seven months For more than two weeks, many in the West Helena area have been without water for drinking, bathing and other needs.

And officials warn it could be several additional weeks before water is completely restored.

So joining me to get to the bottom of this, Chris Cole, the director of Natural resources division of the State Department of Agriculture.

We also have AJ Gary, the director of the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management, and also Chris Harris, the deputy director of the Arkansas Rural Water Association.

And via Skype, we have State Senator Reginald Murdock, whose district includes this area.

And we appreciate you all being with us today.

I want to start with you, Chris, of freezing weather brought brought this issue on in West Helena.

What's the status on restoring water right now?

As of today, we have got water service restored to every customer in the city of West Helena.

We've actually taken samples to hopefully get them off the border either today or Monday.

And we're still repairing leaks.

We're still fine.

And many, many leaks that they have.

The system is very old and it is very fragile.

So bringing it back up from having nothing in the water tanks has caused even further issues.

So as of right now, we're up, but without a new well, I mean, it's a matter of time before it could happen again.

We just hope that we can hang on until we can get something in place to be more sustainable for them.

And when we say today, we're taping this on Friday morning, the 2nd of February, just to be clear, because this show does air several times.

I want to talk to you, A.J., the National Guard and emergency responders providing water bottles, water trucks coming in and portable showering facilities have been brought in.

What what was involved in making this happen?

Are you still there on the ground?

Sure.

Thank you.

So any time we have a weather event that's moving into Arkansas, we work very close with the National Weather Service.

So we start before that system even reaches our state, having coordination calls with our locals, briefing the governor on on, you know, the potential that the damage that that this event could cause.

And it was the same way with this ice storm ice event that came in.

We met with the governor brief the governor.

The determination was made to do a state of emergency because we felt with that temperatures dropping based on previous experience that we possibly have some issues, roadways, things of that nature.

So that allowed us to be able to bring resources in pretty quick.

And as the weather started to warm, we started seeing issues with some water systems around the state.

And so we we were able to very quickly, with the governor's support, to move those resources in to help out.

So Helena West Helena was was the largest community that was impacted.

So we immediately and working with a lot of our partners, our state partners, our nonprofit organizations that were able to get truckloads of water in really quick.

The state also purchased additional water to make sure that we had water going into that community.

And as you mentioned, we brought in portable showers, portable laundry services and things like that to try to address those immediate needs.

While the experts were working on the water system, getting them restored.

I want to get to you, State Senator Reginald Murdock via Skype.

40% of the population, there are 1400 residents.

What is this been like for them?

Well, first of all, let me say thank you for inviting me on this morning to discuss this very important topic that we're dealing with here.

And we also say thank you to all of our staff and all the other agencies that have made it a point so helpful for the citizens of helping us to do that.

But it's been traumatic what you would think when someone loses awareness of resource management as water is very, very difficult to lose.

It's health, safety, everything that you do, your life, whatever, that it was very traumatic situation.

And I know Chris mentioned that it had been restored this morning, but there are still issues moving forward.

And I want to get to you, Chris Cole.

Closure.

Governor Sanders, you know, of course, met with with most of you as well as local leaders and passed the Natural Resources Commission, press them rather, to really expedite the approval of them, $100,000 emergency loan for the city.

What is the status of that right now?

Yeah, So so we received that request last week and then we processed it immediately.

So the city has the approval to move forward to $100,000 to make some of the repairs that they need.

And that's something that we do as something that we have as a tool for communities when they're in an emergency situation and they need parts or or, you know, experienced labor to come in and help them.

I want to ask each of you to respond to this question, though.

The $100 or $100,000, of course, is is for the emergency situation.

But moving forward, this is an old infrastructure and this isn't the you mentioned the only city in the state in need.

What are we looking at here long term?

And I'll start with you, Chris.

Chris Harris.

So long term, the first and foremost thing we've got to have is a new well, we've got to have more water to be able to provide to the customers.

We've got several issues as far as in the treatment process, valves, things of that nature, the filter media itself and then moving into the distribution system.

That's going to be the greatest triumph of all.

If we can get a lot of those two inch galvanized mains replaced, that two inch system was put in originally and it has been in there the longest and that's where most of the breaks are occurring.

And so if we can get look at that, that's going to be the overall picture for West Helena.

Now, I would like to take time to thank all your Franklin and the Council.

The last council meeting, they pledged $1,000,000 toward the restore.

And of this new well or the rebuilding of this new well and the people in the community, we've had a lot of volunteers come out there and either hand out water or offer to work right along beside us.

We've had a JP and several other volunteers that have been in the field with us learning to what's going on and seeing what's needed to be done.

Yeah.

Is that enough money, do you think?

$1,000,000 to fix the entire problem?

No, ma'am.

No, ma'am.

I think it's going to be a long process and it's going to take several million.

But wherever we can start, that's where we want to get started.

The well is going to be the first and foremost thing, and that's probably not all of what they're going to need for that.

But that is a good start.

Back to you.

State Senator, what are you hearing from the constituents there that this you know, this happened last summer, so this is the second time around.

And as far as we're hearing, if we don't fix the problem now, it's going to happen again.

Well, what I'm hearing is that they're concerned.

And so this is a kind of a complicated situation in this those this close to this know, this is a historical impact from years of neglect, just to be quite frank.

Therefore, we're put in a situation whereby we have to try to ensure that we have confidence in the residents that going forward that whatever funds will come to our community would be properly used in accessing those funds and getting the dollars needed, many millions that will be needed to fix the long term problem is a it's a process and the governor and myself and others are trying to come together and formulate a plan along with the state.

It will allow us to access funds from various organizations along with the legislature as well.

So it's going to be all hands on deck for the situation because this is going to be much too large for the community to help all by themselves.

Well, that was my next question.

And Chris Cole, closure.

You can speak to this.

That money's going to have to come from a lot of different places to fix this problem.

Yeah, that's correct.

Because of just the size of the system and that so much of the infrastructure is outdated.

We're really going to have to develop like a ten year plan so that we can address the issues.

You know, what what can we physically actually replace in a year?

How much funding can we find to fix one year's worth and just keep keep, you know, tackle one year at a time?

And and we've we've had conversations with the city and and encouraging them to get an engineer on board that can actually lay out that ten year plan.

Well and then it puts you in an interesting position, A.J., because you're there when disaster happens.

It happened seven months ago.

It's happened now.

And in the meantime, well, all these groups and I applaud you all for working to try to fix this problem, there's likely going to be another issue that you're going to have to step in and help with.

There will be.

And again, as I mentioned before, it's you know, in emergency management, it's all about the partnerships that we have and the people that we can bring to the table to respond to win events happen.

We have a lot of disaster events in the state of Arkansas in, you know, I think with, you know, right off the bat, we pulled this group together.

We did a coordination call with a lot of state agencies.

The governor put that together right off the bat.

World Water Association has always been a great partner.

Natural resources and our National Guard and our other state agencies.

So we're able to move pretty quick when an event happens.

And that's really what our focus is in.

Emergency management is making sure that we meet those immediate needs that our citizens have.

We want to get some final thoughts from from each of you.

And Senator Murdock, let's start with you.

Just about 30 seconds of what what you need and what you want your residents to hear from you.

Well, I welcome the applications to understand that we are trying to have an all hands on deck and that we really, really, really need each other at this time to unify and not isolate ourselves from another issue, to reach out to others that will help you every situation and know that everyone is trying very tough situation and we do care.

And Chris Harris, you mentioned water back as of today, Friday.

What can what can you share as your final, final wrap to this?

Well, we just thank the residents for being patient with us.

I know that was kind of a trying time turning water on and off, trying to get water into different sections of the city.

But and thank the staff for the city.

Has they stood side by side with us also.

They sent three from KW They come down central Arkansas water.

Those guys were helpful and we appreciate all that and we just hope to move forward and keep them in water for the duration until they get everything in place.

AJ Gary, you're on the ground there.

How long do you anticipate being there?

I think now that the water system is up, just talking to the locals, I think will be they'll be releasing the National Guard, I think maybe even as soon as today, but certainly within the next couple of days, as long as everything's going good, they have supply of bottled, bottled water, other resources, and then we're always available that if something happens, we can respond very quickly to meet those needs.

And Chris, cold closure to you.

This is obviously not just a Helena problem.

It's really probably a number of cities across the state.

Yeah.

I mean, our our infrastructure across the state in a lot of our cities is very outdated and and we're proud that they're making the investments in it to get it up to to where it can be more sustainable and more reliable.

And we see a lot of effort across the state right now in making the needed investments in their infrastructure.

And we need to do this proactively, too.

Would you say you better not wait for a disaster to happen somewhere?

You bet.

I mean, in many cases, you know, deferred maintenance, this is what gets you down the road to where you have major emergencies and it makes it that much more difficult to recover from those If you're if your infrastructure is outdated.

And we're committed to working with Helena West Helena, to try to get their infrastructure replaced.

Well, thank you all.

Chris Cole closure, of course, director of Natural Resources division with the Department of Agriculture.

Thank you.

And A.J.

Gary, director of the Division of Emergency Management.

Chris Harris, the deputy director of the Arkansas Rural Water Association.

And of course, via Skype, we have State Senator Reginald Murdock, whose district, of course, falls in that area.

We thank you all for being here.

And we'll be right back with more of Arkansas week after this.

Welcome back.

Arkansas is expected to get a major economic boost and a lot of attention when an April eight solar eclipse occurs.

A curved line through the state will be in the path of totality, with about one and a half million visitors per check projected to be in our state to take in our exceptional vantage point.

It is being touted as a once in a lifetime opportunity for people and for businesses.

And joining me to talk about preparations for this historic event, Katie Beck.

She is the CEO of the Arkansas Hospitality Association.

We also have Dr. Michael Pascoe, chief economist for the Arkansas Economic Development Institute, and Morrilton Mayor Alan Lips.

Meyer, we appreciate you all being here.

I want to start with you, Dr. Packer.

Before we get to the eclipse, a different but timely topic.

Revenue numbers just came out this morning as of Friday.

Give us the rundown.

Of the numbers that came out today are consistent with what we saw in the first half of the fiscal year.

Revenues are down somewhat from the previous year, but ahead of forecast.

So as a result, we had another budget surplus of nearly $15 billion and that accumulates to for the fiscal year.

So far, $231 million in the surplus this year.

We appreciate that.

Thanks so much.

And on the solar eclipse, what kind of revenue are you expecting that this event will bring to businesses?

This is going to be a really big deal.

The history of of this, the similar event that happened in 2017, cutting a different arc across the country led to a lot of studies that looked at the economic impact.

Places like Wyoming, Nebraska, South Carolina all reported this as the single biggest tourism event in their history.

And I anticipate it'll be a similar kind of event here in Arkansas.

Well, Katie, let's let's talk with you a moment.

An incredible influx of visitors is expected with this.

What are you hearing about potential tourists and can we handle it all?

So it's such an exciting time for Arkansas.

Expected 1.5 million visitors.

And if you put that into perspective with the state's population, that's our population growing by 50% just for this event.

But one of the things that I've been hearing from our members throughout the state and just industry folks, is that they are prepared.

This is a an exciting time.

But we have a robust hospitality industry, a robust hotel industry.

And one of the things that we've been telling people is there's still availability.

So don't wait to book because it's booking fast, but there's still time.

So don't don't hesitate to plan out a fear of lack of vacancies because we still have some.

And that is in part due to just the robust hotel industry that we have.

But the preparations that have gone into this years in the making.

Well, let's talk to you, Mayor Love SA your city is one of the fortunate ones to be right in the path of totality.

And what are you expecting?

And I know you've been in touch with places elsewhere who've experienced something similar.

So talk about that, if you will, too.

We've been in touch with Casper, Wyoming, Jim Daly, past Mayor Little Rock, and who was Chairman Park's tourism commission, is one of our consultants.

And they got us in touch with them and they gave us our what the white papers that they used and what they learned.

And we've had meetings for over two years with our emergency management, police, fire all over the county trying to create get ready for this project.

Well, to be clear, Casper was right in the path of totality back in 2017, August of 2017.

They were the ones in the position that you're in now.

What did they what have they shared with you?

Well, they had a $500 million or $500,000 increase in sales tax just for that week.

Wow.

And so they've been in touch with our police department, getting us prepared how to handle the traffic.

Our town is very walkable.

So we're trying to to tell the people, our visitors to to stay at their hotel and walk wherever they need to go, because we don't have people driving to the closest parking place for entertainment and all those kind of things to keep our traffic down.

We've got Interstate 40.

We're not sure how that's going to affect people pulling off into our town.

You know, it's hard to know what exact number.

We're going to have a visitors.

We only have 200 hotel rooms in Morrilton.

So that's not the economic boost.

So we've created villages to have primitive camping or RVs come in, and that's where we feel like we're going to see our boost in mountain number one state Park in the nation is already booked up.

So we've got went to Rockefeller Interstate that's going to have nice 17 different colleges there.

So we've we feel like we've got a lot of good things going on.

We're just not getting the publicity that all the other towns are getting.

Well, you're getting it now.

So first.

I want to talk it's interesting you bringing up kind of Casper, Wyoming, the sales revenue that that brought in.

What does that do to our state and how can we eventually use that money?

You know, from that's brought in from this one event?

Well, it's going to be a big influx of tourist spending.

And when it comes to economic impact, tourism is rich source of revenue for businesses and tax authorities, for that matter, to the sales tax revenue that will come in from it.

You know, Forbes in an interesting study after the 2017 Eclipse event where they found that retail foot traffic inside the zone of totality went up about 16%, but just outside that, the zone was very even bigger increase, like 28%.

Wow.

So people on their way home after the eclipse stopping to get gas or grab a meal, It's going to affect not just those communities that are at the heart of the event, but also those surrounding communities that will benefit from the traffic.

Although the traffic is expected to be pretty bad, especially right after the event ends, people will be coming for the weekend and then expecting to just head home after the event.

And the highways are likely to be pretty congested.

We might have.

5055 in Casper, Wyoming, will shut down.

Wow.

And so we could potentially see that here in.

Interstate 40 and interstate for us to lock down.

You know, I want to ask you, Katie, you mentioned there are still rooms available and locations available, but we have kind of anecdotally heard from residents who've had offers of people to, you know, rent out their homes or rent out their lake houses or do things like that at exorbitant prices.

Are we seeing kind of an increase in pricing or are we seeing some of that already?

You know, just with the market and surrounding certain events, there are always small fluctuations.

But I mean, like I said earlier, our hotel industry is prepared.

They have been working with, whether it's from a corporate brand standpoint, from a marriott or a Hilton, but also from our independently owned hotels.

They've been preparing in terms of availability but also just adjusting to the market.

Well, I'm curious if our restaurants can handle it as well, just given that sheer number of people like if our infrastructure can could handle.

So it's interesting.

I actually talked to a restaurant owner earlier this week, and one of the things that they've been doing is scheduling, making sure that they have scheduled deliveries and they have enough food for their customers.

And some of that is kind of maybe deliveries at different times of the day, but also bringing in extra storage to host.

So that's those preparations are underway just to be able to handle the customer volume and to have food to prepare, but also, you know, the refrigerator space or in the storage for that.

Yeah.

Well, and I'm curious, I want to hear more about the villages that you mentioned, Mayor Lips.

Maya, what what does that entail?

Is it just setting up?

It's just raw land.

Is it?

We're doing our city park into a camp or the pavement.

We'll take our TV's, the Ballfields, we'll take tents.

That's just to create more places for people to stay.

We've got people out in the county that are doing that also, and it's been a slow go getting bookings.

And those calls are still going to the hotels first.

But, you know, we've also at our meetings, we've been dealing with pharmacists having them to have more prescription, you know, more medicine because people are going to run out of lanes.

It's just a whole gamut of who haven't been prepared with all the products that you're going to need for this event.

Well, and I imagine there'll be quite a lot of last minute, like there's a lot of press and publicity about the event.

And then people just sort of deciding at the last.

Day trippers, people coming in.

They've also said there's going to be 500,000 people move across the state, just people that live here moving closer to the blue line also.

So it's going to be daytrippers to just needing a place to park to look at it.

And we feel like we're going to have a lot of that because people are really going to stay in Conway, Russellville, and they come by with our town because we do have more totality, things like that.

But we've been meeting with our restaurants to our ambulance service, you know, trying to get everybody prepared how we'll manage this all week.

I'm curious if there's an event to sort of market like a fireworks show or just any sort of, I don't know, concert.

Now we have a we have a concert series at our Rialto Theater that way for three days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and to try to get people to come.

And we're going to have food vendors downtown, you know, crafts, things like that set up downtown.

We sure hope the weather holds out.

I'm not even thinking like we want good weather to be able to actually see it.

Dr. Park, I want to talk to you.

Is there a forecast number that you anticipate the state to bring in from something like this?

Not that I've run across.

We've we've seen some really huge numbers for the states that experienced the 2017 increase.

You mentioned 1.5 million visitors.

In Wyoming, they did an expenditure study on visitors to the state during 2017 for that particular weekend, and they spent about a nearly $1,000 in today's inflation adjusted dollars on lodging, food and transportation expenses.

So that's going to really add up.

Yeah, it sure will.

And then we'll have it.

You know what to do with it later.

We'll figure that out.

I know that won't be a bad thing, though, for sure.

I know as we wrap this up, I just do want to get some final thoughts.

You know, maybe for Arkansans living here who suddenly have this influx of people coming, any thoughts for them or any final thoughts that you want to share?

Mayor Lives matter.

Certainly if you're if you're at home, you need to be prepared like the last ice storm have.

You need to be prepared at home with milk and food because you may not be able to get to the store.

You may not be able to get out.

With the traffic problems, those kind of things, you need to have your medicine.

You need to have everything.

You need at home.

Being prepared for that, because we don't have any idea what kind of traffic it's going to look like in any town.

And it's not a competitive thing because there's no town that can handle any of these all these people.

You know, if I could just evenly be spread out, it would be great.

That's not going to happen.

But it's not a competitive thing.

It's all of us are going to benefit from this.

The whole state is going to benefit from it.

Sure.

Dr. Pascoe, final thoughts from you?

Well, I would just reiterate the point that for business owners, the important thing to plan for is to have enough staffing and inventory to meet the demand.

It's probably going to be bigger than anyone expects.

Even given the fact that we are anticipating such a big event.

And Katie Beck, I want to hear from you.

Just thoughts from from people who are members of the hospitality association, what they're sharing with you and what you can share with us.

Sure.

It's just an exciting time for the state, not only to showcase everything that we have to offer to visitors, but it's also exciting for Arkansans to, you know, maybe take a weekend trip to to experience the event and and to really experience this event within our home state.

The industry is again, it's a robust industry, second largest in the state.

They've been preparing for years.

And we're excited.

They're excited to host.

And again, there's still availability, so don't wait to book.

Yeah, but because they will book fast.

But our hoteliers and our restaurant tours are are they're gearing up for it.

It's definitely one for the history books, for sure.

Thank you so much.

Morrilton Mayor Alan Lips Meyer Thank you.

Dr. Michael Packer, the chief economist for the Arkansas Economic Development Institute.

And Katie Beck, the CEO of the Arkansas Hospitality Association.

We do appreciate you all.

And thanks for being with us for this episode of Arkansas Week.

We'll see you next time.

Support for Arkansas Week provided by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, The Arkansas Times and little Rock Public Radio.