Although three tornado sirens were installed in Chester, Van Buren and Mulberry in January, the Crawford County Department of Emergency Management has not been receiving feedback from any of the 23 tornado sirens in the county, Brad Thomas, director of Crawford County Emergency Management, told the Crawford County Intergovernmental Council during a Tuesday meeting.
"We're in the process of getting that fixed, so what we need is the public ... if you've noticed a tornado siren not working, let me know, or let (Crawford County Judge Dennis Gilstrap) know. Call the judge's office, let us know," Thomas said.
Thomas said the problem began in summer 2016. However, it should be corrected soon.
"They were supposed to start working on it this week, but something happened," Thomas said. "... Next week, they're supposed to start working on this problem. It's a radio issue."
Sasha Grist, executive director of the Western Arkansas Planning and Development District (WAPDD), provided the council with an update on the Western Arkansas Intermodal Authority (WAIA) inland intermodal port project.
Earlier this year, five entities, which included Fort Smith, Van Buren, Crawford County, Sebastian County and the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority, each agreed to contribute $40,000 to allow WAIA to hire Vickerman & Associates, a Virginia-based firm. Vickerman & Associates would be tasked with soliciting a proposed intermodal inland port logistics park to qualified entities around the world to fund, design, build and potentially operate it.
"We've invoiced all entities, so hopefully we'll start getting that money in," Grist said. "Last week, we did sign the contract with (Vickerman & Associates President) John Vickerman, so that was a major step. That's something that we've been working for ... what, a year now? Nine months? I mean, it's been a long process."
Grist said Vickerman has also started to work on the project.
"We are holding him to give us a progress report at the end of every month," Grist said. "We will then get back to the five participating entities, so if they want to take it to their boards, their councils, they can do that."
Those in attendance also included state Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, and state Rep. Charlene Fite, R-Van Buren.
The next Crawford County Intergovernmental Council meeting will take place July 19 in Mulberry.
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