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To the Editor:
The citizens of Caddo Valley have to decide by July 14 whether or not they want to give away their city. Since 1802, there have been 23 successful consolidations of cities in the U.S. out of thousands of attempts.
I want the citizens of Caddo Valley to know that there is nothing the consolidation group will not say to try to gather up a vote. You all saw the scare tactics Byron Eubanks is starting to use. It was totally irresponsible of him to tell the bad guys that Caddo Valley doesn’t have police protection at certain hours of the morning (which, by the way, is not true).
Mr. Eubanks also stated that our citizens could save up to $350 on their water bills. Exactly where did Mr. Eubanks get this figure? I believe Arkadelphia went up 37 percent on their citizens. I have publicly stated we were going to absorb the 38-percent increase Arkadelphia put on their wholesalers. When Mr. Eubanks throws numbers around in letters he mails to Caddo Valley citizens, he needs to be ready to back those numbers up.
Yes, Mr. Eubanks, we did shut Cracker Barrel down for 2.5 hours to fix a break in a water main. Can you explain how YOU would have avoided that since Cracker Barrel was on that main?
Addressing the city’s CD’s, I notice that Mr. Eubanks was not concerned enough to come to City Hall and ask our recorder/treasurer, Sarah Roberts, about those. All our financial records are open to the public. The perception at City Hall is that Mr. Eubanks would rather distort the facts in the newspaper than find out the truth.
Mr. Eubanks was right about one thing: we do need to chart a new direction in Caddo Valley. The direction I plan is to build our own water treatment facility so that we can avoid the high water rates we are paying now and would be paying into future years. With our own treatment plant, we could lower water bills for Caddo Valley citizens.
About our system of government, Caddo Valley has the same system that over 500 cities in Arkansas have. Arkadelphia’s city manager system is one of only four in the state. Based on these numbers, I would assume that the people of our state prefer having a mayor-city council form of government.
All cities have problems. Has Arkadelphia ever had any? I would guess that Arkadelphia City Manager Jimmy Bolt wouldn’t deny that. When cities do have problems, they must identify the problem and deal with it. I understand that if I do not correct my city’s problems, I won’t be in office in 2011. That’s what makes our system of government work. The people have a choice at the polls.
Concerning rules and regulations, Caddo Valley has ordinances and resolutions as does every other city in the state. We encourage people to mow their lawns, and we send out letters to those who don’t. The citizens of Caddo Valley know I probably won’t be going house to house with a yardstick measuring their grass. Speaking as a Caddo Valley citizen and not the mayor, I would really hate driving six miles to town (the distance from my house on Malvern Road to Arkadelphia Town Hall) to get a permit every time I pick up a hammer to build a dog pen or put up a fence.
I’ve had people outside Caddo Valley ask me why we would want to consolidate. I can’t answer that. I guess so we can get our free trash bags? We offer more city services here in Caddo Valley than in any other second class city I know of. Take a tour of the Arkadelphia Fire Station and the Stan Roberson Fire Station in Caddo Valley. Thanks to a 1-cent, six-month tax, the Caddo Valley Police Department will soon be driving four brand new police cars. Our A&P Commission has paid to have the basketball court in our city park re-paved with four inches of concrete and have almost completed a 10-foot wide, quarter-mile long walking trail. They are also working on a grant to put in a first-class playground in our city park. The A&P Commission is also planning neighborhood parks in other areas of our city for families to enjoy.
One last note to Mr. Eubanks: We drink the same water in Caddo Valle the people in Arkadelphia drink. The perception I am hearing from folks around Caddo Valley is that maybe you should consider moving to Arkadelphia.
I urge all Caddo Valley citizens to vote against consolidation on July 14.
Alan J. Dillavou
mayor, Caddo Valley
To the Editor:
The citizens of Caddo Valley have to decide by July 14 whether or not they want to give away their city. Since 1802, there have been 23 successful consolidations of cities in the U.S. out of thousands of attempts.
I want the citizens of Caddo Valley to know that there is nothing the consolidation group will not say to try to gather up a vote. You all saw the scare tactics Byron Eubanks is starting to use. It was totally irresponsible of him to tell the bad guys that Caddo Valley doesn’t have police protection at certain hours of the morning (which, by the way, is not true).
Mr. Eubanks also stated that our citizens could save up to $350 on their water bills. Exactly where did Mr. Eubanks get this figure? I believe Arkadelphia went up 37 percent on their citizens. I have publicly stated we were going to absorb the 38-percent increase Arkadelphia put on their wholesalers. When Mr. Eubanks throws numbers around in letters he mails to Caddo Valley citizens, he needs to be ready to back those numbers up.
Yes, Mr. Eubanks, we did shut Cracker Barrel down for 2.5 hours to fix a break in a water main. Can you explain how YOU would have avoided that since Cracker Barrel was on that main?
Addressing the city’s CD’s, I notice that Mr. Eubanks was not concerned enough to come to City Hall and ask our recorder/treasurer, Sarah Roberts, about those. All our financial records are open to the public. The perception at City Hall is that Mr. Eubanks would rather distort the facts in the newspaper than find out the truth.
Mr. Eubanks was right about one thing: we do need to chart a new direction in Caddo Valley. The direction I plan is to build our own water treatment facility so that we can avoid the high water rates we are paying now and would be paying into future years. With our own treatment plant, we could lower water bills for Caddo Valley citizens.
About our system of government, Caddo Valley has the same system that over 500 cities in Arkansas have. Arkadelphia’s city manager system is one of only four in the state. Based on these numbers, I would assume that the people of our state prefer having a mayor-city council form of government.
All cities have problems. Has Arkadelphia ever had any? I would guess that Arkadelphia City Manager Jimmy Bolt wouldn’t deny that. When cities do have problems, they must identify the problem and deal with it. I understand that if I do not correct my city’s problems, I won’t be in office in 2011. That’s what makes our system of government work. The people have a choice at the polls.
Concerning rules and regulations, Caddo Valley has ordinances and resolutions as does every other city in the state. We encourage people to mow their lawns, and we send out letters to those who don’t. The citizens of Caddo Valley know I probably won’t be going house to house with a yardstick measuring their grass. Speaking as a Caddo Valley citizen and not the mayor, I would really hate driving six miles to town (the distance from my house on Malvern Road to Arkadelphia Town Hall) to get a permit every time I pick up a hammer to build a dog pen or put up a fence.
I’ve had people outside Caddo Valley ask me why we would want to consolidate. I can’t answer that. I guess so we can get our free trash bags? We offer more city services here in Caddo Valley than in any other second class city I know of. Take a tour of the Arkadelphia Fire Station and the Stan Roberson Fire Station in Caddo Valley. Thanks to a 1-cent, six-month tax, the Caddo Valley Police Department will soon be driving four brand new police cars. Our A&P Commission has paid to have the basketball court in our city park re-paved with four inches of concrete and have almost completed a 10-foot wide, quarter-mile long walking trail. They are also working on a grant to put in a first-class playground in our city park. The A&P Commission is also planning neighborhood parks in other areas of our city for families to enjoy.
One last note to Mr. Eubanks: We drink the same water in Caddo Valle the people in Arkadelphia drink. The perception I am hearing from folks around Caddo Valley is that maybe you should consider moving to Arkadelphia.
I urge all Caddo Valley citizens to vote against consolidation on July 14.
Alan J. Dillavou
mayor, Caddo Valley
