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White Hall receives $900,000 for water tower Tuesday, Jun 24, 2008 By Jason Wiest Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., presented White Hall officials on Monday with a $900,000 federal Economic Development Administration check to be used for the construction of a water tower on the north end of the city. The Southeast Arkansas Economic Development District Inc. applied for the EDA grant to better the city's water system, currently operating at 100 percent capacity. "EDA has a wonderful team that supports us here in Arkansas and we're very grateful to them," Lincoln said. "Obviously, with the growth that you all have got going on in White Hall, water and water systems are absolutely essential." The $1.7 million project will help the city grow its population, attract industry and lower business and residential insurance rates by improving fire protection, White Hall Mayor James "Jitters" Morgan said. The city was incorporated in 1964 with 800 people, and has grown to more than 5,000 residents currently, straining infrastructure and lowering water pressure. "Growth is a problem but it's a good problem to have," Morgan said. The money also will help pay for 8,000 linear feet of water service lines. "This might help us get in some more economic development other than the bedroom community-type stuff," Morgan said. The city's growth also has attracted the attention of the Jefferson Regional Medical Center, which last year acquired 80 acres of land adjacent to where the 300,000 gallon water tank will be located, near the intersection of Arkansas highways 256 and 365. The medical center has constructed a 30,000-square-foot medical office building and wellness center at the site that employs about 50 people. Hundreds more jobs could be on the way, as the construction will allow the medical center to go forward with plans on establishing diagnostic imaging and outpatient surgery facilities, medical office space and a satellite hospital, Lincoln's office said. The new tank and service lines will connect to the city's existing water treatment plant. Grants and city funds will pay for the remainder of the project, which will bring the city's water capacity to approximately 1 million gallons, Morgan said. The White Hall presentation was one of three stops for Lincoln in the Little Rock area Monday. Earlier, she delivered 1,000 pounds of sweet potatoes to the Amboy Community Food Pantry in North Little Rock and announced at Pulaski Technical College that the school's new Aerospace Technology Center had received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce. The money will be used to add 25,000 square feet of classroom space, and the program will grow from 200 to 250 students, officials said. |
