Cave Springs Receives Sewer Grant Worth $1.26 Million

Cave Springs mayor Larry Smith took office in January 2011 promising a vital sewer system for the downtown area.

Monday afternoon, he made good on his word.

Smith announced the city has received a grant worth $1.26 million for the construction and installation of a sewer service extension project to serve the city’s downtown area along the Arkansas 112 corridor. The funds will come through the Arkansas Community and Economic Development Program and the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission.

“This was a campaign promise of mine and I’m tickled to death to see it come about,” Smith said. “It’s been the No. 1 goal … to fund and build this downtown sewer project.”

The funding of the grant is a federal community development block grant that will provide 100 percent of the funding for the project.

Smith, who retired to the area after a 30-year career working at Arkansas Nuclear One in Russellville, hopes the sewer extension will spur future growth to the downtown area. The lack of that particular component has long been a stumbling block in attracting a significant retail project such as a grocery store or a restaurant.

“People wouldn’t come here because there wasn’t a sewer,” he said. “Take Sonic for example. They’ve got to have grease traps and we had no way to adapt to that or accommodate getting rid of any sewer, grease, anything. This will make that happen.”

Tim Nelson, who owns Nelson’s Hardware on Main Street, said he attended Monday’s announcement to show support for Smith.

“It’s a big deal that we have sewer,” he said. “If we have an eating place here, it means more people will come to town. It will be exciting to see new businesses.”

Others at Monday’s news conference were several key players lauded by Smith for their effort in the 20-month process, including State Rep. Tim Summers of Bentonville; Randy Young, director of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission; Cassie Elliott, grant writer and owner of Visionary Milestones Inc.; and Daniel Barnes of McClelland Consulting Engineers Inc.

“This is the life and death of Cave Springs,” Smith said. “We can be a bedroom town from now on. But [to be] a viable city we had to have this.”

Smith, who said the town’s population is now “around 2,000 residents,” said the upcoming winter will be a factor in the sewer project’s completion, which could be as early as summer 2013.