Video of the meeting can be seen below the photos accompanying this article. 

Gummeson shared with the justices of the peace the preliminary figures. “I think currently we have 12 poultry houses down, three commercial buildings and probably a good 10 hay barns,” he said, noting that the numbers are likely incomplete. “I’m sure there’s way more than that. Just farmers aren’t reporting on this.”

He described the financial strain confronting producers in the storm’s aftermath. “It’s a pretty hard time for farmers right now. Keep that in mind,” he said.

Discussion quickly turned to whether state and federal disaster declarations would be forthcoming. Justice Dennis Pruitt asked whether an official declaration had been made.

“They have not,”  Gummeson said. “Right now [local leaders] are seeking public assistance, which would be for county roads, government buildings, things like that.”

He expressed reservations about the way the process is unfolding. “I don’t necessarily agree with their way of thinking,” he said. “But their thinking is, if they get approval for that, then they’ll seek IA, which is individual assistance, which would be to help the farmers.”

Gummeson emphasized that the federal threshold for individual assistance is substantial. “To meet FEMA’s guidelines, it has to be right around $9 million for the worth of damages through the state of Arkansas,” he said. “There’s probably only 13 counties that have government buildings or county roads that were damaged. It might not reach that $9 million mark.”

By contrast, he suggested agricultural losses alone could exceed that figure. “It’s 10 times that amount if you consider every chicken house that’s collapsed and things like that,” he said.

He added that the process will take time. “It’s a waiting game right now,” Gummeson said. “I figure three weeks and we should know something. But there again, the farmer’s going to wait even longer.”

While county infrastructure fared comparatively well, Gummeson said the storm’s precipitation type challenged the integrity of agricultural structures. “We were pretty lucky,” he said of county facilities. “We definitely did receive damages on, for sure, two buildings, this [courthouse] being one of them, and the extension office.”

Road systems avoided major impacts, he said. “Not so much on the roads,” Gummeson explained. “We got sleet, no ice, no freezing rain. So a lot of power lines, a lot of branches, stood tall.”

The same could not be said for poultry houses. “They predicted this to be a really, really wet snow,” he said. “Pretty much the whole state ended up getting sleet. But it was very, very heavy.”

Gummeson attributed the collapses to the density of the accumulation. “It just had a lot of weight to it,” he said.

When asked whether construction standards differ in colder climates, Gummeson said he could not offer a definitive explanation but relayed observations from local producers. “In the ’80s, they used to use the steel trusses, and then they went away with those because they were spreading too far and they were collapsing,” he said. “So now they went to wooden trusses, which are every two foot, and they stood up longer.”

He also described anecdotal accounts about uneven thawing. “When the sun finally did come out, it was heating the south more so than the north,” he said. “Depending on which way the chicken houses were facing, one side of the chicken house got sun and the other side didn’t.”

Even so, he cautioned against speculation. “I don’t know if there’s any truth to it,” Gummeson said. “But it was a really, really wet snow.”

Before leaving to attend another meeting, Gummeson updated the court on pending work on roads and culverts.

“As far as County Road 63 goes, I think we’re on the final stages of that,” he said. “Nothing’s been obligated, but everything is looking very promising to get that one completed.”

He also addressed a culvert crossing on Nevada 227. “It’s 260-inch culverts that we’re going to mitigate and upscale to having three,” he said. “That is also in its final stage and looking very promising.”

Earlier in the meeting, Nevada County Economic Development Office Director Mary Godwin made a report on broadband expansion efforts, including a setback in the Redland area along Highway 24.

“The state broadband office, for the past probably nine months, they have been sending out and trying to get the remaining ISPs to apply for the remaining grants that are out there,” she said.

She explained that South Central Connect had been awarded a grant for the area but subsequently declined it. “They sent a letter to the state broadband office saying they were not going to accept the grant,” Godwin said. “They did not want to do that area.”

According to Godwin, financial calculus drove the decision. “I think they felt like it would cost them three to four million [dollars] to build it out in that area,” she said, “and they’d rather pay a half a million dollar fine rather than build it out.”

State officials are now evaluating next steps. “They feel like Brightspeed will probably pick up that grant and service that area,” she said.

Godwin indicated she plans to bring additional expertise before the court next month. “Danny Stewart is co-facilitator of the broadband committee,” she said. “He can fill you in a lot more.”

Godwin also presented details of a proposed sales and use tax incentive tied to a $9.6 million capital improvement at the Amrize [formerly the Firestone and then Holcim] facility.

“They’re wanting to do a carbon black capital improvement project, which is $9.6 million, and it will totally redo their carbon black project out there,” she said.

She outlined the state’s sales and use tax refund mechanism. “The state will be refunding 6.5 percent, which is $624,000, to Amrize,” she said. “The other part of it is, they ask the local governments—the county and the city—to consider doing the same thing.”

For the county, that would equate to approximately $192,000 in foregone revenue over the project’s duration. “It wouldn’t come out of your coffers,” Godwin said. “It’s money that’s not even received.”

She framed the proposal as a retention strategy. “It’s an investment in keeping them here,” she said, noting the plant currently employs 654 workers. “Are you ever going to be able to get another plant in for 654 people?”

Justice Eric Jackson asked about the benefit to the county. “What’s the return on the investment?” he asked.

Godwin responded by pointing to payroll and economic impact. “You’ve got 654 that are here making 20-something dollars an hour with full benefits,” she said. “It is the economy of Nevada County and a lot of southwest Arkansas.”

The matter will be brought up for further consideration in March.

Nevada County Chamber of Commerce Director Valarie Cobb reported a full February calendar and ongoing preparations for the April 30th chamber banquet.

“February is a full calendar,” she said. “We have a community coffee every Tuesday and Thursday this month.”

She said nomination forms for Citizen of the Year and Hometown Hero are being placed online. “We are going to add that to the website,” Cobb said. “You can go online and fill out a Google Form.”

This year’s banquet theme is “Small Town, Big Memories,” she said, adding that businesses have been invited to decorate tables promoting their services.

Cobb also described expanded digital engagement. “We have started on our social media page letting people know about our chamber board,” she said. “Then this next month, we’re going to start doing that with all the businesses that are chamber members.”

The court also heard from representatives of Lower Nevada County Animal Rescue, who described caring for more than 100 dogs, many recovered after being abandoned.

“We spend about $60 a day on dog food alone,” said Linda Bridges. “We have over 100 dogs right now.”

She recounted repeated calls from law enforcement. “In a week’s time, I got three calls from the sheriff’s department of litters of puppies just dumped,” Bridges said.

Rowe Stayton, attorney for the county, said assistance would require a contractual arrangement grounded in economic benefit. “As long as there’s consideration, as long as they provide a service and you provide funds for those services, there’s nothing to prevent you from doing that,” he said.

Justice Willie Wilson advocated broader nonprofit contracting. “If we go with this, I want to enter into a contract with the Food Pantry,” he said. “If you do it for one, then I think we ought to do it for others.”

The matter was tabled for 30 days to allow further study.

The meeting adjourned about an hour after it had begun.

After the meeting, Godwin, who has been undergoing cancer treatment, said she was glad to be returning to a public role in presenting information to city and county government meetings after having to refrain and work only from home because of immune system risks.  "I've got one more big surgery and we'll see about other treatments after that," she said.

Bridges said those who wish to give monetarily or to volunteer with her rescue facility should contact her through the group's Facebook page.