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Helena files eminent-domain action and interpleads $10,000 as city presses to secure well site
Summary
Facing regulatory deadlines and water-system failures, city attorneys explained the filing of an eminent-domain lawsuit to acquire a 30-by-30 plot and necessary easements for a well and interpleaded $10,000 with the court while continuing negotiations with the Boys & Girls Club.
City officials told the Helena/West Helena City Council they have filed an eminent-domain lawsuit and moved to interplead $10,000 into the court treasury as they seek fee-simple ownership of a 30-by-30 well site and a 100-foot wellhead-protection radius, plus ingress/egress easements.
The city attorney said negotiations with the Phillips County Boys & Girls Club over site access broke down and, because time is of the essence for the water utility and regulatory compliance, the city filed an immedate action and asked the court to hold $10,000 pending appraisal and final resolution. The attorney said an appraiser (David Jacobs of Stuttgart) has surveyed the site and will produce a valuation as soon as possible.
Officials stressed the permit to operate the proposed well requires fee-simple ownership of the 30x30 parcel and an approved wellhead-protection easement for 100 feet around the wellhead. The attorney described filing a motion to interplead funds and seeking a court order allowing the city possession while appraisals and negotiations continue. Council members voiced support but also emphasized continued negotiation to avoid adversarial litigation where possible.
Separately, staff and a longtime advisor warned the council that the city missed a prior deadline that kept it off a priority list for roughly $3.9 million in grant funding; they urged the council to hire engineers quickly to meet an August 1 application threshold and a Sept. 6 deadline for the Natural Resources Commission application. The council moved to accept RFQ responses for engineering and retained bond counsel for landfill and drinking-water financing as part of a broader effort to qualify the city for funding and to comply with a consent order the Arkansas Department of Health imposed.
