Monday's news

The requests to put the Lake DeGray Water Agreement to a November election vote were rejected Friday by the Hot Springs City Clerk’s office due to deficiencies identified in the filed petitions. It was determined that the petition is noncompliant with a significant provision of the Arkansas Constitution, and therefore insufficient to move forward to be placed on the ballot.

In a City Attorney’s opinion letter, the failure to include an enacting clause has resulted in a fatal defect in the submitted petitions. The lack of this constitutional requirement means the petition is not legally sufficient and should be rejected.

The City will continue their diligence in pursuing the alternate water source from Lake DeGray and obtaining an agreement with the Army Corp of Engineers for a long-term allotment from this source.

City Manager David Watkins stated, “It is very encouraging that our community has reached an agreement that will provide system users with water from two completely separate watersheds in order to secure a long-term supply and put this issue behind us.’


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Improvements to Highway 270 (MLK Expressway) require lane closures in Hot Springs, according to Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD) officials.

Crews will be doing routine maintenance including general cleaning, weed eating, and draining cleaning along the Highway 270 (MLK Expressway) median. The work will require closing the eastbound and westbound inside lanes within the moving work area.

The eastbound lane closures will be Monday, September 8th through Thursday, September 11th between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., each day, weather permitting. The westbound inside lane closures will likely begin the following week at the same times.

The number of days needed for the closures may be reduced if the work does not take as long as anticipated. Traffic will be controlled using barrels and warning signs.

Motorists should exercise caution when approaching and traveling through all highway work zones. Additional travel information can be found at IDriveArkansas.com or ArkansasHighways.com. You can also follow us on Twitter @AHTD. 

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Looking for a way to save a little cash when your grandchildren ages 6 through 15 visit Hot Springs Village? Stop by the HSV administrative building and sign them up for a temporary dependent recreational card. Show this card at select HSV recreation facilities to receive member rates. Golf discounts are not offered with this card.