Rector receives $39,000 state grant for historic project

A major step forward for the renovation of Rector's historic old jail and water office on Main Street has been accomplished with the recent announcement that the city has received a $39,076 grant from the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.

The funding will enable the city to undertake Phase II of the renovation and should bring it close to final completion.

The grant funding is through the Dept. of Arkansas Heritage.

Mayor Ron Kemp was scheduled to receive the grant from Gov. Mike Beebe in an awards ceremony Wednesday morning (today) in Little Rock. Kemp then will attend a workshop on the administration of the grant.

Up to this point, work on the historic building (constructed in approximately 1915) has included repair of the roof, removal of the concrete floor, and a major tuckpointing project. Electrical and plumbing work currently is underway on the building. All those improvements were made possible through a $25,000 grant from the Arkansas Dept. of Rural Services.

Other improvements planned include pouring a new concrete floor, heating and air conditioning installation, interior finishes and landscaping. The project now is designed to coordinate with a major veterans memorial which will be erected south of the old jail building.

"Receiving this new grant is a great boost to this important historical project," Kemp said. "This will enable us to bring this project close to completion in a relatively short period of time."

Kemp said former community development director Cynthia Corkran was instrumental in the grant application and in providing all the necessary information on the project. "She did a great job on this application and the community is indebted to her for the time and effort she put forth," he said.

The old jail facility recently was named to the National Register of Historic Places, as was the downtown commercial district. "We are working hard to try to restore and rejuvenate the downtown area and development of the old jail facility is an important part of that process," Kemp said.

The mayor said the current vision is for the veterans memorial and jail facility (which will serve as a community development office and visitors center) to provide a dramatic entrance to the downtown area coming off Highway 49.