Owners of the Caddo Valley Flea Market agreed to take ownership of a water line during bridge construction

By LESLIE R. KENT | The Arkadelphian

CADDO VALLEY — An agreement approved Wednesday at a special-called meeting of the Caddo Valley City Council cleared way for local contractor Justin Gonzales and his wife Cassie to install a new tap and larger water line to property Mrs. Gonzales owns at the north end of the Caddo River Bridge.

Normally this would have been a routine request with tap and waterline reverting to city ownership and maintenance after one year.

However, the city was worried that construction of a new bridge over the Caddo River might force the new water line to be removed and reinstalled possibly after it became city-owned. That work and cost would fall on the owner of the water line. Apparently the city did not want to be liable for that expense.

The solution was an agreement with the Gonzaleses to retain ownership of the tap and waterline until the Arkansas Department of Transportation certified to the city that the bridge project was complete. The agreement states that, should ARDOT require the line to be adjusted, modified, repaired or relocated, the property owner(s) — not the city — would be responsible for doing the work and paying the cost involved.

The property involved, according to Clark County property records, is 11.37 acres immediately north of the Caddo River and west of US Highway #67 which was bought from the Shaw Family LTD Partnership by Mrs. Gonzales in November of 2022. The Caddo Valley Flea Market is located on two acres of the property with the remainder being generally undeveloped land between Interstate 30 and US Highway 67. The southern border is the center of the Caddo River for approximately 600 feet.