Police command shift goes to council
The City Council meets tonight to consider three ordinances and eight resolutions, including a significant change in the police department and a five-year extension to the city’s current waste management contract.
At the top of the agenda is an ordinance sponsored by Alderman Ivan Whitfield to elevate the senior deputy chief of police to the position of assistant chief when that position is vacant. Currently, of the four sitting deputy chiefs of police — Kelven Hadley, Bill Elliott, Shirley Warrior and Denise Richardson — Hadley, who oversees the Patrol Division, is the senior deputy chief.
In an unusual move, Public Safety Committee Chairman Win Trafford, and Alderwoman Joni Alexander, who is the third member of the three-member committee, did not support the ordinance when the committee met Oct. 7, but did not try to block it from moving forward to the full council. The proposed ordinance also received no support from Police Chief Kelvin Sergeant, who asked Whitfield not to go forward with the ordinance.
Whitfield said at the committee meeting that he would pull the ordinance from consideration if Sergeant and Mayor Shirley Washington were to “hit the green light to get an assistant chief.”
Whitfield said the ordinance is necessary to assure continuity in the command structure in the event the police chief vacates the position or is incapacitated and cannot serve. However, department policy already dictates that in such an event, the senior deputy chief of police would serve in the capacity of chief of police.
Alexander and Trafford both cited Sergeant’s opposition to the ordinance as the reason they would not give it their support.
The ordinance is up for a first reading tonight.
Also up for a first reading is an ordinance to extend the solid waste management contract the city has with Waste Management of Arkansas for an additional five years, until Oct. 31, 2025.
Several council members have
expressed reservations about approving the contract extension without further study or providing the public the opportunity to comment on the matter. The current contract is set to expire in 12 days, on Oct. 31. The next City Council meeting after tonight is scheduled for Nov. 2.
Whitfield is also the sponsor of the waste contract extension ordinance.
An ordinance to close a portion of a north-south alley located west of 6810 Dollarway Road in the Baldwin Park Addition is up for the first reading. The ordinance was sponsored by Glen Brown Jr.
Resolutions under consideration are:
■ A resolution to change the name of the Curtis Merrill Community Center to the Pine Bluff Community Center. The resolution is sponsored by Alderman Bruce Lockett.
■ A resolution to restore the 20% reduction in work hours for city employees participating in the shared work program. The resolution is sponsored by Mayor Washington.
■ A resolution authorizing the mayor to execute a coronavirus relief fund recipient agreement with the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. The resolution is sponsored by Mayor Washington.
■ A resolution authorizing the mayor to execute agreement(s) with SIGNLINK of Springfield, Mo., to place welcome signs along three major highways entering the city. The resolution is sponsored by Mayor Washington.
■ A resolution supporting the settlement resulting from the property damage caused by a hailstorm on March 10 and 11, in the amount of $9,791,288. The resolution is sponsored by Mayor Washington.
■ A resolution reappointing Kirby Mouser to the Pine Bluff Urban Renewal Board. The resolution is sponsored by Mayor Washington.
■ A resolution declaring five properties, located at 4011 W. Second Ave., 502 E. Sixth Ave., 4818 W. 13th Ave., 606 N. Bryant St., and 5501 W. Burnett St. as nuisances and ordering their abatement. The resolution is sponsored by Alderman Brown.
■ A resolution closing city offices — with the exception of public safety offices — on Nov. 3, 2020 to promote public safety and participation in the national election. The resolution is sponsored by council members Alexander and Whitfield.