Council contentious on renewal questions
What appeared at first to be a routine reappointment of two members of the city’s Urban Renewal Board, Lloyd Franklin Sr. and Jimmy Dill, turned into a protracted argument as two aldermen raised objections, with one arguing that the board has improperly spent city funds on downtown properties.
The council eventually approved the reappointment of the two men, but only above the objections of Ivan Whitfield and Steven Mays.
Whitfield objected to Franklin’s reappointment on the grounds that doing so prevents others in the community from having the chance to serve on public committees. Alderman Glen Brown Jr. disagreed, citing the recent formation of the Urban Renewal Board.
“No commissioner has really served a true full term on the board, so I don’t see a problem with having Mr. Franklin or any of the other members of the Urban Renewal Board serving a second term,” said Brown. “We also had legislation several years ago that said people can serve 10 years on a board before they have to come off.”
Franklin’s reappointment was approved by a 7-1 vote, with Whitfield casting the lone dissenting vote.
Whitfield was joined by Mays in objecting to the reappointment of Dill, who chairs the Urban Renewal Board.
“This committee has made de
cisions I personally don’t feel are in the best interests of the community,” Whitfield said.
“I’d like to echo my colleague,” Mays said, at which point he alleged that the board had approved property acquisitions at costs far above the value of some properties and asked to have Dill brought before the council and questioned regarding some of those acquisitions.
“I have some questions for Mr. Dill since he was chairman of the board,” Mays said, as Mayor Shirley Washington attempted to keep the meeting on track.
“We’re addressing the issue of this resolution at this time,” she said. “It’s time to discuss whether we’re going to reappoint Jimmy Dill.”
Mays began talking over the mayor, saying that he had documents showing the Urban Renewal Agency had paid vastly inflated sums for several properties it has acquired, and demanding that Dill, who was present at the meeting, be called forward for questions.
“He needs to explain that,” Mays said.
“Well, this is the thing,” Brown spoke up. “Urban Renewal, they actually have their own meetings and you are more than welcome to sit in. …”
“The City Council is above Urban Renewal,” Mays interrupted.
“What I’m saying is that if you have a question about the business they are conducting, then the proper place to address that is at their meeting,” Brown said.
Washington again attempted to bring the council meeting back to a vote on the resolution, but Mays continued to insist that the matter needed to be addressed then and there.
“Mayor, I’m the senior city council member and I can speak, so let’s get that straight,” he said. “I’ve got 10 years on all of y’all and I can speak.”
Mays continued to spar back and forth with Washington for several minutes on the appropriateness of his objections until Alderman Donald Hatchett spoke up.
“I ask that we return to the business at hand,” Hatchett said, at which time Washington called for a vote on the reappointment, which passed by a vote of 6-2, with Whitfield and Mays opposing.
In other business, a drag strip could one day be a tourist draw for Jefferson County, depending on the findings of an ad hoc committee authorized by the City Council to look into the possibility of locating and constructing such a facility in the county.
The resolution, sponsored by Joni Alexander, touts the benefits of such a facility, including the promotion of economic growth and creation of new businesses associated with such a facility. Another benefit, according to the resolution, would be that it would provide a legal alternative for people who currently use public streets for illegal drag racing, leading to enhanced public safety by helping to curtail illegal racing activities in the city.
The resolution establishes a nine-member committee named the “Ad Hoc Committee to Study Feasibility of a Drag Strip Racing Facility,” with members to be appointed by each council member and the mayor, and three ex officio members with one representative from the Mayor’s Office, one representative from Southeast Arkansas Regional Planning, and the chairman of the city’s Traffic and Aviation Committee.
The committee is charged with the formulation of a plan detailing the economic benefits of a drag racetrack, naming possible locations, researching the laws, rules and regulations governing construction and operation of a racetrack, what additional legislation may be necessary from the City Council, and producing a timeline in which such a facility could be constructed and opened for operation.
The committee is also to come up with an estimate of the costs to the city for operation, anticipated tax revenues, projected job creation and business development associated with a racetrack, legal framework for construction and operation, potential stakeholders or investors, and the form of business organization most advantageous to the successful operation of such a facility.
The resolution passed without discussion from the council.
The council also approved an ordinance waiving competitive bidding and authorizing the mayor to contract with Nelson Architectural Group for professional services related to rehabilitation of flood damaged facilities in Regional Park. Funding in the amount of $110,000 to pay for the services was approved by the Federal Emergency Management Administration following catastrophic flooding along the Arkansas River that occurred last year.
The council also approved three budget adjustments. The largest, for $145,000, was transferred from Reserve Insurance Payments to pay for repairs to buildings owned by the Parks and Recreation Department that were damaged in the 2018 hailstorm, to provide a 50% payment to Harold Hall Roofing for those repairs.
A budget adjustment of $106,112 was approved to move funds from the Parks Department’s Regional Park/ Sport Fishing line item to the Merrill Center line item to pay for change orders that had increased the cost of the renovation of the community center. The total cost of the change order came to $183,541. Just over $77,000 of the cost was donated from private funds.
Mayor Washington told the council that the amount would finalize the city’s expenditures on the Merrill Center renovation.
The council also approved a budget adjustment of $24,900 from the Summer Youth Program line item to Building Repair and Maintenance to pay Arkansas Pro Wash for pressure washing the Civic Center.