By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
There will not be a multi-purpose building in Forrest City, at least not in the immediate future.
The city council on Tuesday night, by a 5-2 vote, defeated Mayor Larry Bryant's proposal to build a $1.5 million, 110-foot by 165-foot facility.
During discussion, Alderman Roy Hancock said it was time for a multi-purpose building in Forrest City.
"Over the last 10 years or so, Forrest City has been coming up with different sayings, like "Shop Forrest City First,' 'Forrest City's No. 1' and 'Jewel of the Delta,'" Hancock said. "I think it's time that Forrest City starts shining like a jewel. And if we don't have things...to bring people to Forrest City, then we can't be the jewel."
When asked what the annual maintenance and operation costs would be, Bryant said he estimated it to be about $50,000 to $60,000.
Bryant said he wanted to emphasize that the facility would not be only for kids.
"This is not going to be a 24-7 facility for kids to play basketball," he said. "This will be a general purpose facility for all people. Because children will be in school. We can do basketball, we can have workshops, we can even have referee and umpire workshops there."
He said there could also be programs aimed at senior citizens.
There were two basic disagreements over the facility. One was the proposed operating budget. The other was an election in which a sales tax to build a more elaborate facility was defeated, and exactly what message was sent by the voters.
On the estimated operating budget, Alderman A.L. Harris said he didn't think $50,000 would be nearly enough.
"I have trouble with estimations because they always come up short," said Harris. "I think you're right in the ball park with the $1.5 million (to build the facility). But I don't believe you can operate this thing for $50,000."
Bryant said it was difficult to come up with an exact figure.
"You can't lock down numbers," said Bryant.
"You can lock down numbers if you want me to vote for it," said Harris.
Harris also brought up the second sticking point -- the failed election. Harris said Forrest City residents voted against a facility.
Bryant said it was the sales tax that people voted against, not the multi-purpose building. He said the most recent proposal would not require a tax increase.
"We need to start doing some things for quality of life," said Bryant, who said that even new employees at the federal prison are moving elsewhere. "I'm not asking us to bankrupt our budget. All I ask is to look at it, say yea, nay, look at the budget and see what we have...The money is there. It's a matter of, do we want to put quality of life issues up one notch or do we leave it where it is?"
Aldermen Chris Oswalt and Richard Benson also mentioned the failed election. Benson said that if the council's vote was negative, there might be other ways to get a basketball program for kids.
Stephanie Bryant, wife of the mayor, also spoke. She said the multi-purpose building was one of the things Bryant ran on. She said the mayor had proven he could manage, and she also said race was a factor.
"It's boiling down to a black and white issue, and I don't care how you say it, that's what it comes back to be," she said. "And I am so sick of black and white issues in Forrest City...If somebody who lived far away from Forrest City read today about what's happening in Forrest City, would they want to move here?"
The actual vote to build the multi-purpose building was not strictly along racial lines. Voting yes were Hancock and Mary Jeffers, both black. However, Cecil Twillie, who is also black, voted no, along with white aldermen Oswalt, Benson Harris and John Gadberry. Glenn Ford, who is black, was absent.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The Forrest City City Council on Tuesday night passed an ordinance calling for an election to annex an area which includes the Patillo 1 subdivision.
The ordinance had been read once at the last meeting, and there was no apparent opposition. The council suspended the rules and read it for the second and third time, and then passed it unanimously.
The election is scheduled for Nov. 6 and will involve Forrest City and the area to be annexed.
In other action, the council heard first reading on an amended ordinance requiring that uniformed emergency personnel reside within the city. The ordinance had been introduced at the last meeting, and Alderman Chris Oswalt had requested an amendment exempting those who are already city employees.
There was some discussion of the legalities of the ordinance, and whether employees could live on the outskirts of town.
Alderman John Gadberry said, "I feel for people who want to live in a country setting, who want to live outside but close."
Alderman A.L. Harris answered, "It's hard to pay city taxes to a person living out in the country."
There are still two readings remaining on the ordinance.
In other action, only one bid was received for a sidewalk project, from Precise Concrete Works, of Tennessee. The bid was for $139,234.55. The bid will be accepted if it meets specifications.
The council also gave Mayor Larry Bryant permission to seek bids on a leaf vacuum and a chipper. The city received a $44,000 grant to purchase the two pieces of equipment.
On another matter, Bryant confirmed that bagging grass is only an option, not a requirement. Some literature which had gone out earlier, from which a story in the Times -Herald was written, stated that grass had to be bagged. However, grass can be loose as long as it is not in the street, Bryant said.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
The amended budget agreed upon previously by county officials and quorum court members was adopted Tuesday night at the monthly meeting of the St. Francis County Quorum Court.
In June, justices agreed to the amended budget which was arranged on a three-month basis for July, August and September. At last week's meeting of the county budget committee, additional appropriations were suggested for the budget and all of those were approved.
One sticking point with several county officers appeared to be a section in the budget which read, "No county official shall create any additional positions after July 1, 2001, until, and unless, this ordinance is amended."
Justice Regan Hill questioned the section. "I just want to be sure that we've got this right. Our intention was that as of the pay period at the end of June there were one or two positions that were not filled at that time, and I think that it was our understanding that we based our payroll and appropriations for the budget on those positions being filled," said Hill, continuing, "If there was a position in January that we allotted funds for that wasn't filled in June then it will not be filled now, because the way this is reading to me is that they wouldn't be able to create a new position, and that was not our intent."
Justices agreed to an amended version of the ordinance which would not allow any open positions to be filled nor new positions created during the three-month budget period.
St. Francis County Judge Carl Cisco said the ordinance also affected employees that were currently laid off.
According to St. Francis County Treasurer Ann Harbin, county general is staying steady during this budget period, and "we hope some increases may be seen when tax collections begin. The county general account stood at close to $94,000 this morning," according to Harbin. One pay period remains for this month.
In other business, justices voted unanimously to create the St. Francis County Transportation Commission. Cisco said the commission would be made up of quorum court members as well as county citizens, and the primary focus of the group would be to work on the proposed transportation mall.
"We're trying to create this commission because we're still looking for some of the funding for the transportation mall, and there are some grants we cannot seek as a county but a commission can. This will give us an opportunity to go after those grants," Cisco said.
A public hearing on the proposed expansion of the Forrest City Municipal Airport will be held Thursday, Aug. 23, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at city hall.
Dan Clinton, a consultant, was present at Tuesday's city council meeting. He said that for the last 30 days, there have been copies of an environmental assessment at the Forrest City Public Library, the county judge's office and city hall.
"Thursday night is a hearing for anyone who is interested in the improvements or not interested in the improvements," said Clinton. "We'll have a moderator."
Participants will be allowed to make oral or written statements.
"We will present a short overview of what we plan to do at the airport," he said. "Most of you may or may not know this, but the runway is 3,013 feet long, and that's one of the shortest runways in Arkansas."
The proposal is for an expansion to 5,000 feet. Clinton said corporations and the federal prison have expressed an interest in having a longer runway.
Possible funding of the project will also be discussed.
Two truck drivers who had spent the night in their trucks at an area truckstop awoke Tuesday morning to find their pants missing.
Charles Kelly Flyn, 62, Cat Spring, Texas, and George Ballance, 61, of Bunn, N.C., both told deputies with the St. Francis County Sheriff's Department that their pants were stolen from inside their trucks while they slept at the Truckstops of America location at Shell Lake.
Flyn said he forgot to lock his truck door and when he got up he noticed his pants missing. Flyn found his clothes a short distance from where he had parked. He told deputies about $680 was stolen from his wallet.
Ballance said he had left his window cracked and when he awoke found his pants had been pulled through the window. He said his wallet, containing about $470 in cash and cards, was stolen.
A convenience store employee was hurt during a robbery Tuesday afternoon.
The Forrest City Police Department reported the robbery occurred about 1:30 p.m. at the Citgo at 1406 S. Washington.
According to the report, Mahbub Alam Khan, 35, of Forrest City, told police he was working at the station when a black male suspect walked in and demanded money from the business. Khan said the suspect was armed with a handgun and walked behind the counter and struck him in the head with the weapon.
The suspect then allegedly took an undetermined amount of money and fled the store.
Paramedics with Baptist Memorial Hospital-Forrest City treated Khan at the scene.
Two people were sentenced to prison during circuit court hearings Tuesday at the St. Francis County Courthouse.
Terrell Motley, 28, of Forrest City, was ordered to serve 15 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections after drug charges of manufacturing a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia were merged and reduced.
Woodrow Neal Jr., 34, of Forrest City, was sentenced to 10 years in prison after a previous five-year suspended imposition of sentence on a first-degree battery charge was revoked.