By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
The wording of a proposed ordinance to appropriate over $2 million for capital improvements, economic development, business, housing and quality of life projects once again was met with some opposition, but after some amendments the Forrest City City Council approved the first reading.
Last month, council members tabled the reading of the ordinance due to language in the second section of the proposal which reads that the mayor or authorized representative is authorized "to advertise for professional services, building contracts, land purchase and enter into contracts as necessary to accomplish" the projects. Council members voted to amend the original wording to remove the words "and enter into contracts." Tuesday night, Section 2 was again the focus of problems when Councilman John Gadberry questioned whether the wording in Section 2 would leave council members "out of the loop" once the funding was appropriated.
"If this is passed, how do we wind up making sure that we get what we want? How do we assure the people that everything they want is in there if we no longer have any input on the building," Gadberry questioned.
Councilman Roger Breeding echoed many of Gadberry's sentiments. "We need to make sure that this council has input on this. The regional airport shows us that. This council stood in support of the idea, and the mayor put someone on the commission that has done nothing but worked to stall it. We have to make sure that we continue to have input into the multi-purpose building."
City Attorney Alan Cline was unsure whether the mayor would have to seek the council's input once the appropriation was approved.
"As it stands now, there may not be another opportunity to approve or disapprove of anything if this ordinance is passed," Cline told the council.
According to Forrest City Mayor Larry Bryant, the section in question was in line with state laws which give him or his authorized representative the authority to proceed. "In the past, I and every mayor has, as a courtesy to the council, allowed them to be a part of the process, even though by state law we don't have to. That's the way that things have been done since I've been living. It seems to me that you think the mayor is going to steal something or try to pull something over your heads. I wouldn't do that, it's not the way that I work," Bryant said.
During discussion of the ordinance, Alderman Roger Breeding again mentioned the idea of allowing the citizens of Forrest City to vote on the multi-purpose building. According to Breeding, although he supports the project, he feels that the citizens should have a voice on how the funds are spent. Councilman Roy Hancock voiced opposition to the idea of voting on the matter and implored the council to vote on the measure as it stood.
"If we're going to do this then we need to do it and stop piddy-padding around this and nit-picking every little thing put in front of us. If you're for it, you're for it, and if you're not for it, you're not for it, but we need to make a decision. If we're going to build it, let's do that or just throw all of this stuff away and let folks go to Wynne or Lonoke or somewhere else to their centers. If you look at the airport commission we voted on that, and we've had no input and received nothing from them, but we don't hear about that," Hancock said.
Cline suggested that council members could amend the measure to do the work in smaller steps, but the council voted, at Bryant's suggestion, 5-to-1 to remove the wording of the section authorizing the mayor to advertise for building contracts and authorize land purchases.
"You could remove all of section 2, and it wouldn't matter to me. I put that in there to try to make things run a little smoother as we go through the process," Bryant said.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Recommendations to the city council last night from a committee created to improve the conditions at Forrest City's recreation department and parks may call for increased expenditures on the proposed multi-purpose center covered under the mayor's capital improvement plan.
In a plan presented to the council by the Parks and Recreation Planning Committee, additional personnel, surveillance cameras and an indoor swimming pool were some of the recommendations from the committee that should be added to the current plans.
"We all know that you never can have too much personnel. The surveillance cameras that we're asking for are not necessarily there for security reasons. After speaking with the director of the Lonoke facility, he told us that he wished he had the cameras so that he could have one staff member there watching people who are using the facility and making sure they are safe from one monitor during the early morning and late night hours instead of having people in each room with two or three people who might be swimming or working out," Dr. Rodney Echols, a member of the committee, said.
According to Echols a strict guideline complete with rules and membership rates is also needed.
"The Lonoke center and others that we have visited around the state all have strict rules and memberships for those that use them. For the people that use the facility having to pay for membership also seems to give them a sense of ownership in the facility which means that they work a little harder to make sure that it's taken care of," Echols said.
Discussions of the swimming pool later in Tuesday's meeting turned heated when Forrest City Mayor Larry Bryant referred to the thinking of some Forrest Citians as "plantation thinking".
"In the first plans for the center five years ago, I included a swimming pool, and I got beat to death over it because of the mentality of Forrest City and its plantation thinking," Bryant said.
Councilman Roger Breeding responded to Bryant's comments. "Everything has to turn racist with you and it's not, mayor."
The committee's recommendation to the council would put construction costs between $85 per square foot and $100 per square foot for the 27,990-square-foot building with a total cost of between $2,379,150 and $2,799,000. The total estimates for operation included another $307,330 for first-year operations.
In other business, council members passed an ordinance which vacated an alley located behind 510 E. Cross St., and heard second reading of an ordinance which will prohibit driving, parking or maintaining tractor trailer trucks on certain city streets.
Council members also approved the creation of a city sanctioned little league football program. According to Bryant, a fee of between $5 and $10 will be established so that a program that currently serves close to 200 children can use the Forrest City Municipal Complex to play their games. A bid for traffic lights of $12,370 for new signals and installation from Shelby Electric was also approved.
Forrest City is one step closer to ACE certification after the Hometown Health Network submitted their completed ACE plan to the Arkansas Department of Economic Development on Tuesday.
The ACE healthcare committee, which is a branch of the Hometown Health Network, is the first Forrest City committee to complete an ACE plan. The Arkansas Community of Excellence (ACE) process was initiated in Forrest City on Jan. 23, at a special community forum held at the Civic Center.
The community was invited to share their thoughts on the city's strengths and weaknesses. The community forum also gave attendees the opportunity to vote on what ACE components they valued as most important to Forrest City's future success, and healthcare was one of the components voted in as a priority. Following the forum, committees were set up to begin developing plans for each component.
Requirements for ACE certification include a letter of commitment by the mayor, a three-year strategic plan of action for each component, a marketing plan and annual documentation and project updates.
The Arkansas Community of Excellence (ACE) program is the cornerstone of the state's economic development partnerships with local communities. It is a tool used by communities in self-analysis, organization and goal setting. ACE helps communities of all sizes prepare for economic growth and community development in order to improve the area's overall quality of life, according to a press release.
The ACE process focuses on planning. By helping communities recognize their assets and challenges, analyze alternatives, develop a plan and implement it, ACE enables communities to recognize opportunity and pursue business that offers economic prosperity, according to a press release.
ACE also encourages communities to partner with other towns and state agencies to attain goals. For more information, call city hall at 633-1315 or Tiffany Billingsley at 261-0408.
The lineup for this year's St. Francis County Fair is included inside today's Times-Herald.
The eight-page tabloid outlines the rules and regulations regarding entries into a variety of categories for the annual event set to begin on Monday, Sept. 8, at the Wiley T. Jones Fairgrounds just south of Forrest City. The fair is set to end on Saturday, Sept. 13.
The fair midway will feature rides provided by PBJ Happee Days Show along with commercial and educational exhibits.
Commercial booths in the exhibit building are available at a cost of $60 for the week. Anyone interested in renting a booth may contact Janet Findley at 633-6875 or Joyce Lieblong at 633-4068.
The St. Francis County Election Commission is scheduled to meet at 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 8, with Forrest City School District Superintendent Lee Vent in his office in the administration building on North Rosser Street.
Commissioner Paul Spears said Vent asked commissioners to meet with him to discuss the Sept. 16 school election, during which Forrest City will ask voters to approve a 1.5 mill increase in order to bring the district into compliance with Amendment 74. The amendment requires all school districts in the state to have a minimum of 25 mills dedicated to maintenance and operation.
Spears said superintendents from the Hughes and Palestine-Wheatley school districts have also been invited to attend the meeting in Vent's office. During a special election earlier this year, PWSD voters approved restructuring that district's outstanding bonds in such a way that a millage increase would not be needed in the PWSD. Hughes will ask voters in September to approve a .73 millage increase to bring that district into compliance with Amendment 74.
After the meeting with Vent, commissioners will reconvene at the St. Francis County Courthouse to draw for ballot positions.