City Council - Regular Meeting

Well, good evening, everybody, and welcome to city council. I know a few of you have been sitting in your chairs for a couple hours now, so we'll get right on into the council meeting. This is Tuesday night, June 16, 2026. If you would, please go ahead and stand. I'll lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance, and Councilman Emerson will lead us in invocation.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, under God, who have been divisible, with liberty and justice for all. Would you bow your heads and pray with me? Dear Lord, thank you for bringing us all here safely tonight to do your work here in the great city of Jonesboro. Just want to say thank you for everything that you've blessed us with and everything that you're going to bless us with in the future. And as we come together to work together to strive to make the right decisions for this city, we hope to keep you in mind and your overall purpose. Thank you so much for everything that you do for us every day, and please forgive us of where we fail you. In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen.

If you would, please go ahead and call roll. Mark your presence, excuse me. Okay, we do have quorum this evening, so we'll move on. We don't have any items on number four, special presentation, so we'll move on to items on consent agenda.

Move to adopt.

Second.

Sorry, I'd like to remove resolution 260644 for questions.

Did you say 064?

Yes, sir.

I'll amend my motion. And I'll amend my second.

OK, the motion has been amended. All items on consent agenda without resolution 26064, please cast your ballot. Okay, and that does carry. So now we'll move on to resolution 26064.

Resolution for the City of Jonesboro to approve the fiscal year 2026-2027 Community Development Block Grant CDBG Annual Action Plan that includes the fiscal year 2026-2027 CDBG projects, activities, and budget. Whereas the City of Jonesboro, Arkansas has held two public hearings and one public review and comment period for the CDBG Annual Action Plan, and whereas Fiscal Year 2026-2027 CDBG Annual Action Plan is in the fifth year of the 2022-2026 five-year consolidated plan designed to address goals set for community needs, and whereas Fiscal Year 2026-2027 CDBG Annual Action Plan contains the projects, activities, and budget for the federal allocation amount of $717,683. The fiscal year 2026-2027 annual action plan budget is listed below. Budget allocation $717,683. Administration $143,536.60. Public services $107,652. Jonesville Church Health Center $14,996.07. Family Crisis Center, $14,807.89. Hispanic Community Services Incorporated, $14,561.37. CASA of the Second Judicial District, $11,500. Foundation of Arts, $12,222.26. City Youth Ministries, $11,123.63. SURE Foundation, $11,068.70. Jonesboro Business Administration, $9,338.35. North Jonesboro Community Development Corporation, $8,033.73. Low and moderate LMI income homeowner rehabs, $99,973.24. Homelessness, St. Bernard's Development Foundation, $19,177. First time home buyer program, $15,000. Public infrastructure, $332,344.16. Now therefore let it be resolved by the City Council for the City of Jonesboro, Arkansas that section one, fiscal year 2026-2027 annual action plan attached here to is hereby approved by the City Council. Section two, fiscal year 2026-2027 CDBG projects, activities, and budget are hereby approved for the annual action plan. Section three, the Grants and Community Development Department are hereby authorized by City Council for the City of Jonesboro, Arkansas to submit all necessary documents for the fiscal year 2026-2027 CDBG program. Section four, City Council does hereby authorize the mayor and the mayor's designee to execute all agreements and contracts regardless of the future award, regarding the future award of fiscal year 2026-2027 CDBG program funding.

Move to adopt. Second. Do we have a motion on the floor to adopt? And I'm assuming you had a question, Councilman.

Yes, sir. Thank you, mayor. Um, I apologize. I was not here for the committee meeting last week and I would have asked these questions, um, for that, but a couple of things, a couple of questions.

I don't know who can answer this, but you want to go ahead and come on up. Thank you.

Um, number one, um, The public service grant portion, or the public services grant portion, I'd like to know what's the discussion on, or the reasoning for the budget line item for that, how much we give, because I know it's supposed to be seven something, 700 and something. And then follow up on that, not only the line item and why that amount, but then the process quickly on who I guess how y'all decide how much. Right, decisions are made on that. Then follow up is the public infrastructure and what that is actually entails and what we do with that.

Okay, so the public services is a percentage of the overall allocation. It's 15% of your overall allocation can be public services. And so then we have an application process that was put out, a request for applications put out in February, I believe that's right, February, somewhere in there. The applications were submitted and then we had the advisory committee that we give the applications to them for them to go over. They have a rubric where they score them. And then the allocations, each allocation for each group was based on their rubric scoring. So it was, you know, depending on how they scored in the rubric for the application, that's how much of the total for public, the 107 that they were awarded. except for one because CASA only asked for 11.5, that was what they asked for, and so even though they scored higher, they only got the amount that they asked for. And then the public services, not the public services, the public infrastructure, that was the other one you asked about. Public infrastructure, that is just, it has not been decided exactly what projects we're gonna use that for yet. In the past, it's been used for overlays for streets, it's been used for sidewalks, used for public parks, it's also been used for public facilities, non-profits to be able to apply to get some money that they need to work on their facilities in low to moderate income areas. So basically after we get this submitted to CDBG, get their sign off on it, then we can look at the, get with parks, get with Craig and City Engineering and look at projects we wanna do in the low to moderate income areas.

Great, so go back to that advisory board itself. So how are those persons chosen? Is that, that goes through this process? Yes. Okay.

Yeah, they were, yeah, that went through a couple months ago.

Okay. And I'm sorry I'm asking these questions. Oh, you're fine.

I'm just trying to.

How many are on the board, Chris?

There's seven, I believe. Yeah.

Okay.

No, I think it's eight, because there was, yeah, I think it's eight.

Okay, can that rubric, can you email me that rubric?

Sure, yeah.

And the application itself.

Yes, I can get you both.

Perfect, thank you so much.

Yeah, no problem.

Thank you, Councilman. Any other questions, Councilman? Anyone in the audience? I don't see any. If you would, please go ahead and cast your ballot. All right, and that does carry. So now we'll move on to resolutions removed from consent agenda. This is Resolution 26060.

Resolution requesting free utility services from City Water and Light for city-owned property. Whereas the City of Johnsboro is requesting that City Water and Light provide free utilities at the following location, 301 West Monroe Street. Now therefore be it resolved by the City Council for the City of Johnsboro, Arkansas that section one, City Water and Light is requested by this resolution to provide free utilities to the location listed above. Section two, to permit such services to be provided without charge to City of Johnsboro hereby affirms to City Water and Light that the ultimate use of CWL utilities so provided is now and shall remain a use or purpose for which the city is engaged in as part of its governmental and proprietary functions under authority to it by state law.

Do we have any discussion by council? Move to adopt. Second. Second.

Mayor, it has to be recused because membership on the CWL board.

So noted. Any discussion by council? Any questions? Anyone in the council chamber? I don't see any. If you would, please go ahead and cast your ballot, council. And that does carry. Next, we'll move on to items on new business. This is ordinances on the first reading. We have one ordinance. It's 26018.

Move to suspend the rules and offer by title only. Second.

We have a motion on the floor. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed?

ordinance to amend chapter 117 known as the zoning ordinance providing for changes in zoning boundaries from R1 to PD plan development for property located at 1004 North Carraway Road as requested by David Tapp.

Any discussion by council or questions? I don't see any. Anyone in council chambers? Don't see any as well. That'll move on to its second reading. We don't have any items on unfinished business and before the mayor's report, there's such fine print here, Sarah. I am totally sorry. We do have a special presentation this evening, and I didn't mean to overlook you, but I just didn't see it. So if you would, please come forward. Sarah Doss with the Downtown Jonesboro Alliance.

Thank you. I wanted to come tonight and just give y'all a little temperature check or update on downtown, specifically on the entertainment district as we're nearing our second anniversary. Downtown Jonesboro is a place where our projects are juggled in hopes of pushing downtown Jonesboro forward and making our district the best it can be. We're so grateful for this community because we never have to manage these projects alone. We're blessed with community buy-in, businessmen and women that see our vision and the value that downtown brings to our community, I'll briefly touch on a few of the many projects that are currently happening downtown that are spearheaded by people or organizations other than DJA. Probably the most talked about project at the moment is our six month pilot program that's finishing up its second month of activity, transitioning Main Street down to One Lane. This initiative was spearheaded by the Connectivity Committee. While this pilot program is taking place, they are working to create a thorough survey to be distributed to our downtown residents, business owners, and patrons to get their honest feedback. The committee will come through that feedback and work towards making decisions on the future of this concept. We touched base with one of our Main Street residents, James Bickham, to get his input on this traffic change. He stated, I've absolutely loved going to one lane. It has made downtown substantially safer for my family, and I have noticed that the vehicles have been slowed down to a point where it makes downtown feel like it should. That same committee is responsible for the new bike plaza, right here next to the municipal building. That new fixture downtown is constantly evolving. Over the upcoming summer months, you'll see additional visual changes as they work to bring meaningful art to the trailhead. It would be impossible to discuss positive changes in downtown Jonesboro and not mention the Hargett family. Kate Street, lovingly called Ted Street by many downtowners, has seen an array of changes and renovations already with countless more to come. The future of downtown is bright, Kate Street specifically. As of now, we have a proposed hotel, which a feasibility study has come back on very positive. In the works, there's also a brewery, a restaurant, and pickleball courts. Bids are going out for a projected construction start date in September. If that wasn't enough, there's also a park complete with a state-of-the-art amphitheater and a goal open date of spring 2027. From these projects alone, I hope you can see the momentum we have in downtown Jonesboro. In 2025, we actually had a record-breaking investment of $27,545,831.66. Over $27.5 million were funneled into downtown Jonesboro through building improvements, revitalization efforts, and general maintenance and upgrades. In 2025, DJA was honored to receive multiple awards for our downtown efforts. We were recognized for events here in City Council, investments in our downtown safety, and more. 2025 was an outstanding year for downtown, and the first half of 2026 has proven to follow suit. Lastly, I couldn't come speak to you all without mentioning the entertainment district. The entertainment district is nearing the end of its second full year here in downtown Jonesboro. The impacts have been broad, from economic growth to open doors in the entertainment industry to extended stays in our district and more. Two years ago, when we were presenting to council asking for this seemingly crazy idea to be passed, we could only hope that it would be as successful as it is. Through strict dry county rules and sharp learning curves, our community has navigated this district and been able to utilize it to its full potential. Beyond our community, this district has caught the attention of many visitors as well. Brent Simmons from GearHead said, all that come in speak super highly of our downtown. It's usually out of town guests that visit with us and learn of the entertainment district and tell us how cool that is to have on our main street. To our downtown business owners, this district means increased pedestrian traffic and a notable change in our economic vitality. Chad Campbell, owner of Lemonade House Grill, said, one of our main focuses when opening the restaurant was to offer outdoor patio seating to our guests. The entertainment district allows them to socialize and enjoy our city in a way they haven't been able to do before. This helps create a vibrant downtown that's attractive to visitors. This is yet another perk in Jonesboro's long list of accolades for talent recruiters to showcase, keeping us competitive with comparable cities, as well as cities much larger. It adds to the overall quality of life for Jonesboro citizens and visitors. When asked about the entertainment district, Bethania Bure-Harrison from Always Jonesboro stated, the Downtown Jonesboro Entertainment District has become one of the best examples of how thoughtful growth can strengthen a community. What we've seen is a downtown that feels more vibrant, more welcoming, and more alive. For talent attraction, that's huge. People want places where they can gather with friends, linger after dinner, and feel part of something bigger. The entertainment district has helped create those moments, and the Downtown Jonesboro Alliance deserves tremendous credit for championing a vision that has made downtown even stronger. One final quote that I want to leave you with is from Sarah Nobles, who owns the rec room and operates a liquor license inside of Stage 2. She said, as someone who sat on the board that helped bring the entertainment district to life, watching it succeed has been incredibly rewarding. We worked on this for a long time because we believe Jonesboro deserved it. And now we are seeing that vision play out in real life. At the rec room, it's been a clear positive, especially during our outdoor events when foot traffic picks up and people are out enjoying the district together. What means the most to me is that we've had zero incidents during the entertainment district hours. According to our police chief, this tells me that it's being done right. A thriving city should have spaces like this and I'm proud that Jonesboro does. Although Sarah stated it, I wanted to reiterate one line of her statement to make sure everyone grasped it. According to JPD and our police chief, in our almost two years of having an active district, we have had not a single police report that was directly related. That statement is a true testament to not only the hard work of our downtown business owners and employees, but also JPD for helping the community navigate the learning curve of a change like this and continuing to keep us safe. The quotes I've mentioned throughout this evening have been a collection of opinions from downtown business owners, downtown employees, downtown residents, economic development and talent attraction officials, as well as JPD. I hope through them you're able to get a glimpse into downtown from the viewpoint of the people who work, eat, shop, live, and play there. Moving forward, we will continue this momentum in a multitude of ways. We have new events on the horizon. We are in discussion with community partners working on ways to fund much-needed downtown additions, such as safety bollards, for example. We are working on new beautification efforts, like the recent purchase of hanging baskets for Main Street and the installation of our most highly requested mural to date, currently being installed at the corner of Main and Monroe. We hope in the future we'll see growth to our entertainment district, whether by boundaries or hours or a combination of both. Appreciate your time, and I'll be happy to answer any questions you have.

The one question I would like to know, what kind of feedback are you getting on what side of the street the one lane is on?

Yes, so the general feedback I'm getting is very positive. However, the constant, I guess, negative comment I am hearing is that they wished it were flipped. So the side of the street that the delivery lane is currently on has a much more functional alleyway behind it, and a semi could fit down if it needed to, where the opposite side is where The alleyway is pretty tight, and so having that delivery lane moved over to the other side would be much more beneficial from the viewpoint of deliveries from our restaurants and retail.

Are you going to have that in the survey? Yes. Any questions?

Mr. Mayor, I know Sarah, you and I have talked about this a little bit, and I don't even know how you'd measure it. Would the proper measurement be how many armbands have been given out? What would be the proper measurement to try to figure out that success over time of the entertainment district in year one versus year two and such?

Yes, so that's something that I tried to get a tangible number for us tonight. Turns out when we were making this ordinance and we were doing our best to give the restaurant owners as much autonomy as possible, and it turns out each of their systems kind of calculated differently. So not everyone was able to track how many wristbands had been giving out and that kind of thing. They all kind of track it differently. So I wasn't able to get a number from you. So really from now, our measure of success is just from, We've looked at geofencing through AMP and seeing people lingering so much longer overall downtown, especially at events than they were prior. And just being able to see business growth from our restaurants, that kind of thing. Unfortunately, we don't have the numbers of specific wristbands, which I wish we did. But with everyone having different systems, POS systems, it was difficult to track.

Gotcha. Thank you. Any other questions? Yeah. Thank you very much.

Appreciate your presentation.

Next council will move on to item eight. This is mayor's report. Joe, I'll try to keep it as short as possible. First of all, I'd like to acknowledge the employee of the month is Jordan Wilson, an HR representative. His journey with the city just began in the summer of 2024 when he began as an intern. He pursued his master's degree through a national university online program in He arose into the Human Resources Department now. So we're appreciative of the work that he has done. He started as a part-time employee. He's obviously full-time. And this is the challenge and the good part of what our young adults are eager to do in health and public service. I do want to welcome back Ronnie Shaver. I know many of you are well aware Ronnie came back to work last week. And he's getting back to normal. His personality is personal, and that can be taken in a lot of ways, but we're glad to have you back, Ronnie. Many prayers are answered for you. And just another bearer of good news, Ronnie Sturge emailed me this afternoon, and, man, he got word that he's cancer-free. So that's really good news for our community and the public servant that he is as director of 911. So don't forget the youth council applications are opening up, coming up tonight through the 12th graders. Public, private, homeschool students, please apply as a new applicant through the city website at jonesboroughar.gov. The deadline is July 1st. Summer keeps our parks and pools busy. Jim alluded to that earlier in a previous meeting. Upcoming maintenance is ongoing now at Crookhead Forest Park, obviously. Access, five playgrounds, splash pad, and pavilion will be closed on June 24th, 26th for maintenance. A social media announcement went out today and no reservations were affected. So please help take care of our parks. When you see a need, please inform us so we can address it. With over 800 acres in Craighead Forest alone, the team of 10 there does a good work, but obviously we're always looking for community support, individuals that like to volunteer to help make that park their own. Don't forget that the Craig Rock Wall at Earl Bell Community Center is extended. It's hours Monday through Friday from 12 to 9 p.m. and Saturdays 12 to 5. It's a great indoor activity to beat the summer heat and wear the kids out. Speaking of summer heat, please continue to stay weather aware and check in on your neighbors, especially the elderly. For those needing it, remember that the community centers are cooling stations, and Gojo will provide free rides to any cooling stations. We heard great news today as Ritter Communications in Jonesboro, Arkansas and Great Plains Communications of Blair, Nebraska are joining to form Right Fiber. Together, Right Fiber will serve more than 400 communities with a network spanning 20 states, connecting 300,000 homes and businesses across its 28,000 mile regional fiber network. Continue to drive significant revenue and growth throughout organic expansion and MA. We unequally situated as a trusted partner with the community, businesses and hyperscalers and create one of the largest privately held communication platforms in the United States. The combined organization will continue operating with a strong local focus while leveraging expanded scale and resources. We've enjoyed a lot of summer activities since our last city council meeting including FOIA Behind the Red, a public look at the 2026 and 2027 Forum Theater season, where yours truly shared in show tunes, revealing Fiddler on the Roof. If I were a rich man, I don't need a dime. Some of you might know that. So I was blessed and was able to enjoy my time to reveal that. And it was very enjoyable. It was good to see many of the community partners to gather for that event. The community really came together last Saturday, June 6, for a neighborhood cleanup at Fisher Street United Methodist Church. 11 tons of trash, 62 tires were collected. The next cleanup will take place July 11th, a week later due to the fourth holiday at Lacey Drive location. So mark your counters. The same Saturday, June 6th, both Dare Show Your Ride and Motorcycle Rodeo took place at Joe Mack Campbell Park and the Mountain Dew Grand Slam as well. Last weekend, downtown, we saw Juneteenth Parade and Pridefest on the same day. Don't forget that this Friday, June 19th, is Juneteenth Fireworks Celebrations at Lyons University Park on Bridge Street. Gates open at 8.30, and fireworks will begin around 9.15. Thanks to KLEK for organizing the event. And please, if you have pets, stay aware. Stay aware and keep them indoors if they're not fans of fireworks. This Thursday at 6 PM, STEAMiverse is hosting Above and Beyond, a night with Susan Kilrain, a NASA astronaut, a Navy test pilot at the Valley View Fine Arts Center. I'm telling you, if you have the opportunity to go, you need to go. Tickets are free, so you don't have to reserve a spot, but just get a ticket. We're hoping for a sellout crowd with her. There aren't too many astronauts. She's a commander, and her accolades are strong and high. So I think it would be a wonderful evening if you're not doing anything to support. Sunset sessions begin at Craighead Forest Park June 20th. The band shell off Access Six, live free music, and an opportunity for the kids to play. While summer events are going strong, we're working to ensure the safety of students and pedestrians at the Academics at Jonesboro High School. There's Dr. Coleman, he's not here. The crosswalk on Main Street at Campus Street now has been upgraded with a rectangular rapid flashing beacon from two lights to six. These indications will increase visibility to pedestrians. The installation is complete and the lights are up and running as of this morning. Work is underway on the Johnson Avenue side pathway as well, which will also add a turning lane in J Towns. And we're moving towards a groundbreaking at the Real Time Crime Center in early July. So I'll repeat that, a groundbreaking on the real-time crime center in early July. We'll keep you updated on that. The next finance meeting will have an engineering proposal for Caraway Road, all revenue bond projects that are in progress. So we're always moving as we say. So thank you to all of you who serve the city, and let's continue to continue to work together. Next, we'll move on to city council reports.

Mr. Street.

DAVID BURRAGE- Mayor, in regards to Craighead Forest, it's my understanding that Game and Fish was going to initially help dredge that youth and senior citizen pond out over behind Rotary. Um, they said, or I heard that they weren't going to be able to do that, but I hope we can figure out a way to do that. So game and fish will continue to stock it. I hear from a lot of people. It's a very popular attraction for kids. You know, they, they stock it well and they don't have to watch a bobler for a week and a half. You know, they go out and they have pretty good success catching fish, but it's a popular spot and I hope we can see that project go forward.

Absolutely. Well, matter of fact, we're in communication with them pretty much. because they're doing some additions to their property back there as well. And so entranceways and exit opportunities for us to be able to utilize as well on the property. So yeah, I'll add that to the conference.

DAVID BURRAGE. Thank you. And I'm looking forward to a successful summer conference with Municipal League. Hope we learn a lot and get a lot done there. So hope to see you all there. CHRISTIE WOOD.

Mr. Miller? DAVID BURRAGE.

No, thank you.

CHRISTIE WOOD. Mr. Bryant?

Mayor, I was just going to say thank you for being so responsive Saturday. I text you, and you took care of something immediately, and I appreciate you being so responsive.

Thank you.

Mr. Hafner? No, thanks. Dr. Anthony Coleman? No, thank you. Ms. Williams? No, thanks. Mr. Moore?

Mr. Mayor, I was downtown over the weekend. I noticed some of our lights downtown still are not burning on our string lights. So I know Sarah and them are working hard. So if you will, just have somebody check. It might be they just don't notice it until it's after dark and the city employees go home. But if you will, the ones they noted were on Union. But we just check them all. OK. But it looked like there were two or three strings right there on the west side of the road that were not burning.

Yes, I've talked with Ms. Doss about that. They're actually, we're trying to coordinate a time because they're going to have to shut the street down for a minute to rehang those. So we're trying to find a good time that works for the downtown vendors and with the city to maybe before our next special event, we can carve out a couple hours before that.

No hurry. I think the lights really add a lot to the downtown at night when you're walking around down there. There's a lot of safety on it. That's all, Mayor.

Mr. Emerson?

Nothing at this time. Thank you. Ms. Porter?

No, thank you.

All right. Thank you, Council. Next, we'll move on to public comments. And anyone in the audience can come up and make a comment for five minutes. I don't see any. We'll next move on to item 11. That's adjournment. So moved. Second. Do we have a motion on the floor? All in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed?