City Council - Regular Meeting

Do you need what do you want to do? Yeah, they want they want Hey mayor, how you doing? You use all the council, you sit on it. No, I got them down to three. Okay, so you want to start with 19 Yep. 19 No, not quite. How many you got? Almost. It's good. It's good. I don't make this stuff. I can do that. I got a lot of monitoring. It's a Yeah. When he get that $50 [ __ ] are we What's the D 4 money? She got the D That's it. Yeah, that's it. They don't matter. I enjoyed it. Take me to the hospital. I ain't got it. God, I don't know. Take me to the hospital. Let me go walk to the bank. And that's 2 million dollars. Mhm. So what you going to Yeah. You ain't got to go in your pocket. Mhm. What's the difference? She blows. Take me out. Recording in progress.

And it's approximately 5:22 p.m. Um looking at um I do not have any uh budget adjustments in front of me unless the committee has some to bring forth. Uh no further miss chair. Okay. All right, hearing that we have no budget adjustments in I will um call for a uh uh uh actually call for an adjournment for the Ways and Means Committee. So moved. Second. All right, Ways and Means is adjourned. Ordinances and resolutions, we have 11 agenda items. Two are ordinances. Number one is up for the second reading. Number two is up for the first reading. Agenda items three through 11 are all resolutions and they will all be completed on tonight. If there's no further questions or discussion, that concludes ordinances and resolutions. No questions. Motion to adjourn. Move to adjourn. Second. So moved. Everybody doing all right this evening? I'm good. All right. Let me see here. Did you call him? Tyree, are you on your way up here? Oh, you got up. I thought you were on your way up here. I thought you were I thought you were on your way up. Oh, come on.

Okay. So, the question I got is the pipe machine the quote I got for was a quote from January. That's what I used, but I got a new quote from uh individual today. I should tell you in February too. In February, which is next month. It's actually I think the quote y'all had was 213,000. The new quote states 228,000. I got a copy of that to talk about this more on the computer. This is 213 Yes. So it's 228 now. Look at the time Yes. Did you get your budget committee Yes. 228 But then that's when it expired. Yes. Turn it off. I just want to let you There's nothing wrong. Okay. Yeah, I raised it back to 100. Yeah, they put it real low. If it's nothing wrong, just fight me deeps. And you have to have them [snorts] spoke inside it for the water on the outside too. So, we I'm looking at it and you try to figure out what you want to do actually. Make it smaller. Okay. All right. Okay.

Yeah, yes, man. Oh, no problem. I got to get out of here, man. I need to collect your hours from alumni dues. For you. You are keeping the alumni up. Oh, yeah. How long are the chapters? Okay. Yeah. When can I get it? The one that's $50. The one that's $50. Yeah. Let me see. What day it is? Today is Monday. They have a membership drive today down at the Alpha Beta. So, when we leave here, you can just go by there. You just get that with the tape. You can't wait to rush over. Yeah. You got to run. You got to especially with that $50. What's $50? Alumni dues. Offer local. It was what? 35? Mhm. 30 Inflation, though. Yeah. You know what's best? The first and the 15th. Okay. What are they doing? 15 just a 5 days ago. You got to have a little residual. What this is here, this is the 28th. So, you had 5 days. You had 5 days to think about that 15 check, huh? Well, that's what I said. They They get the money before you get the check. Well, I got you. I got you. Okay. I got you. I got you. I'll get you. You need to be number one on this D 4. I got you on my list. Okay.

Do you not have the uh alumni dues? I need dues. Man, I need dues. I need dues.

Good evening. Welcome everyone to the Pine Bluff City Council meeting, April 20th. It is now 5:30. And so, we will begin with the public comments on agenda items. Dominique Aziz. Or Aziz? Am I saying it right? Is Dominique Aziz, A Z E E Z? Dominique Aziz? Okay. Lloyd Franklin. Lloyd Franklin. Lloyd Franklin. And then, uh Julius Slaver. Julius Slaver? Huh? Is he here? Oh. Julius Slaver. Um you are wanting to speak on item number 11 with a position against. You have 3 minutes, sir. Uh very quickly, as someone who has grown up here in Pine Bluff, I know that older people have a problem sometime with what truths of the past to tell. For example, my mother waited until I was a grown man to tell me that she was teaching school in Money, Mississippi, when Emmett Till was killed. He was school age, of course. My daddy decided to go get her from that community and bring her here, and marry her, and 2 years later I was born. So, if it wasn't for the tragedy of Emmett Till, I won't be on the face of the earth. I had a casket I homemade and had it in

water at Main and Harding Street. And national documentarians came here, and they say, "We like it because when it rained, the casket came up just like his foot came up." I talked about a pink house not too long ago. But what people don't know about a pink house is a lot of older people relish the story of pink houses. Why? Because not all Caucasians or whites have been bad or have been ruthless toward African Americans throughout the years. For example, that's how some of the slaves navigated from one part of country to the other part of country by looking at pink houses. A lot of people don't know that history. Pink houses were were painted so they would know where to stop to get water, to get food. So, some elderly people never told their children or grandchildren about the famous pink houses that they heard about as they were growing up. I had a pink house, and I mentioned a pink house, and it seemed to cause trouble. And I'd like to apologize for that trouble if I've caused it. Now, I have three pictures here that I'd like to give to the City Council. And if you don't mind, I'll just take my time and give it to Leonard Frazier and let her pass them.

[clears throat]

I don't like to mention names. Sometime names don't be important if the subject matter is more imperative than the names. But there's a building one block from the courthouse, and I'm passing the pictures around. There's three pictures. I gave it to Mr. Gilliam if he can show it. This is a piece of property that our esteemed urban renewal director, CEO of urban renewal, owns. The building was burned 10 to 12 years ago. It's a shack sometime ago. But nothing was done to it. So, we here have been asked every week or two to condemn houses, to put them on people's taxes. But the director of our urban renewal has a building that you can literally walk up to and take 20 bricks and put it in a wheelbarrow and roll it out to the street. Now, how does that make sense? Never have I seen anybody on that property cleaning it or repairing it in 10 years. Whereas I'm on Main and Harding Street, and people see me there all day, all night for years, and they want to say it's become blighted. How could that be? There are two sets of laws in this city, and it's existed that way for sometime. One law for some, and another law for others. And I'm simply asking for all laws to be equal to everybody, including urban renewal. And I thank you for allowing me to speak. And if Michael Gilliam could show those pictures, I would be grateful. Michael, can you show the pictures? I don't have them yet. Oh, you don't have them yet. Okay. Perhaps you'll be able to show them some other time. And I invite People ask me, "Have you asked Do you think you're the only one that saw that?" I'm not the only one to see it, but I'm the only one standing up because Mayor Washington,

when it come down to the shelter, she said, "We're going to appoint you to represent the people." And that's what I'm doing today, representing the people. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Thank you, Mr. Slaver. Mhm. I believe that uh Mr. Franklin, I called your name a few times. If um we've not concluded the public comments for agenda items, so if you would like to come before the council. Good evening. Good evening. Nice venue. Um I have a couple concerns about an ordinance that you guys have tonight. I believe it's on the second reading. Um you all know me, most of you, I'm pretty sure, Lloyd Franklin, landlord. Um the ordinance that they have on the agenda is an ordinance dealing with landlords. And uh I've reached out and spoke to several landlords concerning this ordinance, and most of them have had the same uh point that no one from the city has reached out to them in regards to this ordinance with this, I guess, policing of landlord-tenants. Um and I want to be clear, I support safe, decent housing. I do not support slum conditions, and I do not support landlords who refuse to provide basic necessities. But this ordinance is currently drafted, it raises serious concerns for the responsible property owners and for the fair, lawful enforcement of city power. My first concern is that this ordinance appears to put most of the burden on the landlord, even when the problem may be caused by the tenant. If a tenant moves into a unit and brings roaches, bedbugs, or other pest problems with them, this ordinance creates a path for the city to

come after the owner. If a tenant damages property, refuses access, or contributes to the condition, the ordinance does not clearly protect the landlord from being cited anyway. My second concern is nonpayment. Under this proposal, if a tenant is not paying the rent, the landlord is still expected to um expected to be exposed to city enforcement over repairs like HVAC, plumbing, and other covered items. This means that the landlord can be forced uh into paying, repairing, and performing while the tenant is already in breach of contract. That's not balanced, and it invites abuse. My third concern is privacy and inspections. I personally do not like the idea of the city entering private uh rental property based on complaints without clear rules on notice, consent, access, owner notice, and due process. If the city is going to create an inspection system involving occupied homes, then the ordinance needs to clearly define how that process works and what protections exist for both owners owners and tenants. My fourth concern is selective enforcement. The ordinance itself says a large percentage of homeowners in the Pine Bluff are renter-occupied. If that is true, then everyone knows uh in this in this room that the city does not have the manpower to inspect all rental property equally. So, what happens in practice? We end up with a complaint-driven system that can easily become inconsistent, selective, political, retaliatory, and based on who gets reported and who does not. That's not equal enforcement. It could turn into cherry-picking. My fifth concern is about the penalty structure. A thousand-dollar pen a thousand-dollar fine, $500 for each additional day. This ordinance gives the city the ability to cite owners, impose fines, and treat violations as continuing problems. This is a This is a serious enforcement tool. Before you do that kind of uh give that kind of authority to the city, the

ordinance should clearly provide defenses, appeal rights, written notice requirements, and a fair process. So, I'm asking the council not to rush this ordinance through in its current form. At minimum, this ordinance needs to be amended to do at least four things. First, we need to clearly protect our landlords from liability from tenant-caused conditions, including pests, damage, filth, and denied access. Secondly, we clearly need to state that owners must receive proper notice and fair opportunity to cure before fines are imposed. Third, clearly limit inspection authority and define when and how the city may inspect occupied private property. Fourth, we need to create neutral enforcement standards so this does not become a complaint-driven cherry-picking system. Safe housing matters, but so do fairness, due process, private property rights, and common sense. If the city wants a housing ordinance, then it needs to draft one that doesn't that targets bad actors without punishing respectable landlords who are already dealing with nonpayment, tenant-caused damage, and limited enforcement consistency. And I say all that to come into a close that the tenant-landlord system that we have here, the market takes care of itself. If somebody is a slummy landlord, we know who they are. The tenants know who they are. If a landlord is not repairing something in the house, the same rules of state law that are there, contract law, they have a ability to get out of a contract the same as the landlord does. So, this particular ordinance, from what I read, is putting a lot of burden on the landlord even when it's not the landlord's fault, and it exposes us to fines, penalties, and unexpected avenues and things that we have to deal with that may not even be our fault. So, before they rush that through, it needs to be relooked at. It needs to be tweaked, and I would caution the city that passing something that's affecting

40% of the properties around here without consulting any landlords, it just kind of leaves a bad taste in a lot of landlords' mouths. Thank you. Mayor Flowers. Um uh Mr. Yes, Franklin, would you be uh open to answering any questions? Yeah. Okay, Council Member Falls. Uh first of all, I would do want to thank you for coming to the council to address this ordinance. Um number one, just to be clear, all of the standards laid out in this ordinance, these are not new standards that have been created by the city. All of these are standards that have been created by the state of Arkansas. So, in terms of um altering these, that would be beyond our per- purview. We're not trying to add any additional um standards. We're simply giving the city the ability to enforce the standards the state has already laid out. And the situation that we have here right now in um Pine Bluff is that we have a state law in place, but there's no incentive for land owners to really comply with that. Because if a violation is found and we don't have any type of fines or anything in place, what is going to incentivize those owners to actually follow through on what state law is saying? And I know that you mentioned the responsible property owners. I think that responsible property owners, they have nothing to fear or worry about. Because if you're already following state law right now, if you're not mistreating your tenants or leaving them in a condition that's just deplorable, um you don't really have a reason to um to fear this ordinance. And this ordinance also does not prevent individuals from being evicted. Number one, the state of Arkansas is far behind other states in the United States in providing rights to tenants. This is the only state in America that does not have um warrant of habitability. So, state law already leans heavily in favor of

landlords in protecting their rights. Um we can't There's only so much that we can do as a city, but we can put these stipulations in place to enforce what's already um been authorized by the state. In terms of inspection, we put language into this ordinance that basically says that if a violation is found and a land owner makes a reasonable effort to repair that within 30 days, even if, you know, something happens and they can't get that fixed within 30 days, as long as they make a reasonable effort to do so, our zoning department has the ability to not pursue any fines. We're willing to work with people who are willing to uh put in the work to uh provide their tenants a good environment. But the situation we're in in Pine Bluff, and I don't have to belabor the point. You drive through this city and we see houses, we see structures that are blighted, they're deteriorated, and it's tragic that unfortunately people actually live in some of these structures. And they live in some of these structures because some landlords in this community, not all of them, but some landlords have not um done their basic responsibilities to make sure that these places are safe and habitable. Now, if you have a tenant who comes into your property and they are demolishing things, they're not keeping up their end of the bargain. Like I said, landlords have rights. You can evict that person. You have the right to do so. But I don't think it's fair for an individual who is paying their rent, they are being a good tenant, and they're being left in a house without hot water for months and months. They're being left in a house in the middle of the summer without electricity for months and months. I wouldn't want to live in a house like that. I wouldn't want my parents or my grandparents to live in a house like that. So, I'm not going to allow my constituents to live in a house like that. And in terms of

the penalties, it says $1,000 um a fine not exceeding $1,000. So, there will be due process to this. Our zoning department, they will take this through the due process system, through the courts if necessary, and that fine can be adjusted. So, if you do get a fine, it's not automatically going to be $1,000, but it's not to exceed $1,000. And so, I'll just wrap up by saying that I think that this is long overdue. This should have been in place years ago. There's a lot of work that the state of Arkansas should have done years ago. Unfortunately, yes, 48% of our population, they do live in rental housing. That's way above the national average. Um I would like to see the day when we can have more owner-occupied houses. But until that day comes, we have to put stipulations in place to make sure that these rental units are being taken care of. Because if they're if they aren't, then that's compromising health and safety, and it's also creating a blighted city. And we can't do our jobs to bring businesses here, to bring jobs here, whatever the case, keep residents here, if we have structures that are falling apart. And um so, I think this ordinance is long overdue. I'm hoping that we will get this passed next month. Um and that just concludes my remarks for now. Any further or do you have any

Do we get a redirect? Oh, and I wanted to mention one more thing about the landlords, about I'm There are thousands of landlords, so it would have been impractical, infeasible, or impossible for us to call up every landlord and tell them that this ordinance was coming through. The process is we put it on the agenda. There are three readings so that the public can be notified that this is coming before the council. And like you've done today, landlords have the opportunity to come in, ask questions, challenge us about it before we vote on it. So, there are several weeks where people have the opportunity to do that. It's just impractical for us to consult with every landlord before we introduce this. Uh Council Member Falls, did you have a question for or did you you were responding?

Yeah, I was responding. Yeah.

Okay. And I do believe there is a question, or do you have comment? Okay. So, Council Member Lockett. Yes, sir. Mr. Franklin, um um is there any way you can send that information that you presented to us tonight? Because one thing I do know is, you know, being on the council for a while, the easiest thing for the council to do is pass legislation. Uh the hardest thing to do is to implement it. And in many cases, um it's going to be left up to code enforcement to attempt to uh implement this in some form of ticketing, some some form of due process. Um and I do believe you have some valid points. So, if you could email what you sent to us on to um on tonight, that we might be able to digest it and see where we might be able to put some guardrails uh in this legislation. I don't think That's one reason that we read things three times to get understanding that if we need to improve upon what we presented, that we'll have a chance to hear from uh persons like yourself. Would you have a Did you have a question for Mr. Mr. Franklin? Yeah, my question was could he email Oh. what he sent what he just You know, the the problem that I have is I don't I hear what he's saying, but I don't have a a chance to digest what he says, compare it to what we have in here, to see how we may be able to put some I I'll give you an example. We may have He's saying that if he rents to a person and it's a a place, and in 6 months it's infested with roaches. We may have to put something in here to say that in the contract one

agrees to the conditions of the home. So that would say that you rented it under it looked like this. So I'm just saying that some of the stuff he has is valid. But some of the stuff we may need to think about what is the process in terms of do we notify the landlord that we're going to inspect this property because it's his private property that even though somebody is renting it, it still needs to be done in such a way that the property owner knows that he's under investigation. So I mean if you could send that to me, then I can look at it and get with brother Fields and his committee and we may be able to look at what you're presenting to see what we may do to improve the legislation. Now the legislation is valid. Now the only thing it's saying is that tenants have rights. I mean that's the only thing that it's really doing that. But I'm just saying how we go about enforcing it, it can go a thousand different ways. Well Mr. Franklin, could just real quick and I'mma allow you to respond, but just on the question can you please email that to my office [laughter] and the clerk's office? Okay. And we will make sure that it gets to all of the council members. Mr. And just a moment. Did you have something to say in response? Yeah, because and and and and here's the thing. When you bring an ordinance and and it's a feel good ordinance, everybody wants to get behind and everybody wants to protect the tenants, but at the same time you have to keep in mind that you you have a due duty to protect your landlords. You know, and we're already the odds are stacked against us with the tenant population that's here with people with non-payment, people that are damaging properties. Um you mentioned HVAC system that goes out. Well, if you have a tenant that consistently keeps their air on 60°. and tries to run it and cool the house down to 60° when it's 105° outside, they're going to tear up the unit. You repair

it, they do the same thing. You know, they don't care about the equipment because they're not paying for it. But then when it's not working or they broke it, now it's on the landlord to get it fixed and also they're not paying rent. So you combine all that with it and now we're facing fines because you know, we're under the gun of the city saying, "Hey, you need to get this fixed and this is the time frame." But then secondly, I noticed where they said that there are no fines that are listed in here. So where we say a speeding ticket, a speeding ticket is set by either the city council or the quorum court or or the legislature to set what the actual penalty is, this ordinance doesn't have any penalties listed. It just says up to a thousand dollars. So is this just an office person that's going to decide what these penalties are going to be or how much we're going to charge people if the air's not working, we're going to charge you $900. Who decides that because that's not listed here. And then also as I see you know, and I appreciate all the person Fields' passion, but he started talking about this and he went off into something else and started talking about blight. And so here's the thing. Is this a catchall or do we start with this and then it turns into something else because we're going now from this to he started talking about blight and we see houses going down the road and we're trying to bring businesses here and there's a lot of blight out there. I don't know where which houses are blight or whether they are landlord homes or whether they're homes that people own, but it's it's it's like it's opening the door to a whole another situation because we went from talking about this ordinance to now we're including blight. And we also heard the word deplorable. So deplorable conditions that's a matter of opinion. If it's HVAC or plumbing or something that's deplorable, are we talking about the overall condition of the house or or you know, it's just a lot of gray area there and everybody wants to get behind this and my concern is it doesn't need to be speeded through here. Quick three readings. I think my request and I'm pretty sure all other landlords in the city would agree that

maybe there should be like a panel or a committee where landlords and people can get together and make sure that everybody's protected and it's in the best interest of the city, the landlords and the tenants because what I see right now with this going through is detrimental to the landlords. We're totally exposed whether it's our fault or not. You know, and so there needs to be some language in there to protect landlords and we would like to know what are we actually doing? What are we policing? How are you policing it? What are the fines? I don't need to get a thousand dollar fine because the HVAC system ain't working because the tenant tore it up and we repaired it and then they tore it up again or I don't need to get a thousand dollar fine because somebody decided to cut a copper line on the air conditioner and the system was running and it damaged the compressor and it's going to take 60 days to get one in because they can't get this model in because they phased out all of these old systems now. So it's a process to get it done. You know, so we have a lot of questions and I'm here on behalf of several landlords which if we added them up, we're talking about over a thousand properties. And I'm here speaking on behalf of them. So we have grave concern. We support the measure. We want to get behind it, but we just want to make sure that it's fair. And if it's going to the third reading and nothing changes, you're exposing all of us. Mr. Franklin, let me so first of all I want to point out or reiterate that we will be sharing your information with the council and it sounds like you have the interest of I know at least one um council member who is interested in working with you to ensure that your concerns are addressed. And I didn't want to I want to make sure to recognize council member Mays who also has a question. Thank you, Mayor. Fourth Ward. Fourth Ward.

[laughter]

Hey, y'all. That's a good you have a good point. I wouldn't go support it at first. I stopped talking to some people in the Fourth Ward and around the city that I know and it it it all makes sense. Uh they have to the landlords and the tenants really have to I mean come to an agreement on some of this stuff. They have to sit down and because they're going to have you got you're going to have bad land bad land bad landlords and bad tenants. You know, you're going to find some of them people leave them houses at night. Don't pay it not paying rent. I get calls all the time. People have left the house. Uh didn't pay the rent. And the landlord tried to help them. And they let them down. They tore the place up. I mean we got to have more town hall meetings about this. This meeting is not not big enough. It's it's it's it's not it's not it's not big enough to for the questions that need to be answered. You got a lot of these young people going to be renting places down the road. If we don't fix these problems now while they're young, they shouldn't have to come back 10 years from now and deal with the same problems that we should have fixed. And and that's what we're getting at now. A lot of problems are not being fixed because we're not fully paying attention to them.

[clears throat] We just got to get better. I mean I mean really. Thank you so much. Any further I just have a question. Okay, question from you council member Frazier and then we'll go back to council member Fields and shut I mean not shut it down, but shut it down. [laughter]

I just have a comment and a question. When I was reading through this, I I do believe that it was saying that it was not targeting those um landlords that were taking care of their properties and stuff like that. It was about slum lords. And then also my question really is cuz I don't know. So I don't rent no property, so I need to know. Um you know how usually when you rent an apartment complex or anything like that, do the landlords that own houses do a walk-through like they usually do with apartment complex where the the tenant will sign off that this was in this condition when they moved in so that that way there would be some kind of check and balance of this is how the property was when you moved in and now that you're complaining, this is something maybe that you created not necessarily that the landlord was not taking care of the property. Is that something that is being done or is feasible to do? So I think most landlords they have a pre-move-in checklist. But the problem is is that when you run into the problems as far as like HVAC or plumbing and things, it could be something as simple as hair in the drain that's stopping up plumbing or children flushing toys down the line and it jams up the whole plumbing system that can cost thousands of dollars in in plumbing repairs, you know. There's just an assortment of things that you can run into, you know, like I said, but I think, you know, me as well as everyone else, we want to be compliant with the law and we do the best that we can. And you know, my motto is I'm not going to put anyone somewhere where I wouldn't want to stay, you know. But we do have different levels of land lords and we do have different levels of rent. If your rent is $500, it's probably marginal living and and some people they need marginal living and that's just where it is, you know. But like I said, I think there just needs to be a conversation where everyone feels protected, we know where it's going and even what he said about blight. We don't take care of the yards. So if the yard is out there trashing the yards, people parking cars, abandoning

cars in the yard. I have a property right now at 37th and Hazel. There's two cars in the yard and the lease specifically says no parking in the yard. Back when the bus died or one of the vehicles, this is nice neighborhood by the hospital, you know. And we repeatedly tell them, "Hey, we need you to remove these vehicles." You know, but they have rights just like we have rights. And so, when you see that blight that he's talking about, that's a part of it, you know? And those are things that we engage in and have to deal with and and and our hands are tied on a lot of things, you know? But, I I I think the ordinance is a good idea, you know? I think that there just needs to be a conversation, you know, between the council and landlords, landlord association to make sure that all bases are covered because even if though someone says this is state law, when you start enforcing it and applying fines to it, that that changes things, you know? That that's a totally different avenue that that we're going down, this this venture here, you know? And and I want to get behind it and support it, but, you know, it just it just needs to make sense from all sides across the board. And I think before the final decision's made, you know, the the city or the landlords, they deserve a right to be heard. There are a lot of variables in in this because I do know personally a few people that have moved into I didn't know until after they told me told me, but uh moved into a place that was not really something I would have put my worst enemy in. Uh but they were told that if you work on this or fix this, then we'll deduct rent. And so, it's it's so many things that go into this because some people feel desperate to move into some of these places that are considered slum places. And then there's some people that move into places that's nice and then tear it up or either it wasn't nice from the beginning. So, it is a lot of variables to look at, but we do have a serious problem here in regards to slum lords. We're not Well, I know when I was looking at this, I wasn't looking at blight or anything like that. I was looking at how someone was living once they got in that in that house. And

we're not asking for it to be marble this or marble that, but just nice clean house. Functional. Right. Functional. Functional and safe, yeah. Thank you, Councilwoman. Thank you. And uh Councilman Fields. Yeah, really quick, just so we don't belabor the point.

I will say, just to clarify, this is not governing a lease agreement. So, we're not going to have people coming into inspection zoning, laying out their lease, and having the city enforce the finer points of that lease. That's not what this is for. There are already standards laid out by the state. We're simply enforcing those. And right now we have a state law in place that the city is effectively powerless to enforce because there are no incentives for landlords to actually follow through with the law. If we want to make this a good city where people can live and have a decent quality of life, we have to get serious about how we are conducting business. If we have laws in place, they have to be enforced. And I don't think that this is speeding it through. Uh we have three readings. That is the process that is laid out in our ordinance. I think forming a committee and things like that, a task force, I think that would just belabor the point unnecessarily. We have a state law. It's time for action. It's time to protect people. This is the due process right now, having people come in and give their input on this legislation, but it's it's it's long overdue. We have to put this into action. And um I will just leave it at that. Thank you, Councilwoman. Oh, I'm sorry, Vera. Mayor, I'm so sorry. No no problem. One point I did want to clarify, and I keep hearing from several people that who are saying that um if we have a tenant and they're tearing up our property, I I I know several people who are landlords, you know, mentors, friends, family members who are mentors. So, I can appreciate the struggle. You rent out your house thinking somebody is going to come in there and take care of it, and they do not take care of it. So, this ordinance does not remove the ability of a landlord to evict someone who's abusing their property, tearing up their property. That's between the tenant and the landlord. You have that

right. This is not superseding that. This is simply saying there are basic things, safety and health, that landlords have a responsibility to provide in the state of Arkansas, and this is giving the city the ability to enforce that. Thank you so much, everyone, on this issue. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you. Um before we move ahead, uh is Dominique Aziz here? Dominique Aziz? Okay. So, we have completed all of the public comments on agenda items. And at this time, I will call the meeting to order. And we will begin with the invocation, and then we will move on to the presentation of colors. Um the uh Pine Bluff High School Air Force Junior ROTC will also lead the pledge. Madam Clerk will call the roll. We will um approve the minutes, and then prior to that, we will um Uh yeah. Now, we'll go ahead and go down according to the agenda because um our we have some champions in the house tonight, and um that is the third item.

[laughter]

That's the third item on the agenda. So, we'll we'll move forward um expeditiously. Uh Father Joseph Marsoni of Saint Joseph Catholic Church is here to lead us in prayer. If you'll all please stand. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Council members, for letting us share our faith together. We don't just act in the Son alone. We act in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Almighty God, I thank you for this meeting today. Lord, this council have an agenda before you. When that agenda before them is the will of God for them, when they do what's pleasing to you, the outcome will be in your name. We ask that the Holy Holy Spirit to lead all these members, direct all our discussions that takes place during this civic occasion. I pray that you will use the skills and the abilities within each of us to accomplish the tasks set before us. We know the whole weight of the city of Pine Bluff does not fall on the city council alone. Nor does it fall on the cooperation of all the departments of our city, or the hard-working citizens of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Ultimately, as we get orders from DC to Pine Bluff, they'll ultimately fall down to our faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to save us from our sins, and to help us to bring about the kingdom of God at hand. Help us to remain positive in all our decisions made, to always remember that all things are

possible through Christ, who strengthens us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Amen. Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Thank you very much. Thank you, Father Joseph. And now, Pine Bluff High School Air Force Junior ROTC will present the colors and lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Color guard, ten-hut. Forward march. Halt. Mark. [snorts]

Color guard, ten-hut. Left face. Freeze it. Arms Would you please recite the Pledge of Allegiance? I pledge I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. ORDER ARMS. RIGHT ABOUT MARCH. HALT. MARK. COLOR GUARD, TEN-HUT. DISMISS. Color Dismiss. You may be seated. Thank you, Pine Bluff High School Junior ROTC. Okay. Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll? Councilmember Maine.

Here. Councilmember Holcomb. Here. Councilmember Brown. Here. Councilmember Lockett. Here. Councilmember Frazier. Here. Councilmember Bryson.

Here. Councilmember Denton. Councilmember Fields. Here. And at this time, I will um entertain a motion to approve the minutes from April 7th, and Second. And hold on. And the special call meeting of April 6th, 20 both 2026. So moved. Second. It's been moved and seconded that the council approves the minutes from April 7th and from April 6th. Any discussion? Mayor. Council member Fails. In the minutes for April 20th for the development and planning committee, it says that we sent these items to the full council with a do pass recommendation. I just want that clarified. We sent

Which which date? Um April 20th. No, no, no. The Okay. Page three. Okay. Yeah. The minutes for April 3rd April 20th. The Okay. Well, no. Today is April 20th. I'm sorry. April 6th or April 7th? The April 6th minutes. Yeah. page three? Yeah. Under development and planning, it says we sent those items to the full council with a do pass. We sent that without a recommendation. Uh I just wanted that clarified for record. Council member Fails, are you um How do Well, I We I guess we need to do an amendment. So are you

So I need to move that we Okay. I move that we amend the minutes from April 6th to reflect that development and planning sent all these items to the full council without a recommendation. Okay. Is there a second? Second. It's been moved and seconded that the um minutes from April 6th be amended on page three to reflect that development and planning committee um sent the items to full council without a recommendation. Any discussion? With no discussion, Madam Clerk, please call the roll. Council member Mays.

I. Council member Holcomb. I. Council member Brown. I. Council member Lockett. I. Council member Frazier. I. Council member Brunson. I. Council member Denton. Council member Fails.

I. Second one. Okay. So that motion passes. And now Yeah. And And now I will uh entertain a motion for to approve the minutes as amended. So moved. Second. It's been moved and seconded to uh approve the minutes as amended um for April 6th and approve the minutes for April 7th. Any discussion? With no discussion, all those who wish to vote for the passage the approval of the minutes uh aforementioned indicate by saying I. I. Any opposed? Motion passes. Um Let us Let us go ahead if we if there's no objection to um go down and um Well, we have I guess we have to do it we have to hear the uh committee. Yeah. Let Let us Let's go ahead and hear the committee reports. Ways and Means. Council member Brown, will you please deliver your report? Yes, thank you, Mayor. Ways and Means met just before this council meeting. Uh we did not have any items on the agenda, so that meeting was immediately adjourned. And that concludes my report. Thank you, Council member Brown. Council member Mays. Miss Richardson is on the schedule. Council member Mays, we're hearing committee reports. Let us get through that first, okay?

All right. Okay. Ordinances and resolutions. Council member Holcomb, will you please deliver your report? Thank you, Mayor. Ordinances and resolutions, we have 11 agenda items. Number one and two are both ordinances. Ordinances number one is up for the second reading. Number two is up for the first reading. Numbers three through 11 are all resolutions. They will be completed on tonight. That concludes ordinances and resolutions. To Council member Do we have to do anything with this? Uh yes, ma'am. Thank you, Mayor. All of you should have amendment to be added to agenda uh number nine. And when we get to agenda resolution number nine, that will have to be voted to be added to the Okay. So we'll just add this Yes, ma'am.

as an amendment to resolution number nine. If you all will just put that before right before your resolution number 10 page in your packet. Does everyone have that? Okay. All right. That concludes ordinances and resolutions. Thank you so much. Yes, ma'am. Economic and community development. Council member Frazier, will you please deliver your report?

Thank you, Mayor. Uh Economic and Community Development has not met since the last uh meeting. So I do not have a report on that. However, I do want to take this opportunity to thank everybody who came out to support the Pink Night at the Arts and Science Center where we did a movie and we did awareness in regards to breast cancer awareness. We had 125 people in attendance that evening. And uh this next month for May 22nd, we're doing a movie Courageous and there's still some seats available. It's a movie that's in regards to four police officers. So at that event, we will be recognizing some police officers during that movie event. So please, if you would like to attend, please let me know by uh calling 870-575-3619. Thank you, Mayor. That concludes my report. Thank you, Council member Frazier. Uh the next committee is the Public Health and Welfare Committee, which would be led by and reported on by Council member Denton, who is absent uh this evening. So we will move on to Public Works. Council member Lockett, please deliver your report.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. The Public Works Committee met on April 14th at 2:00 in the old City Council Chambers. And we sent the resolution authorizing a contract with Wagner General Contractors for work uh respecting the Flag Gate project. Um There was only two of the committee members there. It was a split vote, but we moved it to the uh council uh without a recommendation, but um I the ch- the chair voted for Uh that concludes my report, Madam Mayor. Thank you, Council member Lockett. Uh Council uh member Fails, will you please report on development and planning? Development and planning met recently and we sent agenda items seven, eight, nine, and 10 to the full council and we'll be announcing our next meeting time pretty soon. And that concludes my report. Thank you, Council member Fails. Uh Traffic and Aviation. Council member Brunson, will you please deliver your report? Mayor, Traffic and Aviation has not met since the last council meeting, but um I will update um you and the council on our next meeting. And that concludes my report. Thank you. Council member Holcomb, will you please deliver your report on administration? Uh yes, uh Mayor. The Administration [clears throat] Committee held an an appeal appeal hearing on Tuesday, April 14th at 3:00 p.m. for Nikita Richardson of Parks and Recreation. The recommendation from the Administration Committee was to uphold the termination of Miss Nikita Richardson. And we sent bring this back to the full council. And now the council has to vote on the Administration Committee

uh recommendation. Was there a position? Ma'am. You didn't mention what the position was. To up- to uphold the termination. Okay. Okay. Thank you so much. Is that the conclusion of your report? Yes, ma'am. Okay. Thank you. And finally, yes. Council member Brown. The council

Oh, right now? Yes, ma'am. Okay. Okay. I move that we that the Administration Committee I move that the full I move that we uphold the termination of Miss Nikita Richardson. Second. It's been moved and seconded that the termination of Miss Nikita Richardson be upheld. Any discussion? Well, I I'm not Council member Mays. I'm not in agreement with that. And I was going to let the uh coun- the the citizens and the council know I I'm supporting Miss Richardson now. Uh I think we should do more to help our cit- help our employees and and serve them. The first the citizens always serving us. We need to serve them more. Uh all you're going to do is create a void in that position right there. That's going to hold us up some more. And that's my take on it. Thank you. Any further discussion?

Mayor, I have Council member Frazier.

Um I listened online I'm online in reference to this and I have a few concerns. I do believe that the director has a right to hire hire and fire if there is insubordination. I just think that some of the procedures that should have taken place wasn't taken pl- wasn't done. Um because what was said was that there was no intention to fire just to have a discussion, but then when it got heated it was no notification to the employee that there is a possibility that they may not might not have a job when they come back on Monday. There was no paperwork done and then they just came back and they were terminated. Um I just have an issue with some of the process and this is something that's been going on not just now. It's been going on for a while in the city uh in the in city hall where we just do not do documentation well enough in regards to situations that occur. I do know that there are sometimes some hot moments, but when the situation got hot and she was asked to leave it should have been um something written. Um information taken in regards to the um behavior and there should have been some notification to the employee of what they could expect to happen before they left um even in that in that heated situation. So I I have issues with it too. Um and right now I don't know which way I'm going to go, but I just do have an issue with that. Thank you.

discussion? Thank you. Any further discussion? With no further discussion, Madam Clerk will you please call the roll? Council member Mayes? Yeah. Council member Holcomb? Aye. Council member Brown? Aye. Council member Lockett? Aye. Council member Frazier? No. Council member Brunkton? Aye. Council member Denton? Council member Faye? Aye. Aye, too. I mean five three. Motion prevails. [snorts]

That concludes my report, Mayor. Thank you. Public safety. Council member Brown, will you please deliver your report? Yes, thank you, Mayor. Public safety. Let's see. And um that on the 8th of this month um we heard from I will actually we did not hear from animal control. He was actually out um getting some donations from an individual in the community and so um but he did not have a report. Um from the police um we have a uh about the agenda item number two that is on the agenda came to that committee. Uh we sent it to the full council with the due pass. Uh we heard from Miss uh Brown with the crime stats and as we saw in the in the newspaper in the press um earlier about a week or so ago that crime was up. Um and so um hoping that those numbers um will go in reverse um going into our next month. Um so the cameras that we have they're going to be installed um in the first week of May. We switched from Flock over to Motorola and so those cameras will begin to be installed in May. Um we're going to focus on areas such as the park, convention center, uh our new hotel area, also hotspot areas around town and as we um obtain more cameras we'll be able to spread those uh to area other areas of town. Uh from the fire department from Chief Compton um he emailed every council member a report from the uh stats from last month. Um and we had 11 structure fires um during last month. We have currently have two individuals in the academy um and then we have testing at the end of this month for five vacancies and currently we have 27 applications on file. So we have 27 applications and five vacancies so um hopefully we can get those vacancies filled. Um right now they're working on redoing the bathroom at station seven.

Um it's been out of order. Uh I guess they're doing some um improvements and some changes there. Um and for our training center um actually during the meeting um Chief reported that they were um doing the footing. Uh they had done it the day before and he was saying that the pad will be finished um that week, but after the meeting uh Chief and I actually went to the training center and they were actually laying down the pad uh when we pulled up and so that at this point is complete um and hopefully that whole project will be done um within the next couple of months. And that concludes my report. Oh, wait. I have something else. I'm sorry. Um so we have promotion testing from the police department on April 20th, which was today. So we had that today? Yes, sir. Okay. So we had that today.

[laughter] Um we had a one captain spot and nine sergeants uh positions and and those two to three lieutenant positions that were available um that those that testing was for. Um that was held at 10:00 this morning at the Pine Bluff Convention Center. Um and also on April the 30th um we have uh Chief Warrior and Chief Elliott will be promoted to assistant chief at the Kevin Collins building at 11:00 a.m. And that's on April 30th. Uh and that concludes my report. Can I say woohoo? [laughter]

Okay. Um thank you so much. Uh we will go ahead and move on to the proposed ordinances and resolutions and rather if there's no objection um than starting with the first ordinance and the reading of the second one if we could begin with uh resolution number three or item number three the resolution commending the Gloves Not Guns organization for its boxers performance in the 2026 National Silver Gloves Tournament in Independence, Missouri. I just wanted to say that. I know that's all that you've got to say it too, but I just wanted to say it. [applause]

No objection, Mayor. Okay. That's right. Okay, Council member Holcomb. So I'm going to say move for adoption since you already read it. Okay. Move for [snorts] adoption. Second. It's been moved and seconded that Oh. Are we going to read the resolution? We got to read it. You got to read it just to Let's go ahead I just read the title. Let's read it cuz we have names in it up here so. Whereas I thought we just was approving that it goes first. I will well, I was saying that I don't have any objection to it being read. Yeah, well I'm going to read Oh, any Okay, well oh, me do it. No, no, no, no, no, no. No, no. Being read.

No, you asked the question was you said um is there any objection to Right. this being first and I said no objection. Okay, thank you. [laughter]

But we still have to read it. But you already read the title so I just read the title. Right. Whereas the Gloves Not Guns organization provides local youth a wholesome alternative activity through its boxing program at which the youth are learning discipline, focus and leadership while making positive choices for their future. And whereas the Gloves Not Guns recently participated in the 59th National Silver Gloves of America held in Independence, Missouri on February the 25th through 28th, 2026. This is a premier annual American amateur boxing competition for young fighters aged 8 through 16. And whereas four of the organization's boxers advanced to the semi-finals or achieved a champion designation. Now therefore be it resolved by the City Council of the City of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Section one that we, the mayor and members of the City Council, hereby commend Gloves Not Guns for its positive impact on youth in the community through its boxing program. Section two that we further commend each boxer in the organizations who participated in the 59th National State State Silver Gloves Tournament and congratulate the four winners. Derion Spencer, 16 years old, attends Pine Bluff High School, advanced to semi-finals. Jonathan Woodard Jr., 10 years old, 106 lb, is homeschooled, champion status. Arkay Williams, 9 years old, 70 lb, attends James F. Matthews Elementary, champion status. Amica or Micah Bones, 8 years old, attends James Matthews Elementary, advanced to semi-finals. Section three, we congratulate and commend Albert Brewer, founder of Gloves Not Guns and their fine dedicated coaches, Coach Tim Maxwell and Coach Fabian Drayton. And also those who work diligently to

sustain the program. Section four, we further extend our best wishes for positive outcomes in their future region six competitions and national tournaments. Move for adoption. Second. It's been moved and seconded that item number three, resolution number three be adopted. Any discussion? I do believe that uh Council member Mayes would like his name added. Are there any other members who would like their names added to this resolution?

Probably all of us. Everybody, okay. And I'm going to go ahead and speak for Council member Denton that she wants her name added, too. Um so with that uh amendment um I will uh ask if there's any more discussion. And um with no more discussion all of those who wish to vote for the passage of item number three, resolution, indicate by saying I. I. No Any opposed? Okay, it passes unanimously. And I would like to ask really quickly for our champions and finalists to stand if by name Darien Spencer is working. Jonathan Woodall Jr. Yes. Yes.

[applause]

Okay, Williams. Arique, yes. [applause]

And Micah Bones. [applause]

So before we go on to the rest of our agenda, if we could also I just want to say again and maybe you just raise your hands to the leaders and the coaches and mentors who make all of this happen every day. So we not only want to congratulate you, we want to recognize you here as well. And Mr. Brewer, the founder of Gloves Not Guns. I don't know y'all, there's a whole story to this. And and at a at the appropriate time, we will tell that story. But Coach Brewer, if you can please raise your hand. [applause]

And his dedicated coaches, Coach Tim Maxwell. Is working. And Coach Fabian Drayton. Yes. [applause]

And Yeah, that's what I got to do. And just I was about to say, y'all are way ahead of me. Uh really quickly, if we can ask all of these competitors and finalists and champions to join us on stage for for a photo. Okay. Y'all want to join me? It'll be a lot to squeeze together here. Yeah, we'll make it work. [laughter] We'll make it work.

Y'all who have on gloves, can you hold your gloves up like Yes. Like this? There you go. I see I got everybody. I'm going to take a couple on three. 1 2 3. 1 2 3. One more. 1 2 3. Got it. All right. [applause] [laughter]

Yes. Yes.

[laughter] [applause]

Thanks, coach. Thanks, champions. All right. We'll go ahead and um get back to business. Uh Council Member Holcomb, we can begin with uh ordi- item number one. Uh yes, ma'am. Agenda agenda item number one, an ordinance amending chapter seven of the code of ordinances of the city of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, to add a new article 12 establishing minimum standards for housing and to protect tenants from hazardous housing conditions and for related purposes. Up for the second reading. An ordinance amending chapter seven of the code of ordinances of the city of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, to add a new article 12 establishing minimum standards for housing and to protect tenants from hazardous housing conditions and for related purposes. Place it on the calendar. Agenda item number two, an ordinance amending policy number 550 of the Pine Bluff Police Department Policy and Procedures Manual respecting use of force and for related purposes. Up for the first reading. Whereas the Police Department consistently seeks to improve its policies and procedures to improve efficiency, professionalism, and advance public safety. And whereas the Chief of Police recommends that policy 550 of the department's policy and procedures manual pertaining to resistance response to resistance use of force be modified to clarify the policy regarding discharge of a weapon from a moving vehicle. And whereas the Council finds that this modification is in the best interest of public safety and welfare. Now therefore be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, section one. The policy number 550 section 4H L uh through five uh pertaining to response to resistance use of force found in the Pine Bluff Police Department Policy and Procedures Manual is modified to read as provided in the attached two-page amendment, which is incorporated herein by

reference as is fully set forth. Section two, the Chief of Police shall ensure that the Department Policy and Procedures Manual is updated to reflect this change and that all uniform officers of the Department are provided with a copy of the new policy and execute an acknowledgement and receipt. Section three, all ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are repealed to the extent of the conflict. The provisions of this ordinance as well as the attached policy 550 are declared to be severable and should any part thereof be found unlawful, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect. Section five, this ordinance being of a general or permanent nature, the clerk will ensure it is published in compliance with Arkansas law. Section six, this ordinance takes effect on the 31st day after its passage. Place it on the calendar. Agenda item number four, a resolution expressing the willingness of the city of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, to utilize federal aid transportation all alternatives program funds phase two Grant Street multi-use trail project. Whereas the City Council understands that federal aid transportation alternative funds are available at 80% 80% federal participation and 20% local match to improve phase two of the Grant Street multi-use trail project. And whereas the City of Pine Bluff understands that federal aid funds are available for this project on a reimbursable basis requiring work to be accomplished and proof of payment prior to actual monetary reimbursement. And whereas this project using federal funding will be open and available for use by all the general public and maintained by applicant for the life of the project. Now therefore be it resolved by the City Council of the City of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, section one. The City of Pine Bluff will participate in the federal aid transportation alternatives program according in accordance with its rules and regulations designated responsibility including maintenance of phase two Grant use multi-use trail project. Section two, the mayor of the city is hereby authorized and directed to execute execute all appropriate agreements and

contracts necessary to expedite implantation of the city's participation in the above referenced project. Section three, the City Council of the City of Pine Bluff pledges its full support and hereby authorizes the mayor to cooperate with the Arkansas Department of Transportation to initiate action in implementing this project. Section 4, City of Pine Bluff requests and authorizes its economic and community development department to assist in writing and developing the content of the program project application consistent with all city codes, ordinances, and policies. Move for adoption. Second. It's been moved and seconded that item number four be adopted. Any discussion? With no discussion, all of those who wish to vote for the adoption of uh resolution number four indicate by saying I.

I. Any opposed? Motion passes. Agenda item number five, a resolution authorizing the street department to contract for the acquisition of needed vehicle and accessories. Whereas the street department is in need of an EL truck with accessories which with its multiple capabilities will improve the department's ability to maintain the city's streets and rights-of-way. And whereas the department has obtained a price quotation from MB Companies Inc. to sell the truck with the needed accessories through the source well medium which is a method authorized by city code and Arkansas law permitting the purchase of items without the necessity of competitive bidding. And whereas the street department should proceed with the acquisition of the EL truck with accessories from MB Companies Inc. without delay. Now therefore be it resolved by the City Council of the City of Pine Bluff, Arkansas that the street department is hereby authorized to purchase from MB Companies Inc. an EL truck with accessories for department use and for the price and on the terms set out in the attached two-page price quotation. The funds for the purchase are sourced from the department's 2026 budget for vehicle equipment acquisition. Move for adoption.

Second. It's been moved and seconded that item number five uh be adopted. Any discussion? I just one thing

Council member Brown. Um I was speaking with uh Mr. Docket um just before the meeting and he said that on this quotation um this was from 2025. Um that price then was 213,352 and now uh in 2026 that quote's a little bit more. Um it's 228,000. Mr. Docket stated that he still has the money in his budget to um purchase the uh vehicle but the quote just changed because of uh that old quote was expired. What's the new quote? Uh it's 200 Hold on, I'm about to I have sure I'm going to send it this out in text. Okay. 228,000. Let me see. Let me find the exact number. 228,502 dollars 63 cents. Okay. Still in in the budget. Yes, he's still within his budget.

Okay. Yes, sir. That this still is the striping truck, right? Yes. Mhm. And this would allow us to put the the markings on the on the streets. Yes. Mhm. Yes, sir. Okay. Any further discussion? Yes. Yes, sir. Council member Mays. Yeah, can we make sure that we keep up with this truck and and make sure that you know nobody can borrow it. Who Who Who borrows our truck? I'm just saying. But I mean, who does? Who does that? We should have already had all this stuff. We We We Nobody borrows our truck. So, yes, the answer to your question is absolutely yes, Council member. May I finish? Yes, you may.

We got to We got to start working together in this if we see something over in the street department while we're riding by I I look by there anyway. I would stop over there sometime. But we just got to make sure everything work. We Pine Bluff is a good city a great city. I just want We just want to make it better. Just better just every day. And Council member, we are I I've just with all due respect we are doing that here when we do our due diligence in our job and then the people elected me to run the day-to-day with our leadership and we do that. I don't want to encourage anyone to bother our folks while they're working on the street. Not any other citizens, not Council members, not me. We need to leave our folks alone and let them do their jobs. If they If we see that something is wrong we go to the director or you call me. That is how we do things. Thank you. With no further discussion, all of those who wish to vote for item number five indicate by saying I.

I. Any opposed? Motion passes. Agenda item number six, a resolution authorizing a contract with Wagner General Contractors for work respecting the Flag Gate project. Whereas the city advertised for interested vendors to submit bids responsive to the city specifications for work respecting the planned Flag Gate project on the grounds of the Civic Center. And whereas after consideration of the bids received, it has been determined that the firm of Wagner General Contractors Inc. submitted the lowest most responsible bid to do the prescribed work and that the contract for the work should be executed with the firm. Now therefore be it resolved by the City Council of the City of Pine Bluff, Arkansas that the mayor is authorized to execute a contract with Wagner General Contractors Inc. to perform work respecting the Flag Gate project for the consideration and consistent with the city specification and the vendor's bid and such other terms and conditions standard in the field for work of this nature. The funds to pay the vendor will come from the budget for special projects. Move for adoption. Second. It's been moved and It's been moved and seconded that item number six be adopted. Any discussion? With no discussion, all of those who wish to vote for item number six indicate by saying I. Any opposed? Motion passes. Agenda item number seven, a resolution amending resolution number 4948 to remove a property north of 3402 Tennessee. Whereas the proper property referenced below was included in resolution number 4948. Now therefore be it resolved by the City Council of the City of Pine Bluff, Arkansas that resolution number 4948 passed November 3rd, 2025 is amended as follows. On page eight, delete lines 13 through 15 to remove reference to property with a street address of north of 3402 Tennessee parcel number 93047146-000. Code Enforcement Department will take steps to file this resolution with the

Jefferson County Deed Recorder. Move for adoption. Second. It's been moved and seconded that item number seven be adopted. Any discussion? With no discussion, all of those who wish to vote for item number seven indicate by saying I. Any opposed? Motion passes. Agenda item number eight, a resolution amending resolution number 4955 to correct a parcel number listing. Whereas the proper parcel number needs to be corrected with respect to a property listed in resolution number 4955 passed November 17th, 2025 entitled a resolution providing for placement of costs of correcting certain nuisances on tax books as delinquent taxes and collected as such. Now therefore be it resolved by the City Council of the City of Pine Bluff, Arkansas that resolution number 4955 passed November 17th, 2025 is amended as follows. Respecting property described as lot and block in Southeast 14, Township 6 South, Range 10 West addition located 6706 Shannon Road which is found on page two of the resolution number 4955 should reflect the following changes. Change the parcel number listing from 93191121-000 to read 930-62928-000. All other information in the listing is correct. Code Enforcement Department will cause this resolution to be filed in the deed and lead records of Jefferson County, Arkansas and mail a copy to the last known address of the property owner. Move for adoption. Second. It's been moved and seconded that item number nine be adopted. Any discussion? With no discussion, all of those who Council member Lockett. Yes, we need to add the amendment. Oh, that's on the next Oh, that's on the next. That's on nine. Oh, yeah. No discussion.

No, that That was number eight. Oh, I'm sorry. Let me say that again. I will entertain You all said eight. I just said I just said the wrong thing. Okay. All of those who wish to vote for the passage of item number eight indicate by saying I. I. Any opposed? Motion passes. Okay. Agenda item number nine, a resolution declaring certain houses, building, and or structures as nuisance and ordering their abatement. Whereas the City Council has determined that the structures likely Second. It's been moved and seconded that item number nine Well, uh Nine, we don't need to do that. Okay. Uh it's been moved and seconded that item number nine be adopted. Any discussion? Council member Lockett.

I'd like to add the amendment to agenda number nine. Right. Second. It's been moved and seconded that the amendment to item number nine be adopted. Any discussion? With no discussion, Madam Clerk, please call the roll. Council member Mays. I. Council member Mahoku. I. Council member Brown. I. Council member Lockett. I. Council member Frazier. I. Council member uh Brunson. I. Council member Denton. Council member Feil. I. Madam Mayor Motion passes. Yes, Council member Lockett.

want to read uh the amendment uh for the record. For the record, the amendment uh reads as follows. It's a April 20th memorandum to the Pine Bluff City Council from the City of Pine Bluff Code Enforcement Department regarding the abatement resolution for April 20th, 2026 and it reads, "Please remove the following abatements from this resolution." And it is listed as number one, the name is Activola, Inc. The file number is 2021-00001357. Address 225 West Barraque Street. It's listed as commercial. Parcel number 930-48322-000. Reason property owner will repair will repair structure. That is That entails the amendment. Move to adopt as amended. Second. It's been moved and seconded that item number nine be adopted as amended. Any discussion? With no discussion, all of those who wish to vote for the adoption of item number nine as amended, indicate by saying I.

I. Any opposed? Motion passes. Then item number 10, a resolution providing for placement of of calls of correcting certain nuisances on tax books and delinquent taxes and collecting such. Whereas ACA 14-54-903 Say again. It's been moved and seconded that item number 10 be adopted. Any discussion? Yes. Council member Maze.

I I talked with the Larry Murray here, Mr. uh number 15. And and he wanted He said he's going to give you all a call uh about that. So, I'm letting you know when if he say anything to you all that number 15, 16. Is Mr. Murray here? No. He's not here. Okay. That's it. Any further discussion? With no further discussion, all of those who wish to vote for item number 10, indicate by saying I. I. Any opposed? Motion passes. Then item number 11, a resolution amending the 2026 municipal budget as regards the street fund, transit fund, health insurance fund, federal VIN fund, and public safety facility fund. Whereas city ordinance requires that an adjustment to the municipal budget be memorialized by ordinance or resolution, depending upon which form was used to approve the annual budget, and whereas the 2026 municipal budget was adopted by resolution, and whereas it is necessary to make amendment to the 2026 municipal budget as described and detailed in the attachment for the street fund, transit fund, health insurance fund, federal VIN fund, and public safety facility fund. Now, therefore, be it resolved by the City Council of the City of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Section 1, the adjustments to the 2026 municipal budget set out in the attachment are approved. Particulars thereof as detailed in the attachment are incorporated herein as if fully set forth, word for word, and number for number. Section 2, that the 2026 municipal budget adopted is amended to incorporate the adjustments and changes set out in the attachment. Section 3, the Finance Department will ensure that the budget is implemented as amended. Move for adoption. Second. It's been moved and seconded that item number 11 be adopted. Any discussion?

With no discussion, all of those who wish to vote for the adoption of item number 11, indicate by saying I. I. Any opposed? Motion passes. Okay. And Next on the agenda is a reading of the announcements for April 20th. Uh the first item is the UAPB Film Festival, which will take place on April 23rd. The reception will be held at 5:00 p.m. and the film from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Hathaway-Howard Fine Arts Center, University of Arkansas Pine Bluff. It will uh the festival will feature the baddest speech writer of all time, which was the 2026 Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner, plus four student-directed short films highlighting the Civil Rights Movement. Item number two, UAPB Founders Week, April 20th through the 26th at UAPB. A week-long tradition with academic, cultural, and social events celebrating over 80 years of university history. Item number three, Ways of Watercolor, April 25th from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Arts Space on Main. Hands-on workshop covering washes, layering, and color blending. Open to all skill levels. Register by April 21st, sponsored by McFarland Eye Care. Item number four, Dialoguing with the Delta. April 25th at 10:00 a.m. at the Arts and

Science Center for Southeast Arkansas. Interactive educational event for students from elementary through college, hosted by Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated in partnership with UAPB. Item number five, Business Expo 2026 on May 7th at Pine Bluff Convention Center. Breakfast will begin at 7:30 a.m., VIP hour at 9:00 a.m., and public expo from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Booths and networking opportunities available through the Jefferson County Alliance. Mayor, I just want to say you put a little bit more emphasis on that fourth announcement than you did the others. And did.

[laughter] And did. Okay. Um we will move on. Okay, I will entertain and uh a motion to adjourn, and we will move forward to the public comments on the non-

adjourn. Second. It's been moved and seconded that we adjourn. With no objection, we are adjourned. There are four people, five people scheduled to speak this evening on the non-agenda items. We will begin with Kelly Martin. And she has some questions from the previous council meeting. Kelly Martin. And Kelly Martin. Okay. Next is Austin Bunting speaking on the mobile mechanic shop. All right, thank you, Mr. Bunting. You have 3 minutes, sir. Thank you. Sure. Good morning, council member or good evening, council member.

Good evening. Yeah. Um so, I'm wanting to open a mobile mechanic shop, and I've called the collectors where you get your business license, and I've been informed that they do not recognize a mobile mechanic. Uh so, I called Little Rock. Little Rock will be happy to give me a uh business license, and I've also been informed that Pine Bluff will recognize a Little Rock's business license. And I've asked Pine Bluff about it. They said even if I get one in Little Rock, they won't recognize it. So, I'm just asking

Wait, say that last part. So, some cities will recognize another city's business license. Mhm. And uh I've when I asked about being a mobile mechanic here, getting business license here, I've been informed that I can't get one cuz Pine Bluff does not recognize a mobile mechanic. So, I've called Little Rock. Little Rock will give me one, and when Pine Bluff told me that they honor another city's license, they will not honor that one that I get from Little Rock. So, if you honor or you don't honor it, I don't know. I'm just wanting to operate a mobile mechanic. Mayor, can I ask a Council member Frazier. Um and I want to apologize because I spoke to you, and I did reach out to the city attorney, and she sent me something, and I forgot to get back to you cuz it was a little crazy, right? But she said that um she didn't know understand why you weren't able to get a license. You might not be able to get it specifically called what you're calling it, but as a transient merchant in our

Yeah. um you should be able to get the license. Right. Yeah, cuz Little Rock, they run theirs as a cantina. I know it's not a food truck. That's how Little Rock runs theirs, as a cantina. And so, that's all I was trying to do, just be legal in the city of Pine Bluff.

same day, I called her, and then I got sidetracked, and I didn't get the get the email to you so I could forward this to you um after this. Okay. So, I will be able to She said you should be able to do as a transient. She said uh transient merchant means any person, firm, corporation, partnership, or other entity which engages in or does or transacts any temporary or transient business, trade, profession, vocation, or occupation within the corporate limits of the city, either in one location or traveling from place to place. Okay. That That sounds like you qualify for

Yeah. So, instead of you going to a uh mechanic shop or a dealer, I come to your house or whatever. It's just a lot of convenience. Well, you're up here, you might as well tell us what the name of it is. Yes. [laughter] That sounded like a commercial. Yeah, uh so, it's a Break and Wake Mobile Mechanic LLC, and you know, I'll do brakes, tune-ups, oil changes, fluid flushes, just minor mechanic work since I'm mobile. Mhm. And it just gives the person a little more luxury and convenience instead of waiting at a shop or dropping it off. Yeah, and I'll probably be one of your clients. It's a growing It's a growing business. Council Member Holcomb. Ms. Bonnie, you spoke to me as well.

Yes, sir. Okay. I spoke Ms. Hill, what information you have for me? That the city of Palm Bluff doesn't have a mobile license for mechanics to require work from mechanics to be done commercially and innovative. Yeah. So, if there's something that you're interested in in establishing, it will need to be done by classification. Okay, I'm sorry. I Ma'am, you know you going to have to come on up here. Sorry. [laughter] That was a lot, and it's