Finance & Administration Council Committee Meeting - August 12, 2025
Finance & Administration Council Committee Meeting - August 12, 2025
The Finance & Administration Council Committee of Jonesboro met on August 12, 2025, at 4:00 PM at the Municipal Center. Chair Joe Hafner presided. Members present: Joe Hafner, Charles Coleman, John Street, David McClain, Brian Emison. Absent: Ann Williams, Anthony Coleman. The committee reviewed four resolutions, approving minutes and forwarding all items to the full City Council.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the July 29, 2025 Finance Committee meeting were approved unanimously (4-0, two absent) on a motion by John Street, seconded by Brian Emison.
Discussion Items
- RES-25:101 – Abilities Unlimited Alleyway Improvements: Resolution to accept the low bid from Michelle’s Excavating, Inc. for alleyway improvements. Councilmember John Street noted only one bid was received. City Engineer confirmed it was the only qualifying bid. The committee voted 4-0 to recommend to full council.
- RES-25:102 – JET Bus Shelter Upgrades: Resolution to accept the low bid from Crabtree & Son, Inc. for bus shelter upgrades. Engineering Director Craig Light explained that 45 shelters will be installed: 28 replacements and 17 new locations. Delivery of new shelters may be delayed until December. The committee voted 4-0 to recommend to full council.
- RES-25:103 – Title VI Program for JET: Resolution to adopt the Title VI program for Jonesboro Economical Transit System. Councilmember David McClain asked if it was a policy change; Chair Hafner and Grants Interim Director Alejandra Morales clarified it is a triennial certification. The committee voted 4-0 to recommend to full council.
- RES-25:104 – Matching Grant for All-Inclusive Playground (Amended): Originally proposed as a FY25 matching grant for an entrance drive and parking lot at Beatrice Park ($162,000 total, $81,000 match). The resolution was amended to apply for a FY26 matching grant (instead of FY25) for an all-inclusive playground at Craighead Forest Park, with total cost of $500,000 and a city match of $250,000. Parks Director Danny Kapales explained that the playground at Rotary (the heaviest used, over 20 years old) is rusted and becoming hazardous. The change allows the city to use the grant for a larger project while moving forward with Beatrice Park using existing budget. The committee voted to amend the resolution (motion by John Street, seconded by Brian Emison, all ayes) and then voted 4-0 to recommend the amended resolution to full council.
Key Outcomes
- All four resolutions were forwarded to the full City Council with unanimous votes (4-0, with two absent).
- RES-25:104 was significantly amended: the project changed from Beatrice Park entrance/parking to an all-inclusive playground at Craighead Forest Park, the fiscal year changed from FY25 to FY26, and the total cost and match increased from $162,000/$81,000 to $500,000/$250,000.
- No public comments were made, and no other business was discussed. The meeting adjourned at approximately 4:45 PM.
Meeting Transcript
All right, good afternoon, everybody. It's four o'clock. I'm gonna call today's Finance Administration Council Committee meeting to order. Um please record your attendance. All right. Um next up is approval of minutes from the finance committee meeting on Tuesday, July 29th, 2025. Move to approve lesson to change. Second. Motion second. Any comments or questions on the minutes as presented? If not, please record your vote on whether or not to for whether or not to approve the minutes. Next up under new business is resolution 25101. A resolution by the City of Jones for Arkansas to accept the low bid and enter into a contract with Michelle's excavating incorporated for the abilities unlimited of Jonesboro alleyway improvements, whereas the City of Jonesville desires to accept the low bid and enter a con enter into a contract for the abilities unlimited of Jonesboro alleyway improvements, whereas the low bidder and the firm selected for the project is Michelle's excavating incorporated, and whereas the funding for the execution of the contract shall come from the community development block grant, FY24 public facilities and improvement program budget and compensation shall be paid in accordance with the contract documents. Now therefore be it resolved by the city council of the city of Jonesboro, Arkansas. Um that section one, the city of Jonesville shall accept the low bid and enter into a contract with Michelle's excavating incorporated for the abilities unlimited of Jonesboro alleyway improvements. Section two, funding for the execution of the contract shall come from the CDBG FY24 public facilities and improvements program budget and compensation shall be paid in accordance with the contract documents. Section three, the mayor and city clerk are hereby authorized by the city council for the city of Jonesboro to execute all documents necessary to effectuate this contract. Move forward to full council. Second motion taken forward to full council. Any questions or comments on this resolution? There was just one bid on that. Is that the only qualifying bid that anybody did on it, Craig? No, okay. Yeah. Just for the record, the city engineer said yes. All right, any other questions from the committee? Anything from staff and or the public in attendance. Seeing none, please record your vote on whether or not to forward resolution 101 to full council. Resolution 25102. A resolution by the City of Jones for Arkansas to accept the low bid and enter into a contract with Crabtree and Sons incorporated for the JEP bus shelter upgrades. Whereas the City of Jonesboro desires to accept the low bid and enter into I think into has been left out on some of these. Enter into a contract for the jet bus shelter upgrades. Whereas the low bidder and the firm selected for the project is Crabtree and Sun Incorporated, and whereas the funding for the execution of the contract shall come from the FY21 buses and bus facility grant through the Federal Transit Administration and compensation shall be paid in accordance with the contract documents. Now therefore be it resolved by the city council of the city of Jonesboro, Arkansas. The section one, the City of Jonesboro shall accept the low bid and enter into a contract with Craft Tree and Sun Incorporated for the Jet Bus Shelter Ugrades. Section two funding for the execution of the contract shall come from the FY21 buses and buses bus facilities grant through the federal transit administration and compensation shall be paid in accordance with the contract documents. Section three, the mayor and city clerk are hereby authorized by the city council for the city of Jonesboro to execute all documents necessary to effectuate this contract. Move forward to full council. Second. Motion second forward to full council. Any questions or comments from committee? I'm just making sure I'm looking at the description properly in the uh bid tab. Does this say we're going to install 45 new shelters? Or am I missing some? Is that correct? Okay. You say yes. Yeah, I saw them say you see it. Yeah, I saw you shake your head. Yeah, here they come to make it official.
openpublica.com