Capital Improvement Bonds Task Force Special Called Meeting - September 30, 2025
Capital Improvement Bonds Task Force Special Called Meeting - September 30, 2025
The Capital Improvement Bonds Task Force met on September 30, 2025, at 5:00 PM in the Municipal Center, Jonesboro, Arkansas. The primary focus was selecting a site for the new E911 Real-Time Crime Center and police headquarters, comparing the Caraway Road site (acquired from a private seller) and the Washington Avenue site (city-owned downtown). No vote was taken; a recommendation vote was set for October 21, 2025.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes (MIN-25:060) : The minutes from the July 1, 2025 meeting were approved by unanimous vote.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Patty Lack (citizen, 4108 Forrest Hill Road) : Questioned cost discrepancies between site estimates, noted the Washington site includes $760,000 site work and $350,000 drainage (not listed for Caraway), and pointed out that the city has only $5.5 million in bond funds while both estimates far exceed that. She emphasized using city-owned land and building quickly, suggesting the city-owned site on Johnson Avenue as an alternative. Expressed concern about the $1.5 million land purchase from Mr. Parker and that the city would develop the property for the seller. Urged building on Washington Avenue as it would not require demolition first.
- Lt. David McDaniel (Jonesboro Police Department, 1001 S. Caraway) : With 28 years on the force and administrator of the Real-Time Crime Center, he stressed that placing the new E911 on Washington Avenue would geographically separate his division from criminal investigators, harming real-time collaboration critical for public safety. He argued that the Caraway site keeps functions in the same parking lot during the multi-year transition, whereas the Washington site would displace patrol parking and create a longer disruption.
- Jeremy Terrell (citizen, 909 Pinecrest) : Expressed full support for improving police facilities but strongly criticized the land cost of $880,000 per acre (including road improvements) for the Caraway site, comparing it to $120–$150 per acre for prime commercial land. He called for realistic pricing and meeting in the middle, urging that taxpayer dollars be spent wisely while still addressing police needs. He also noted that studies show a police station downtown increases property values and economic vitality more than a children's museum.
Discussion Items
- Justice Complex Structural Condition : Craig (city staff) reported that the insurance company’s engineer determined the truss damage was not weather-related but due to overloading from the new roof, so the insurance claim was denied. Repair of one broken truss is estimated at $115,000, but the engineer warned that other trusses are likely to fail soon (columns were added two years ago for a different truss). Craig and the mayor stated that no more money should be spent on the building and that temporary rental facilities are being sought.
- Economic & Financial Impact : Councilman Moore presented a cost comparison showing the Washington Avenue site is $654,000 cheaper for Phase 1 (E911) and over $1 million cheaper when excluding asbestos removal and demolition (which must occur regardless). Phase 2 (full police headquarters) totals $30,949,000 on Washington vs. slightly over $31 million on Caraway. He argued that keeping the property downtown preserves 130 parking spaces for events and anchors downtown stability. Councilman Street countered that co-location on Caraway is more efficient for daily police operations, that downtown police stations do not meaningfully improve response times, and that drainage costs on Washington could erode the savings. He also noted that selling the Washington property would bring in tax revenue from private development.
- Public Safety & Operational Efficiency : Chief Elliott expressed strong opposition to splitting the department by placing the E911 downtown while the main police headquarters remains on Caraway for years. He stated that the police department was never consulted, that the Washington site would fragment his staff and hinder operations (real-time crime center separate from investigators, loss of parking, traffic constraints), and that the Caraway site allows consolidation on one campus. He called for the politics to be removed and for the council to build for the future. Councilman Moore replied that the building is identical at either site and construction can start immediately on Washington without demolition, while on Caraway they must buy land and build a new road. He argued that the inconvenience of walking 100 feet to the Justice Complex lot is minor compared to saving $1 million and keeping downtown government services concentrated. Councilman Street emphasized that motor pool and other divisions already operate from Caraway and that co-location would improve internal coordination.
Key Outcomes
- No Vote Taken : The Chair noted that due to legislative constraints, a vote requires all members present. The committee decided to delay voting until the next meeting.
- Next Meeting Scheduled : Tuesday, October 21, 2025, at 4:00 PM (changed from 3:00 PM to accommodate a schedule conflict) to vote on a site recommendation and forward it to the Public Safety Committee and then Full Council.
- Materials Available : The DPZ Analysis, site options, and cost breakdowns were provided to members. The Chair encouraged review prior to the next meeting.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, good afternoon, everybody. We're gonna go ahead and call to order the uh capital improvement bond task force for the city of Jonesboro. Um first of all, on our agenda, we have our call to order. So if you're on this committee and present, if you will mark your attendance on the device in front of you. Looking on the board up here, Chris Gibson is in attendance, but he is coming in via remote today. So Chris, can you um can you hear us yet? Yes, I can hear you. Can you hear me? Okay, yes, sir, we've got you. Thank you. Okay. Moving on to the next item on our agenda is going to be the approval of the minutes from the previous bond task force meeting. So move unless there's a change to be noted. Second. Okay. I have a motion and a second to approve the minutes as previously reported. Um, anybody have any questions or comments regarding any items? Okay. Seeing none, we'll go ahead and we will take a vote on the approval of minutes. Uh item does pass and brings us to the next item on our agenda being the uh sorry. Items of new business. And I wanted to begin this evening by just reading some prepared comments that I had for the meetings tonight outlining what we're hoping to achieve here, and just wanted to say um good evening and um welcome fellow council members, administration, and the citizens of Jonesboro. Wanted to say thank you for being here today, and um today we're gonna be taking up a matter of great importance for the community that we serve. The focus of today's meeting is the strategic placement of the new E911 complex and a decision that goes to the very heart of public safety for our community. As we discuss, I encourage us all to weigh the decision through the lens of public safety, efficiency, and long-term community benefit. Our goal should be to make a thoughtful strategic choice that reflects both the immediate needs of today and the future demands of a growing community. With that in mind, I look forward to hearing the perspectives of each council member, department representative, and citizen. We all working together to arrive at the best possible outcome for the entirety of the city of Jonesboro. To keep everything in a somewhat organized format this evening, it's my recommendation that we focus on the following areas of interest and discuss any pros and cons for either site location at that time. And those areas I've listed as follows being the economic impact, the city financial impact, and the public safety impact to the city of Jonesboro. I feel it's worth noting that once a decision has been rendered by this task force, a recommendation will be passed up to the public safety committee. And if approved, then that will be presented to full council for a vote to ratify any of these decisions that are going to be made. And at this time, we'll go ahead and we will go ahead and get an update on where we currently stand on the justice complex. I think we have some items prepared for where we currently stand on that facility. Mr. Craig or you and the oh, there you are. Yes, sir. Sorry. I'm sorry, I didn't realize that. I really don't have much prepared for the meeting tonight, other than we did receive a report back from the structural engineer that was hired by the insurance company to do an evaluation on the property. And uh they their determination was that at least in their their opinion that the damage to the building was not caused by a weather uh incident, and so they're not willing to pay uh towards any of the repairs to the building because of that. Um they reviewed the original plans for the construction of the second the remodel from the grocery store to the justice complex. Um found some notes in there where the where the trusses, the bow trusses of the building were already damaged at that time, and were were epoxied together. Um they had some details about how they they felt like the new roof should go on it, but that engineer's opinion was that it was just simply uh overloading of the uh roof trusses by the new roof, and it wasn't a weather-related incident, so the insurance company was not gonna pay for that uh repair. We got an estimate and a drawing from a local structural engineer um to do a temporary or do a repair of the broken truss. Um the estimated call or the cost was 115,000 to repair just that single trust, but we can make no guarantees that there will not be more damage, you know, in it in a very short period to some of the other trusses in the building. So we can't say that it's a you know one year, three year, five-year fix. It's a you know, you're gonna fix this problem, wait for the next one to happen because there's going to be another one. If you'll remember correctly, just two years ago, we put in some columns in the courtroom to uh to remedy a problem that was developing on another one of these trusses. So it's just a matter of time before another one uh happens.
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