OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Jones City Council Meeting Report - October 28, 2025

Meeting Portal — Tuesday, October 28, 2025
BodyJonesboro, Arkansas
SessionMeeting Portal
DateTuesday, October 28, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 35:09

Transcript — Verbatim
0:07

Record your attendance by pushing the appropriate button.

0:10

If you're not here, don't worry about pushing your button.

0:17

Charles.

0:20

All right.

0:20

Next up, we do have a quorum.

0:22

Next up is approval of minutes from the Tuesday, October 14th, 2025 meeting.

0:27

Any questions or comments?

0:28

Well, I guess we entertain a motion.

0:31

I'll make a motion to approve as presented.

0:33

So questions or comments on the minutes as presented.

0:37

If not, please record your vote on whether or not to approve the minutes.

0:46

Minutes are approved.

0:49

We'll move into new business.

1:11

Owned by Kevin and Tanya Lyles and the amount of $4,220 and 80 cents.

1:18

I'm sorry, make a motion to forward the full council.

1:20

Second.

1:22

Any questions or comments on this lien?

1:25

Because I mentioned it is a demolition that we did for building a house that burned and nothing was ever done to it.

1:34

Anything from anybody in in council chambers?

1:39

If not, um please record your vote on whether or not to forward the full council.

1:57

We'll move into pending items.

2:00

I have nothing under pending.

2:03

So moving to other business before Mr.

2:06

Young presents.

2:07

Do we have any other business from the committee?

2:10

All right, so we'll listen to the NAIDC report from Mr.

2:16

Mark Young from Jonesville Chamber of Commerce, Jonesville Unlimited, and various other entities.

2:25

Oh let's see if I can get this to work.

2:34

Okay, April, it is showing on my screen, but not there.

2:39

Do I need to do something different?

2:42

How's everybody doing?

2:46

Charles had his caffeine today.

2:48

Something.

2:48

Something.

2:49

Oh there we go.

2:51

Well, there we go.

2:52

That's not on my screen.

2:54

Still.

2:54

Oh, here we go.

2:57

Thank you.

2:58

Uh good afternoon.

3:00

It's great to see everybody and appreciate you taking the time to allow me to visit with you today about our economic development and our efforts from all of our economic development partners.

3:13

We'll talk a little bit about infrastructure, the importance of infrastructure.

3:17

This is the third quarter report that I'm providing.

3:20

I have a couple of slides from the second quarter as well that I think are important to mention.

3:25

And so this is one of those.

3:27

Back in the summer, we held a groundbreaking for a water line extension in the Craighead Technology Park South.

3:34

The Arkansas Economic Development Commission this past year had a pilot program that allocated 10 million dollars toward site development across the entire state.

3:45

We put together an application and were awarded two million dollars of that total 10 million dollars.

3:51

So we received a large portion of that.

3:54

We celebrated that particular day.

5:00

So 25 million dollars this coming year and then 25 million dollars the next.

5:03

We have are putting together an application for sewer service to this same piece of property, which the deadline for application is November 7th.

5:14

So we're about 90% complete with that particular project, and we'll be submitting that next week and looking forward to that.

5:22

The process has changed a little bit in that if we're a semifinalist, we'll know that in December, and then in February, I'm sorry, in January, there'll be a team of site developers, site location consultants that will actually come and look at the project, look at the site to determine whether or not it's one of the top projects in the state.

5:41

So we're looking forward to hopefully making the semifinalist list and then having them for a site visit in January.

5:48

So we'll keep you posted on the progress there, but very important for this particular piece of property and for the industrial park.

5:56

Part of the reason this is incredibly important.

5:59

When you look at our industrial park and you see all the companies that are already in the Craig A Technology Park, in large part, one of the reasons they're there is because of the infrastructure that we don't see.

6:09

We drive by it every day, and we don't see the water lines, sewer lines, electric lines that are there.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Economic Development█████████████████████████████████████████████57%
Workforce Development██████████████████23%
Procedural██████7%
Municipal Liens█████6%
Community Engagement███4%
Infrastructure██3%
Summary of Proceedings

Jones City Council Meeting Report - October 28, 2025

The Jones City Council convened on October 28, 2025, to approve the minutes from the previous meeting, approve a lien, and hear a comprehensive third-quarter economic development report from Mark Young of Jonesboro Unlimited. The meeting featured significant discussion regarding infrastructure investments, workforce development initiatives, and strategic plans for community growth, concluding with public comments and adjournment.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes Approval: The council unanimously approved the minutes from the Tuesday, October 14th, 2025 meeting upon a motion and second.
  • Lien Forward Vote: Council approved a motion to forward a lien of $4,220.80 to the full council. The lien concerns demolition services for a property where a house burned down and subsequent development never occurred; the speaker noted the demolition had been performed but no further action was taken on the site.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Dr. Coleman:
    • Expressed support for runway strengthening to accommodate larger aircraft but sought clarification on Ethernet/underground utility installations, stating uncertainty regarding the lack of undergrounding in Jonesboro compared to other regions.
    • Expressed concern regarding the lack of minority representation on recruitment committees, suggesting the need for diversity in these groups to better attract minority-owned businesses.
    • Stated Position: Strongly advocated for increased community advertising and visibility (e.g., bulletin boards, digital displays) to ensure residents are aware of the city's rapid growth and development efforts.
  • Councillor (Mark):
    • Expressed enthusiasm for the proposed angel network as a necessary fallback against potential industry layoffs (referencing recent news of a company cutting 30,000 jobs due to AI) and emphasized the need to leverage university research grants for startup commercialization.

Discussion Items

  • Economic Development Report (Mark Young, Jonesboro Unlimited):
    • Infrastructure: Reported on the $2 million awarded via the Arkansas Economic Development Commission pilot program for the Craighead Technology Park South water line extension. Noted that 612 acres are being developed and a sewer service application (deadline Nov 7) is 90% complete, aiming for a semifinalist status by December and a site visit in January.
    • Airport: Confirmed that the new terminal and runway strengthening (total $6 million with a $5 million EDA grant) will support larger aircraft operations.
    • Legislation: Discussed Act 882 (modernization incentives) and Senate Joint Resolution 15 (economic development districts), the latter of which will appear on the November 2026 ballot as a constitutional amendment.
    • Workforce & Talent:
      • Detailed the "Always Jonesboro" campaign (Bronze award winner) and the 194 educators trained through the Tech Stars Externship.
      • Announced the "Crest Center" initiative, an $88 million total workforce development investment (ASU receiving >$10 million) launching the first cohort of 35 students in August 2025.
      • Outlined the "Keeping It Local" partnership with the Sherm Foundation, focusing on 10 local employers improving skills-based hiring.
    • Upcoming Events: Announced the "Here to Hire" career fair (March 12) and "Sign Day" (April 9) for new graduates, and the "Jumpstart Partnership" grant aimed at creating a centralized entrepreneur website and future angel network.
    • Statistics: Cited Federal Reserve data showing a ~9% growth in the civilian labor force and an 11% increase in employment (from 49,725 to 55,456) in Craighead County between August 2020 and August 2025.
    • Strategic Plan: Noted the ongoing five-year strategic plan process and a community survey with a deadline of October 30 (500+ responses received).
  • Councillor Response to Mark:
    • Inquired about recruitment impacts from the Ridge Athletic Center construction. Mark Young responded that all recent investments (shooting sports, Viking Trails) are enhancing the community brand and expected an influx of interest once the center opens.
    • Discussed the need to tell the community's collective story more broadly to prevent residents from feeling left behind.

Key Outcomes

  • Approval of Minutes: Adopted without objection.
  • Lien Action: Motion to forward the $4,220.80 lien approved.
  • Project Status Updates: Confirmed 90% completion of sewer application for Craighead Technology Park; runway strength confirmed for larger aircraft capability.
  • Strategic Directives: Community survey for the five-year strategic plan remains open until October 30; Council requested to see the full "Here to Invest" presentation and discussed the need for broader community advertising visibility.
  • Adjournment: Motion to adjourn carried unanimously.

Meeting Transcript

Record your attendance by pushing the appropriate button. If you're not here, don't worry about pushing your button. Charles. All right. Next up, we do have a quorum. Next up is approval of minutes from the Tuesday, October 14th, 2025 meeting. Any questions or comments? Well, I guess we entertain a motion. I'll make a motion to approve as presented. So questions or comments on the minutes as presented. If not, please record your vote on whether or not to approve the minutes. Minutes are approved. We'll move into new business. Owned by Kevin and Tanya Lyles and the amount of $4,220 and 80 cents. I'm sorry, make a motion to forward the full council. Second. Any questions or comments on this lien? Because I mentioned it is a demolition that we did for building a house that burned and nothing was ever done to it. Anything from anybody in in council chambers? If not, um please record your vote on whether or not to forward the full council. We'll move into pending items. I have nothing under pending. So moving to other business before Mr. Young presents. Do we have any other business from the committee? All right, so we'll listen to the NAIDC report from Mr. Mark Young from Jonesville Chamber of Commerce, Jonesville Unlimited, and various other entities. Oh let's see if I can get this to work. Okay, April, it is showing on my screen, but not there. Do I need to do something different? How's everybody doing? Charles had his caffeine today. Something. Something. Oh there we go. Well, there we go. That's not on my screen. Still. Oh, here we go. Thank you. Uh good afternoon. It's great to see everybody and appreciate you taking the time to allow me to visit with you today about our economic development and our efforts from all of our economic development partners. We'll talk a little bit about infrastructure, the importance of infrastructure. This is the third quarter report that I'm providing. I have a couple of slides from the second quarter as well that I think are important to mention. And so this is one of those. Back in the summer, we held a groundbreaking for a water line extension in the Craighead Technology Park South. The Arkansas Economic Development Commission this past year had a pilot program that allocated 10 million dollars toward site development across the entire state. We put together an application and were awarded two million dollars of that total 10 million dollars. So we received a large portion of that.

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