Jonesboro City Council Meeting - May 5, 2026
Jonesboro City Council Meeting - May 5, 2026
The Jonesboro City Council met on Tuesday, May 5, 2026 at 5:30 PM at the Municipal Center, with Mayor Harold Copenhaver presiding and all 12 council members present. The meeting included a proclamation for Building Safety Month, recognition of graduating Mayor's Youth Council members, approval of Consent Agenda items, passage of two resolutions and multiple ordinances, and a contentious discussion leading to a 60-day postponement of the proposed Sports Tourism Committee ordinance.
Special Presentations
- Mayor Copenhaver read a proclamation recognizing May 2026 as Building Safety Month in Jonesboro.
- Three graduating seniors from the Mayor's Youth Council were recognized and presented with city medallions.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the minutes of the April 21, 2026 City Council meeting (MIN-26:038).
- Approved Resolution RES-26:047 placing a municipal lien on property at 1603 S. Matthews owned by Trevor Anderson for $465. (All 12 ayes)
Resolutions Not on Consent Agenda
- RES-26:048 – Authorized an agreement to issue bonds for industrial facilities to be leased to Nichirei Global Foods, LLC (a subsidiary of InnovAsian Cuisine Enterprises). The project includes a 175,000 sq. ft. frozen food facility and approximately 200 jobs. Passed 12-0.
- RES-26:049 – Authorized the Mayor to enter into a mosquito management services agreement with Vector Disease Control International, LLC (VDCI) for an initial 3-year term with auto-renewal up to 6 years. Passed 11-1 (Councilman LJ Bryant voted nay).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Marilyn Copeland (1602 Honeysuckle Lane), long-time member of Jonesboro Parks and Recreation, expressed concern that the proposed Sports Tourism Committee ordinance was developed without input from the Parks and Recreation Department or the community. She noted that the original CityStars program involved parents and local schools, but the proposed ordinance appears "heavily weighted on government officials." She requested the ordinance be reconsidered before a vote.
- Jay Clevenger (4842 Leesburg Drive), member of the Parks and Recreation Planning Advisory Committee, argued that the proposed ordinance conflicts with the existing Ordinance 95-645 and that the sponsorship by the Parks and Recreation Department is misleading, as the director had no input. He characterized the ordinance as a "hostile takeover" of youth sports and suggested that sports tourism responsibilities be given to the Advertising and Promotion (A&P) Commission instead. He requested the council table the ordinance to allow a joint meeting of the two committees as previously promised.
Discussion Items
- ORD-26:013 – Sports Tourism Committee: On second reading, Councilman Chris Gibson moved to amend the name from "Sports Advisory Committee" to "Sports Tourism Committee," which was unanimously approved. Following public comments, Councilman Charles Coleman moved to postpone the ordinance for 60 days to allow time for language revisions and a joint meeting of the Public Services Committee and the Parks and Recreation Planning Advisory Committee. Councilman Chris Gibson noted he would be out of town for two weeks but supported the postponement. The motion passed 12-0.
- ORD-26:014 (rezoning 5925 E. Johnson Ave from I-1 to C-3, LUO) and ORD-26:015 (rezoning 1601 Granger Drive from RM-8 to RS-5) – Both ordinances were held on second reading with no action taken.
- Third Reading Ordinances (all passed 12-0):
- ORD-26:008 – Reinstated four-way stop signs at Rains and Wilkins intersection.
- ORD-26:009 and ORD-26:010 – Authorized placement of various traffic signs at designated locations.
- ORD-26:012 – Rezoned property at 6904 E. Highland Drive from R-1 to C-3.
Mayor's Reports
- The March 2026 Financial Statements were filed.
- Mayor Copenhaver reported: Employee of the Month Brenda Hall; a neighborhood cleanup collecting over 10 tons of trash and 102 tires; tornado siren testing; progress on the Regional Athletic Complex (RAC); street overlays on Union, Monroe, South Madison, and Washington; the Airport Road overpass opening; and receipt of a $25 million appropriation from Governor Sanders for economic development, with Jonesboro receiving the second-largest allocation.
Council Reports
- Councilman John Street noted the successful overlay on Culberhouse Road.
- Councilman L.J. Bryant reported net migration data for Craighead County was only 103 people, expressing concern about achieving smart growth goals.
Key Outcomes
- Approved: Consent Agenda (minutes and lien), RES-26:048 (InnovAsian bonds), RES-26:049 (VDCI mosquito contract), ORD-26:008, ORD-26:009, ORD-26:010, ORD-26:012 (all traffic and zoning ordinances).
- Postponed: ORD-26:013 (Sports Tourism Committee) for 60 days to revise language and hold a joint committee meeting.
- Held on Second Reading: ORD-26:014 and ORD-26:015 (rezoning).
- Filed: March 2026 Financial Statements.
- Adjourned: 12-0.
Meeting Transcript
All right, everybody. We'll go ahead and get uh City Council started. This is Tuesday, May 5th, 2026. I'll have Dr. Charles Coleman will lead us invocation, and before that, I'll do pledge allegiance. Everybody, please join. I pledge to the United States of America and entertain the republic. One recognition. Undervisible liberty. Heavenly Father, we thank you for allowing us to be stewards in this community. We pray, Father, according to your will, your purpose, and your plan that we operate in honesty. Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Council, if you would please go ahead and mark your attendance. All right, we do have full council present this evening. And council, before you, um, I just wanted to go ahead and recognize uh Tim in our department on the third floor. We do a proclamation every year for building safety month. That's 2026. City of Jonesboro is committed to recognizing that our growth and strength depend on safety and a central role of our homes, buildings, and infrastructure play, both in everyday life when disasters strike. Our confidence in this resilience of these buildings that make up our community is achieved through the devotion of guardians, building safety and fire prevention officials, architects, engineers, builders, tradespeople, design professionals, laborers, plumbers, and others in the construction industry who work hard year-round to ensure the safe construction of buildings in our community. Building safety month is sponsored by the International Co-Council to remind the public about a critical role that our communities largely are unknown protectors of public safety, and these are the people behind the scenes. They assure that our community is safe, sustainable, and have affordable buildings that are essential to our prosperity. Build to last. So I there now for Harold Copenhagen, mayor of the city of Jonesboro, do hereby proclaim the month of May 2026 as Building Safety Month in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Thank you, Tim. Okay. Thank you. And then Council, if you would, uh I didn't have it on the uh agenda, but this is real quick, but it's very important. As you know, we have graduations that are going on throughout the community, and I'm always proud of our mayor's youth council. Um, and we've had several graduations uh this past weekend, but I do want to recognize three of the 22 graduating seniors of the mayor youth council. So Charlie Stagal, will you please come forward? Mary Hoffman and Jansen Marcico. Charlie's a graduate of Jonesboro High School, Mary Valley View High School, and Jansen from Nettleton High School. And they're representing their senior class, as you can tell. They've already got the mayor youth council. Uh many of them had how many do you have? Six or seven. You had seven, I think, Mary, and you probably seven. You had seven. I had two, I think, something like that. But anyway, we're honored as a city uh to always see our youth prosper. And I know you three, and I look forward to the future of what you're gonna have for not only your future, but our community's future. So I'd like to give you city medallions on behalf of the mayor of Jones for our next word. Come on, James. Council, thank you for allowing me uh to do that honor this evening. Now we'll move on to item number five. These are items on consent agenda. Move to adopt. We do have a motion on the floor to adopt all in favor, say aye.
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