OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Jonesboro Public Services Committee Meeting - June 16, 2026

Meeting PortalTuesday, June 16, 2026
BodyJonesboro, Arkansas
SessionMeeting Portal
DateTuesday, June 16, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record

STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

All right, I'll call the meeting of the public services committee to order.

0:04

Chairman Gibson's out of town.

0:06

We'll start with our roll call.

0:08

Indicate your presence by hitting the button.

0:14

Like we've got a quorum.

0:16

Moving on to our minutes.

0:17

Looks like we've got a couple sets of minutes.

0:19

Minutes 26019.

0:21

Entertain a motion to approve.

0:23

So moved.

0:25

Got a motion and a second to end to approve minutes 26019.

0:30

All those in favor vote accordingly.

0:36

All right, and that passes.

0:39

Minutes 26039 from the meeting on Tuesday, April 21st, 2026.

0:44

Entertain a motion to approve.

0:58

Okay, and approved.

0:59

Next minutes 26043.

1:02

Minutes for the special call public services committee meeting on Tuesday, May 5th, 2026.

1:08

Entertain a motion to approve.

1:09

I'll make a motion to approve unless there's changes to be noted.

1:12

I'll second.

1:13

Okay, motion made and seconded.

1:15

If you'll vote on those minutes.

1:22

And motion approved and let the record reflect Dr.

1:24

Anthony Coleman just walked in.

1:27

All right, moving on to new business.

1:29

Any new business for the committee?

1:31

Anyone on the committee have any new business?

1:35

All righty.

1:37

Sorry, Dr.

1:37

Coleman.

1:38

Um, I did have a couple questions.

1:40

Um is it on new on the agenda?

1:48

Yeah, okay.

1:49

Yeah, well, and we'll save it.

1:50

Is it what what departments are for?

1:52

Is it for parks?

1:54

Okay, yeah, he's gonna be up there in a little bit.

1:55

Okay, any other new business?

1:58

Nope.

1:59

See, we have no pending items, so moving on to other business.

2:03

We'll start with Lee.

2:04

There's Lee.

2:05

Start with Lee for a Gojo update.

2:12

How are y'all today?

2:13

Um, did they get this?

2:15

Uh April, did y'all get this attached or printed?

2:19

Okay, good.

2:20

I do have additional copies if anyone does need that.

2:23

Um, so uh a couple of things I wanted to give uh just some updates.

2:29

Uh, but while I am kind of giving some updates, uh there are two documents that you have there.

2:36

Um, one is talking about uh our uh proposal for going to public notice for uh confirming some route changes uh and then also a fair adjustment.

2:51

Uh the standard fares that we operate now have been there since and from my knowledge since the initial starting of the system.

3:00

Um so we're just looking at trying to uh build that into something that's more along the lines for what today's service is.

3:09

The secondary page is going to talk about expanded fare and capping, fair capping, uh, which will give some good definitions on what fare capping is and uh how that um does work.

3:25

Um so um with the fare capping when you have uh uh a pass, which is what we typically do now, so you can buy a one-day pass, a seven-day pass, or a 31-day pass.

3:40

Those passes are bought here.

3:43

It is a physical copy that we have to actually purchase, print, and all of that.

3:48

Um there's cost that is associated with that, but also the uh consumer has to come up with that money up front.

3:56

They come in, they spend that amount for whatever that pass is, they purchase it up front, and that allows them to use it.

4:03

With what fare capping is going to do is that is going to allow the consumer to get a trackable card that can have any amount of money they want on it.

4:16

They can put two or three dollars on it at a time, they can attach their credit card to it, whatever.

4:24

Once that is that way, every time they use it, it tracks their collection.

4:30

So if we have a one-day pass at five dollars, and the standard fare is two dollars, their first ride, they'll pay.

4:39

Their second ride, they'll pay.

4:42

Their third ride, they'll only get charged a dollar.

4:45

Any additional ride that day, they won't be charged for.

4:49

It will still swipe, it'll still register who that is as far as what type of service that is, but there's no actual fare being charged for that.

5:00

That capping will carry over.

5:02

So if someone caps on day one at $5, that five dollars is already built in for that week cap.

5:10

So that week cap of $20, when they reach $20 in that week period, it's again gonna lock in.

5:18

It's not gonna charge them anymore.

5:20

Once that week cap has been met, it'll start in on that month cap.

5:25

Once that month cap is met, it'll stop charging them for that time period.

5:31

Um so these documents kind of explain what fare capping is, how that process works, uh, and then again the public notice proposal, which uh uh I will go over in just a moment.

5:48

Uh just to give some other updates on things that we have, uh the tap to pay uh uh credit card payment, you know, things other than cash.

5:59

Um we are still moving along on that.

6:02

Uh this is a part of that process.

6:05

The fare capping uh that it will be required that we have this service before we're able to do the fare capping process.

6:13

Um we are moving along through that.

6:15

Hopefully, uh our goal is is to have that uh actually live and working before the beginning of the next college school year, the fall year.

6:24

I don't know the exact date, but it uh I I know it's in August, I believe.

6:28

Uh we have that in our paperwork that our goal that we're looking for.

6:32

Um the shelter project that we're currently working on.

6:36

Um we are uh we have one shelter that is still not put up out of all of the shelters.

6:43

The reason why that is not put up is for the electrical reason.

6:47

We have uh some boring that has to be done in that location before the concrete can be poured.

6:52

Um we only have I believe six more locations for boring to be completed.

6:58

Uh once that is completed, the course the concrete can be poured, the shelter can be put up, and then that will complete that uh shelter project for actually building and placing the shelters.

7:09

The electrical work we are currently still in process in.

7:13

We've been working with City Water and Line and a contracted electrician to be able to get all of that completed.

7:19

We do have uh Monday uh message point media, which is who is handling the technology piece that is going into the shelters, they will be on site beginning Monday to start the uh hookup and connectivity process of getting all the technology rolled out.

7:39

Uh barring any weather concerns, uh hopefully that should be a two-week process to be able to get that completed on all of those stops to where we will have that active and and operating like it needs to be operating completely.

7:54

Um I guess on on those topics.

7:58

If anyone has any questions about that before I go into the uh uh public notice period that we want to go to.

8:06

I think Sharon.

8:08

Um thank you for for sharing.

8:10

So I want to go back to the capping thing for a minute.

8:12

So help me understand.

8:14

So when a person pays, I see the advantage of saying, okay, I'm gonna give you five dollars for the day, or I think you said twenty dollars for the week.

8:24

I understand that.

8:25

But how is it advantageous for us if they don't do the cap, if I say I don't, and maybe Nick explain, if I don't pay for a $20 fare for the week and prefer to do it individually, but what if they reach the $20 for the week?

8:46

Will they continue to charge them?

8:48

No.

8:49

No, so they can no one can give over $20 for that week.

8:54

Not if they are using the system.

8:56

That is that's one of the keys that this is in order to ensure your rides count, you have to enroll in that pass ticketing program.

9:06

If you are just going in and swiping your credit card as a standard rider, or if you're just dropping cash straight into there, you're gonna pay for every ride.

9:16

If you sign up and enroll in that and you get the little transit pass, like you would see, that is when your fare capping process.

9:25

So what you're looking at is you're you're reducing the wait time for loading and unloading of passengers.

9:33

You're also reducing that upfront cost to the standard public that are using the route on a regular daily basis.

9:42

Um because there is no upfront cost that allows anyone to get in on that program and utilize that fare capping.

9:49

They don't have to necessarily come up with that $60 for a monthly pass right at the beginning.

10:00

They can pay on it through the month to be able to use that as their riding, and they'll know I'm never going to be charged more than $60, even if I'm going to and from work every single day, and also going to the grocery store.

10:09

So there's there's a benefit to those consumers.

10:13

The key, however, is it only works if the system can track that payment.

10:18

The only way it can track that payment is if they utilize the fare system that we're putting in place.

10:25

For those that are just visiting, coming into town, or for those that are just riding once every once in a while, they're still going to pay.

10:48

However, because they don't have the app or the fare system, it's not going to track that.

10:55

It doesn't know that John Doe is whose card was swiped.

10:58

It just knows a card was swiped.

11:00

But if they don't want to get one of the cards to use, they can actually get that on their phone.

11:07

They can utilize that same, tie their account to it just like your Apple Pay or whatever, and it'll still do the fare capping for them.

11:15

So you're referring to this system being done or being completed before ASU begins.

11:20

That's right.

11:21

That's what you're talking about.

11:22

Correct.

11:22

Gotcha.

11:23

Yes.

11:24

And this piece actually ties into our public notice that we want to go to.

11:32

What we're trying to do is to uh roll all of that in together.

11:37

So with this public notice piece that we have here, we have three items that we're basically looking at.

11:44

So we are required by federal regulations that any changes that we make to our service, whether that be a route or whether that be a fair price, there has to be a public comment period.

11:57

There has to be discussion on it before we move forward on that.

12:01

This document was actually taken to our citizens advisory board where we had a discussion about what we were wanting to do.

12:10

We did make some adjustments.

12:12

We did lock in with accordance with what the Citizens Advisory Board suggested on the fair pricing that we wanted to move to.

12:22

We did only discuss the actual fare, not the passion because we're moving away from the passes, that will be done on fair capping, and that's based on trips and usage.

12:38

So that was just a percentage of how you calculate that.

12:42

That's how we came up with those numbers.

12:44

So the three items that we have number one is we want to make our successful pilot routes permanent.

12:51

So as y'all know, we have been performing some pilot routes for uh Arkansas State University.

12:58

That has been a success.

13:00

It's been utilized by the students.

13:03

Uh the students are enjoying it.

13:04

We're getting a lot of positive feedback.

13:07

Uh, myself and Ryan, which is our marketing coordinator.

13:11

We have been to almost every single NSO meeting for this new students that are coming in, and the feedback has just been fantastic.

13:20

We're doing a lot more engagement with the students and the student organizations, and we're also getting a lot more positive feedback from the administration there on campus on how we want to continue to drive this, but we are only allowed to do a trial on uh a route for so long before we have to make that permit.

13:44

So, what we are wanting to do is to go to public notice on this permanent route, which would include the A-state service.

13:52

Um would be our future route expansions and our alignment plans.

13:59

These are just some adjustments that we're wanting to make to the current routes we have, uh, and then also a proposal for uh a new I'm I I'm gonna call it kind of a uh special event route that will be available for us to grow into, which would be uh Craighead Forest Park.

14:20

We would not utilize that on a regular basis as far as a day-to-day service.

14:26

Uh, one, we would have to have the park operating hours at the same time that service operating hours are, but this would allow us the ability to be able to put a vehicle on route for standard service when there are events going on at Craighead Forest.

14:41

This is an area of our of our town that we have not been able to get public transit to, and we're excited to be able to do that.

14:48

Uh, and this is something we want to be able to add.

14:52

We do have an expansion into Greensboro Village with the growth that is going on out there.

15:00

We want to be able to do a little detour and get into that area for residential, business, recreational uses.

15:05

Highland Drive, Culber House, Culber House Drive, and Southwest Drive.

15:11

We want to put some adjustments over into there to get some area in.

15:15

One of the main two items that we were looking at was the revenue office, and then also there is a food pantry that is over there that gets a lot of usage.

15:25

We wanted to get into that area, but also by getting over into that area, that's going to allow us to get more access to some of the residential areas to where we can find good alignments for bus stops for those individuals that want to utilize public transit to be able to participate in what we have to offer.

15:47

Of course, the A State integration.

16:10

Right now, currently we have one route that runs both hilltop and the industrial park area.

16:16

It goes all the way down to Martin Luther King, and that is a large route.

16:21

What we want to do is split that in half by removing that A state and focusing on the A State campus routes to service that population.

16:30

We will still be going through campus, but it'll allow us to get up into Hilltop better and also to decrease the wait times for customers waiting for the buses to be able to improve service for the different people in those areas.

16:47

We do go all the way to NEA.

16:49

We also want to look at an expansion alignment area into Matthews and Annie Camp.

16:57

Right now we have a service route that we go down G Street to Hester and take Hester over Nettleton.

17:07

What we are wanting to do instead is to turn at Matthews at the red light, go all the way down to my mind went blank.

17:18

Thank you.

17:19

Go down to Lowberg, take it over to Nettleton, and then we will reposition one of the stops and add it as a sheltered area there for ANICamp.

17:29

That will allow us again to use that Nettleton, Lowberg, and Matthews area to look at more additional residential areas to increase the service of what we're providing to the population.

17:44

And then lastly, what we have is our fare structure.

17:48

Our standard fares currently are a dollar and a quarter.

17:52

What we are proposing to go to is a two-dollar fare.

17:55

That two dollar fare, number one, it's a nice easy number because we are switching over to a gravity feed fare collection.

18:05

That's a where they just literally drop it in.

18:08

That machine will have no way to be able to give change back.

18:11

So we want to make that as simplified as possible.

18:15

Plus, with the um the way the system works, the rising prices of fuel, cost of labor, things like that.

18:25

We have not done a fair adjustment at all since our initial start in 2006.

18:31

This will just bring us a little bit better in line with other cities and other areas and what other fare rates are going.

18:39

But with the fare capping system we are putting in place, it will actually be saving a majority of our riders money because the system will automatically be tracking how they're utilizing the service.

18:55

So those daily commuters, those daily usage riders, they are actually not going to pay any more, probably even less than what they were paying before because it will be easier for them to utilize that system as opposed to coming in and spending all the money up front to get that pass to be able to utilize on the system.

19:17

That will adjust our adult students, adult students to clarify our college users.

19:23

This is a very low minority of our riders because A-State students do ride for free with us.

19:29

However, ASU Newport is another organization that still rides with us.

19:33

Plus, if we have visitors from other colleges that are coming back home that want to utilize the system, they will be able to utilize that reduced fare cost.

19:42

And then our reduced fares, it would constitute seniors, veterans, youth, and then also Medicare participants.

19:51

And they will no longer have to show the driver when they board a validation of what type of discount they are because they will be able to get that discounted card in advance to use on their route every time.

20:07

The driver won't even have to ask.

20:09

When they swap it, the system knows how much to charge them.

20:12

It makes it much simpler.

20:14

It'll really lower the time that we're spending on trying to get those customers boarded and on and taken care of.

20:22

This, of course, does affect the paratransit.

20:24

I did put an asterisk on there because that does fall within the purview of what the regulations are.

20:31

Paratransit is its own separate entity, but it is still public transit.

20:36

While the fare cost does have to be adjusted because the standard fare rate is changing, they have a lot of perks and benefits that they have access to as a paratransit rider that we are able to utilize to be able to get them those same types of incentives just done in a different format.

20:56

And I did have a map here if anyone has questions about the way the routes look and what we were talking about.

21:02

And I was very long-winded, I'm sorry.

21:04

No, no, Lee.

21:05

Thank you so much.

21:06

Uh and committee, we've got about 10 minutes.

21:08

I know we have an update from the parks director, but do we have any other questions for Lee?

21:13

I think my only comment lee, just kind of looking at the budget.

21:15

I mean, we know this because it's the way public transit works.

21:19

We're about you know 80 grand or so in fair revenue out of a four million dollar budget.

21:25

So I think it's smart for us to adjust to pinch our pennies because it's definitely needed.

21:29

I just think we need to watch our ridership and make sure it doesn't affect our ridership because it's a very small, you know, two percent of our revenue or whatever for for Gojo.

21:37

So I think it's smart.

21:38

Let's just see what happens.

21:39

Yes, sir.

21:40

Thank you, Lane.

21:41

Thank you.

21:42

Mr.

21:43

Stearns.

21:52

Good afternoon, everybody.

21:55

I got a lot for you.

21:56

Are you ready?

21:57

All right.

21:58

I saw you working Sunday morning at Crack at 4.

22:00

Yeah, I've been.

22:01

I have yeah, I have been.

22:03

Um that's my happy place anyway.

22:05

So it's not really work when I'm out there.

22:07

Um so hey, um, real quick, I'll give you a rundown of what's going on.

22:12

We debuted cashless option um on May 7th and have used that throughout the late spring sporting events, both courts and field events.

22:22

And I give you a report on kind of how that's going here in just a second when I get the numbers.

22:26

Craig and Forest Park hosted uh an Iowa Children's Festival.

22:29

Um we estimate about 3,000 people attended that weekend back in May.

22:34

Um great weekend.

22:35

Um we had a benefit uh concert at the band shell at Craig at Forest Park as well for Casey Sullivan, raised quite a bit of money for their and then sunset sessions started in May on the 23rd, and the next one is this Saturday night at Craig Ed Forest Park.

22:52

Um shooting sports, a set a new youth shooting sports format, trap shooting competition record, had 215 competitors at the Big River Seal Trap Contest.

23:05

Um had competitors from Jonesboro, West Side, Brooklyn, Paraguld, Highland, Ash Flat, Mountain Home, Cave City, Jackson County, Bald Knob Range was completely full.

23:16

Um, know your limits, 22 rifle competitions held um every other week in May and June and July.

23:23

Um the Jonesboro ATA trap tournament um Memorial Day weekend, had another 129 competitors from the mid-south.

23:33

We also hosted the high school trap team practices before they went to regional competition, and as you all should be aware that uh Jonesboro High School, um West Side High School and Shonesburg, one of the junior highs, all did very well in trap.

23:47

Um Joe McCampbell concluded spring sports on May 16th.

23:51

We had 254 soccer games, 180 flag football games.

23:56

We had 1,550 soccer participants for the spring season, 375 boys and girls for flag football, 90 in cheer.

24:05

We had 13,488 spectators.

24:10

Um we averaged 2,248 every Saturday.

24:14

Um spectators plus participants, we average 4,268 every Saturday at Joe McCampbell.

24:21

82% of the people use cash, 18% of the people use credit card at field sports throughout May.

24:30

Um baseball ends this week with their league.

24:34

Um we have um the next tournament will be scheduled for the fall, fall baseball season will go on, but baseball league ends this week out at Joe Mac Campbell as well.

24:43

We hosted um on May 9th, a 90 baseball team or 50 team baseball tournament um on May 9th, estimated about 900 participants.

24:54

We had about 3,000 spectators.

24:57

Um we hosted another tournament um at Joe McCampbell for baseball on May 30th.

25:02

We again had 90 baseball games about the same, 3,000 spectators, 900 participants.

25:15

We're excited about bringing rugby back to parks.

25:18

We concluded May 21st, the U Spring Volleyball.

25:22

We had 344 40 participants, 5,075 spectators throughout the week.

25:30

86% of the spectators use cash, 14% of the spectators use credit cards.

25:37

Softball is ending their league this week.

25:41

So spring, late spring, early summer softball league ends this week.

25:45

We'll be into the travel sport part of that season until the fall.

25:49

We assisted with the Red Wolf Spring Fling Tournament with 17 teams.

25:54

Assisted with the battle of the basis tournament with 33 teams, assisted with softball wars tournament that had 28 teams.

26:21

We had 864 participants, and I don't have the spectator numbers on that yet, but I will get those numbers.

26:30

Miracle League Sports concluded May 23rd with the summer baseball season.

26:37

Both the fire departments and the uh police departments were um had buddy weekends and are greatly supportive of our program.

26:44

We averaged 65 um Miracle League participants in their families over the six week season, played 195 baseball games.

26:52

Um this past weekend we started uh debuted Miracle League kickball.

26:59

Um we're gonna do a full week Miracle League kickball season.

27:02

We had 60 participants in their families out for kickball this year, which is a new program that we started.

27:07

We're really excited about that as well.

27:10

Um in the pools, um we've we had a second lifeguard training this past Monday.

27:16

We closed the youth center for lifeguard training.

27:19

We've added six more lifeguards to our team, brings us to 32 total lifeguards for the summer.

27:24

Um pools pools are pooling.

27:27

Um it's going great.

27:29

We're averaging about 600 participants at each pool every week so far through the summer.

27:37

Um we're doing well.

27:38

Um couple other things real quick with our thing.

27:42

Um we've added keyless entries to the community centers to make them a little more safe.

27:46

We had grant money available, and we've we've added keyless entries that install just finished this past week.

27:52

We'll start training on our staff, and that we will have better able to control access to the community centers.

27:59

I don't know if you're familiar, but I think everybody in Jonesboro has a key to my community centers.

28:03

If you don't have one, you're not getting one because we changed the keyless.

28:07

Um but it just seemed like there was a lot of access to the community centers, and we felt in best interest for safety and had grant money available that we've tried to reel that back in, and so we've concluded that project.

28:19

Um the improvements at Craig Head Forest Park.

28:22

Um we had grant money available to improve the ATV trail.

28:26

It was an emergency um access.

28:29

We we didn't have the ability to get EMTs into the trail system in the event something bad happened.

28:35

We had grant money in that project just concluded.

28:38

They're doing a little bit of cleanup and they'll be finishing that up, but that project is concluded at Craig Ed Forest Park.

28:43

Um, and we've started the uh the process of clearing land um west of east of Joe McCampbell Park for the land that we own there on the Lacey Drive.

28:54

We are including going to include a walking trail on that land preliminary, but we've started that as well, part of a grant.

29:00

Um we um received a tree grant program for 43,000, and we're gonna start doing adding 140 trees to our tree canopy in Jonesboro in the fall.

29:11

And so um I know time is limited.

29:14

I'm gonna say questions or anything else I might need to bring to buy's attention or answer.

29:22

Committee.

29:23

I do have a question.

29:24

Thank you, uh, Jim.

29:24

I heard a lot of numbers, and that's that's good.

29:27

Um, but in lieu of um what's all happening, parks and recs.

29:31

I just like to know um comparing last year's numbers with uh baseball tournaments and other tournaments and and particularly our uh city stars and all of that compared to this year and last year, what those numbers are.

29:46

If it's up, down where are we on that?

29:50

So spectator numbers?

29:52

I have nothing.

29:54

There's no data at all for spectator numbers as you all are pretty aware of.

29:58

Um participant numbers.

30:00

Um participant numbers, I know that soccer.

30:04

I currently have 3v3 soccer going on, and we are 100 percent increased over last year participants.

30:11

Um we know that soccer because of World Cup and the excitement with soccer, we were 550 participants greater this spring than we were last spring.

30:21

Um, the rest of the sports, I certainly can get those numbers if you need them.

30:25

I can compare participant numbers.

30:27

I have that data, but I do not have spectator data.

30:30

I mean, we're measuring now that we have a ticketing system in place and the cashless option in place.

30:36

We we have the ability to I can tell you at the end of each season how many spectators, but I have no previous data on that.

30:43

Yeah, I understand spectators.

30:45

I was talking specifically.

30:47

Yes, sir.

30:47

I can certainly get I can send that email out tomorrow.

30:51

I can give you a comparison from 24 to 25 to 26.

30:56

That'd be great.

30:56

So when you do that, also uh if you can get the revenues of what you may have from last year compared to what we have this year, that'd be great too.

31:06

I got nothing.

31:07

Okay.

31:07

Um and I so in the past when deposits were made for use sports, it was one big giant deposit that was never did it was never separated by event field or anything.

31:21

Um that was one of the first recommendations by the FBI to make sure that we cleared that up.

31:26

I can tell you now, we we can this in 206, I can tell you which facility had how much participants and stuff.

31:36

I I I don't as far as gates and spectators, I I can't tell you where I could tell you what the total amount of revenue was generated through youth sports, but I can't tell you where it came from.

31:48

Whether just for example, the spring volleyball season went with the same time that Joe McCampbell, soccer, cheer, and flag football was going on, and it last year previously that was deposited in one giant deposit at the end of the week.

32:08

Okay.

32:09

Uh and I asked because you know, obviously it's uh because we love numbers.

32:14

Right, and we lack numbers, and it's just a shaky situation.

32:17

So I just want to make sure that we're transparent with all of it.

32:20

And uh so if you have those figures, if you can send that out before someone probably listen to me and say I want foyer.

32:26

So I'm asking you now to just uh provide that.

32:29

Yeah, and uh so that we can see and compare.

32:31

But we we talk about it in our department regularly that we we now the way we account for everything, we're really starting from now.

32:39

It's really hard to go back and look at how previously it was accounted per sport or per event or per field or per facility.

32:49

I understand the difficulty.

32:50

Right.

32:51

I do.

32:52

And you weren't in lead or in charge at that time, I get it.

32:55

I'm just asking you to provide what you can.

32:58

Yes, sir.

32:59

That's that's certainly thank you.

33:02

One quick question, if I may.

33:04

Um the spectator admission.

33:08

How is uh is that put into one fund together?

33:11

How is that appropriated?

33:13

So at Joe McCampbell, we divide it up between football, it goes into an account for youth sports, and it's divided between football and soccer.

33:22

Football and cheer together and soccer is a cheer, and we divide that proportionally.

33:26

We just divide it 50-50 between those two sports.

33:29

If it's for volleyball that goes into the youth sports account under volleyball as court sports.

33:35

Thank you.

33:36

You're welcome.

33:37

Other committee members.

33:40

Uh I'd just say, and I know Mr.

33:42

Stearns and I talked about it over the weekend, you know, and I think that Beverly Parker says it best.

33:48

You can't pick your way up out of trash.

33:50

I mean, when people throw trash down, we couldn't have enough employees.

33:53

If we had all the employees in the world, it wouldn't make a difference.

33:56

Mr.

33:56

Street has always kind of beat the drum the nine years I've been on here about gates at Craighead, and I know we've had that discussion some.

34:03

What's the latest thoughts on gates at Craig Head?

34:06

So that's that's a project.

34:07

We we've met with our advisory board, we're putting together a top 10 capital improvement wish list, so to speak, and and a gate gate is on there.

34:16

Signage will be part of that project.

34:20

Gates.

34:21

Um I've got one bid for a swing gate I didn't like.

34:24

I'm looking for a rolling gate now.

34:26

Um I I know it's gonna be a little more expensive, but yeah, that's a project that we're really gonna pursue heavily.

34:31

We'd like to be able to close that off at at 10 p.m.

34:35

and really keep that opportunist out of it.

34:39

And I know Mr.

34:40

Richardson and I talked about this on the signage.

34:42

We part we passed no smoking in parks under the last mayor, and I don't think we ever thought, hey, maybe we should let people know.

34:49

So I mean that was who knows how many years ago, six or seven years ago.

34:52

And I've really observed, I'm at the park most every day with my my little daughter, and I've really observed people smoking in the kids' area and stuff.

35:00

And maybe some of them don't know better.

35:01

Yeah.

35:02

So that's possible.

35:03

What we what we've got now is we're we're creating a signage.

35:07

Um we're gonna have a signs uh at all the pavilions at the forest on how to contact the rangers if need be.

35:14

No smoking, and we're gonna just go to a kind of a kind reminder to please pick up after yourself.

35:19

And so those are go up probably in the next couple weeks.

35:22

We're um communications is working on the final sign design.

35:24

We're still trying to get everybody together.

35:26

Um public safety, the ranger group, everyone trying to see how the best way to notify them and what what we need to do to get that information.

35:32

So we're gonna get that group together this week.

35:35

Um they're working on a sign design at I think probably when they get back from municipal league, and then we'll we'll hopefully get that up in the next week or so as soon as streets can get those done for us.

35:44

But I I think we're gonna start a Craig Ed Forest with with putting those three signages up, and then we're gonna get to all of our parks, probably go to our sport fields after that, just with that reminder, and then get all our parks after that.

35:56

Correct.

35:57

Chairman, you you brought up um something about the gates.

36:00

Now, we may have to use AI to try to go back and see if we have them in the meeting, but seems like I recall having some kind of grant or being in some proposal or maybe budget that we were um looking to implement this gate.

36:17

I I I do recall having that discussion even beyond, and I know Mr.

36:21

Street has been asking about it for several times.

36:23

Yes, sir.

36:24

But I remember us talking about my colleagues may remember, but I remember us approving some, either whether it was a grant or in our regular budget or something.

36:35

Do y'all recall it?

36:37

Where am I?

36:38

I vaguely recall this, and I'm not necessarily sure like you said, AI probably what we'd have to go back to to find this.

36:44

But for some reason, I feel like in the budgetary process, whenever we looked at park services or we were looking at access controls, that this did come up in conversation.

36:53

I don't know if it was total appropriation to it, but I know that it was something that we were looking at as far as the yearly budget.

37:01

I don't know the process to to look that up.

37:03

Mr.

37:04

Emerson, I know we're cutting into your committee, uh, so so forgive us for that.

37:08

Uh, I think as as we look at the gate thing, and I know Mr.

37:11

Richardson and I have talked about this some.

37:13

I think it would be really neat at all parks, but particularly Craig Ed Forest, since we're making a modification, particularly with the gate, to track visitors in and out just for numbers, you know, that uh you know, X thousands of people came in July 26 versus X thousands of people come in July 27 or whatever.

37:28

I think that'd be good data to have for grants and stuff in the future.

37:31

I agree.

37:32

I think it'd be great data.

37:33

Committee members, anything else from Mr.

37:35

Stearns?

37:36

Thank you, Mr.

37:37

Stearns.

37:38

Thank you.

37:39

I think that's all for us.

37:40

I think public comments.

37:41

Does anybody in the public have a comment on anything that wasn't on the agenda for the public services committee meeting today?

37:49

If not, entertain a motion to adjourn.

37:52

Second.

37:53

Motion and second.

37:53

All those in favor?

37:54

I mean, adjourned.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Parks and Recreation█████████████████████████████████33%
Transportation Safety████████████████████████████████32%
Technology and Innovation████████████12%
Procedural███████7%
Public Safety███████7%
Budget Equity Analysis█████5%
Public Engagement████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Jonesboro Public Services Committee Meeting - June 16, 2026

This Public Services Committee meeting, chaired in the absence of Chairman Gibson, featured updates from the GoJo Transit system and the Parks and Recreation Department. Key discussions included proposed fare changes, route expansions, new fare-capping technology, and a comprehensive review of spring sports and park operations.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes 26019 – Approved by motion and second, with a vote in favor.
  • Minutes 26039 (April 21, 2026) – Approved by motion and second.
  • Minutes 26043 (Special call meeting, May 5, 2026) – Approved by motion and second.

Discussion Items

  • GoJo Transit Update (Lee, Transit Director):

    • Presented two documents: one on route changes and a fare adjustment, and another on expanded fare capping.
    • Fare capping system: Allows riders to use a trackable card that caps charges at $5 per day, $20 per week, and $60 per month. Once a rider reaches the cap, no further charges are applied for that period. The system requires riders to enroll in the pass/ticketing program; standard cash or credit card users pay per ride.
    • Tap-to-pay credit card system: Under development, targeted to go live before the start of the college school year (August 2026).
    • Shelter project: All shelters installed except one, pending electrical boring at six locations. Technology connectivity (by Message Point Media) begins June 22, with a two-week installation timeline.
    • Public notice proposal (required by federal regulations):
      1. Make pilot routes (including A-State campus) permanent.
      2. Adjust current route alignments, including a new special event route to Craighead Forest Park and service expansions into Greensboro Village, Highland Drive, Culber House Drive, Southwest Drive, and the Matthews/Annie Camp area. The Hilltop/Industrial Park route would be split to improve service.
      3. Fare adjustment: Increase standard fare from $1.25 to $2.00 (first change since system start in 2006). Reduced fares for seniors, veterans, youth, and Medicare participants will be adjusted accordingly. Paratransit fare changes also included.
    • Citizens Advisory Board reviewed the fare pricing and recommendations were incorporated.
    • Committee member comment noted that fare revenue is about $80,000 of a $4 million budget (~2%), and expressed support for the adjustment while urging caution about potential ridership impacts.
  • Parks and Recreation Update (Mr. Stearns, Parks Director):

    • Cashless option debuted May 7, 2026, for sports events.
    • Craighead Forest Park: Hosted Iowa Children's Festival (~3,000 attendees) and a benefit concert; Sunset Sessions began May 23.
    • Shooting sports: Youth trap shooting competition set a record with 215 competitors; Big River Seal Trap Contest drew 129 competitors.
    • Joe McCampbell Park: Spring season ended May 16 with 1,550 soccer participants, 375 flag football participants, 90 cheer participants, 13,488 spectators, and an average of 2,248 spectators per Saturday (4,268 including participants). 82% of spectators used cash, 18% credit cards at field sports.
    • Miracle League: Summer season concluded May 23 (65 participants, 195 games); new Miracle League kickball season started with 60 participants.
    • Pools: 32 lifeguards hired; ~600 participants per pool per week.
    • Keyless entry systems installed at community centers using grant funds.
    • Craighead Forest Park improvements: Emergency ATV trail access improved for EMTs (grant funded).
    • Land clearing east of Joe McCampbell Park on Lacey Drive for a walking trail (grant funded).
    • Tree grant: $43,000 received to add 140 trees to the city tree canopy in fall 2026.
    • Gate at Craighead Forest Park: Director reported he received one bid for a swing gate (not preferred) and is now seeking bids for a rolling gate. The gate is part of a capital improvement wish list; goal is to close the park at 10 p.m. to deter after-hours use.
    • Signage: New signs are being designed for parks, including no-smoking reminders (policy passed ~6–7 years ago) and contact information for rangers. Signs will be installed first at Craighead Forest, then at other parks.
    • Committee member requested historical comparison data (2024 vs. 2025 vs. 2026) on participant numbers and revenue from sports events. Director noted that prior revenue accounting was not separated by facility; starting in 2026, data is being tracked per facility. Director agreed to provide what data is available.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent calendar – Three sets of minutes approved unanimously.
  • GoJo transit public notice – The committee will proceed with the public comment period for the proposed route changes, fare adjustment, and route expansions as outlined. No vote was taken; the update was informational.
  • Committee members expressed general support for the fare adjustment but requested monitoring of ridership impacts.
  • Parks data request – Director Stearns will provide available participant and revenue comparison data from 2024–2026.
  • Gate installation – The director will pursue a rolling gate for Craighead Forest Park as part of the top 10 capital improvement list.
  • Signage – Implementation of no-smoking and park rules signage to begin within the next few weeks.
  • Meeting adjourned – Motion and second carried.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were made on items not on the agenda.

Meeting Transcript

All right, I'll call the meeting of the public services committee to order. Chairman Gibson's out of town. We'll start with our roll call. Indicate your presence by hitting the button. Like we've got a quorum. Moving on to our minutes. Looks like we've got a couple sets of minutes. Minutes 26019. Entertain a motion to approve. So moved. Got a motion and a second to end to approve minutes 26019. All those in favor vote accordingly. All right, and that passes. Minutes 26039 from the meeting on Tuesday, April 21st, 2026. Entertain a motion to approve. Okay, and approved. Next minutes 26043. Minutes for the special call public services committee meeting on Tuesday, May 5th, 2026. Entertain a motion to approve. I'll make a motion to approve unless there's changes to be noted. I'll second. Okay, motion made and seconded. If you'll vote on those minutes. And motion approved and let the record reflect Dr. Anthony Coleman just walked in. All right, moving on to new business. Any new business for the committee? Anyone on the committee have any new business? All righty. Sorry, Dr. Coleman. Um, I did have a couple questions. Um is it on new on the agenda? Yeah, okay. Yeah, well, and we'll save it. Is it what what departments are for? Is it for parks? Okay, yeah, he's gonna be up there in a little bit. Okay, any other new business? Nope. See, we have no pending items, so moving on to other business. We'll start with Lee. There's Lee. Start with Lee for a Gojo update. How are y'all today? Um, did they get this? Uh April, did y'all get this attached or printed? Okay, good. I do have additional copies if anyone does need that. Um, so uh a couple of things I wanted to give uh just some updates.

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