MONEY FOR POLICE MOVE STIRS DEBATE

By Erin France/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF

With 2009 budget meetings scheduled this week, it’s not surprising funding was a theme at Monday night’s gathering of the Pine Bluff City Council’s public safety committee.

No decision was reached on moving the police department to Sam Taylor School, and none will be made, Mayor Carl A. Redus Jr., said, until there is adequate funding for the project.

“We have a tremendous need for capital,” he said.

Redus faced several questions from council members and a resident on the handling of the Sam Taylor School, 1415 W. 13th Ave.

“Every time we try to do something, you back us in a corner,” said 3rd Ward Alderman Derwood Smith.

The more the council delays approval, the more the building will cost, he added.

“The need for space is well understood,” Redus said. “It just doesn’t happen overnight.”

A resident attended the meeting and addressed the council about the need for a police presence around Sam Taylor School.

Her passionate remarks struck a chord with attendees, and several were directed specifically at Redus, who she said she supports in the run-off election for mayor. He faces City Treasurer Greg Gustek in the election Nov. 25.

“I’m so mad at you now, I could bite you,” she said to Redus.

“I see Pine Bluff as a great big huge body with a big cancerous sore in the middle,” she said. “Is the city of Pine Bluff not worth $700,000?”

The figure is the architect’s estimated cost of renovating the Sam Taylor School for the police department’s use.

Council members, including Redus, said they would take her concerns into consideration.

They discussed several funding options, including a capital improvements bond which could construct a public safety building to address fire and police department needs.

Besides the police department’s need for new facilities, Fire Chief Don Horton submitted a report on the condition of the fire stations and equipment.

Three stations are more than 40 years old, and several are not in compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act standards. In addition, Horton’s report recommended that two engines and one ladder truck be replaced in the next two years due to their age. The three vehicles are 19 years or older.

In a positive funding swing, the police department reported that an anonymous donor gave $10,000 to Pine Bluff’s Police Department to purchase tasers.

Discussion will continue on funding, Redus said, although the current economy does not easily yield resources for large municipal projects.

“It’s like a brick hit everybody in the face, as far as credit is concerned,” he said. “We had to put things on the back burner.”

With a new presidential administration in power, Redus said more funding could become available for infrastructure improvements. And, if not that, there are other options, he added.

“We are going to try and bring this community back.”