By Ray King
By a vote of 5-3, the Pine Bluff City Council on Monday approved a resolution giving Simmons Bank or the Simmons Foundation the right to place an ATM machine or other device on the property at 6th and Main and naming rights to adjoining properties where the Downtown Plaza is being constructed.
In return, the bank is donating $2 million to complete the project, which will feature four restaurants, a retail establishment, and similar features.
Council Member LaTisha Brunson was one of those who supported the measure and after the meeting explained why.
Discussion on the proposal was heated with opponents, including Council Member Bruce Lockett calling for the resolution to be tabled until representatives of the bank, the Urban Renewal Agency, which is responsible for the project, and the city could sit down and iron out questions like who will be responsible for running the plaza when the Go Forward tax money expires, and who will provide money for the start-up businesses being located there.
Lockett and Council members Steven Mays and Glen Brown Sr., voted no while Brunson and Council Members Lloyd Holcomb Jr., Glen Brown Jr., Steven Shaner and Lanette Frazier voted yes.
Also Monday, an ordinance authorizing the city to issue a promissory note for up to $3 million to finance furniture, fixtures and other equipment for the hotel that will be attached to the Convention Center was read three times and approved by a vote of 6-2.
Lockett voted no because he said he believed the hotel will not generate enough business to make a profit and also questioned where the funds to cover the note will come from. Brown Sr. voted present and all the other council members voted yes.
After the meeting, Holcomb, who chaired the meeting in the absence of Mayor Shirley Washington talked about the need for the current hotel to be torn down and the new one
Resolutions transferring $344,887 to the Convention Center Hotel Public Facilities Board and authorizing an interlocal agreement between the city and the Public Facilities Board were also approved.
