Jonesboro City Council Tables Grant Issue Over Bloomberg Ties

A $30,000 grant to implement a community volunteer service program versus accepting money from a program with ties to a national figure with controversial political beliefs was the center of debate Tuesday night among Jonesboro city council members.

The Jonesboro City Council, by a voice vote, decided to table discussion about the grant from the Cities of Service group after complaints about the group’s founder, former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, emerged at the meeting.

“I can’t sell my soul for $30,000,” council member Gene Vance said.

Jonesboro grants director Heather Clements said the grant would be used to implement a program similar to one created in the north Jonesboro area.

That program, called the North Jonesboro Community Initiative, works on issues like community revitalization, clean-up of blighted areas as well as supporting economic growth.

According to a proposed ordinance presented at the meeting, the Cities of Service group support:

· Developing a comprehensive service plan and a coordinated strategy focused on matching volunteers and established community partners in areas where it is needed most.

· Working with other mayors and officials on “strategies and best practices that accelerate the service movement.”

· Encouraging mayors to join the effort and support the program’s goals.

Clements said the city has plenty of grant money available, with about $20 million it has received in grants for various projects in the past few years.

Opinions were mixed on the issue.

Council member Dr. Charles Coleman said council members should look at the issue “because there are two sides to every story.”

Council member Chris Moore, who presided over the meeting due to Mayor Harold Perrin attending a mayors meeting in Austin, Texas, said he and Vance simply wanted more information about the group’s ties to Bloomberg.

Bloomberg has been criticized for his political views on abortion and gun control, as well as his policy initiative on banning large soft drinks in New York City during his time as mayor.

Moore said he did not believe the “average citizen in Jonesboro” would support Bloomberg’s views on the issues and that the city should not accept funding from groups with any political ties.

ARKANSAS SERVICES CENTER PROPERTY
Council members also waived the second reading of a zoning request for a 42-acre plot of land along U.S. 63.

The request, by Centerline, LLC, was to rezone the land at 2920 McClellan Drive from R-1 single family district to C-3 general commercial district.

The area was once home to the Arkansas Services Center, a complex that housed the offices of the Arkansas Department of Human Services and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

The facility was torn down in 2013. Developer Carroll Caldwell said after the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission meeting Nov. 10 there has been interest in the development.

While not discussing specifics, Caldwell did say it would be late 2015 or early 2016 before any announcement would be made about businesses locating there.