The Pine Bluff City Council approved $85,000 Monday for improvements to the Chester Hynes Community Center, including funding to replace the gym floor.
The approval of the funds made unnecessary a proposed veto override that was also on the agenda regarding a bid for the gym floor that the council approved and the mayor later vetoed.
According to a list attached to the budget adjustment, the funding will go to: replacing the skylights in the gym; replacing the gym floors; weatherproofing all windows; replacing locks to the storage and utility rooms; installing vinyl tiles and baseboards; replacing vinyl tile flooring; replacing vinyl baseboards; removing a tree in the north parking lot; replacing three water coolers; installing a security system; and adhesives.
It was unclear Monday what type of flooring will be installed in the gym.
Department Director Angela Parker said after consulting with the city’s bond-funded project manager and receiving assurances from the bidder that moisture would not be a problem, she had changed her preference from the plastic interlocking floor to the hardwood floor.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
City Public Works Coordinator Larry Matthews told the City Council that the Parks and Recreation Commission had recommended the hardwood gym floor; however, if such a vote has been held, it was not held publicly, as would be required for it to be legal. Under state law, the commission should have given The Commercial at least two hours notice before any special meeting on commission business.
Asked for clarification after the meeting, Matthews said that commissioner Jeffrey Pulliam had called him and told him that was the commission’s recommendation, but Matthews was not clear when or how that decision had been made. Parker said after the meeting she was unaware of any vote that may have been held. Pulliam did not return a phone call requesting comment Monday.
At its regular monthly meeting Thursday, the Parks Commission decided to further research the issue of what type of floor to install before making a recommendation. The commissioners also decided to come before the council with a request for funds for several projects at Chester Hynes rather than a specific bid amount for each part.
Parker said Monday, and City Attorney Althea Hadden-Scott agreed, that whatever bid is chosen will not have to come before the council for approval but can be voted upon by the Parks Commission.
The bid for the hardwood floor was $35,737 for Sport Floors Inc. of Memphis, Tenn. The bid for the interlocking floor was $41,520 from Sport Court South.
Alderman Bill Brumett said during the council meeting that the aldermen were just trying to give the Parks Commission and staff what they wanted, so he did not have a problem canceling the veto override if the Parks Department was satisfied.
Parker had told the council at previous meetings that the interlocking floor was the preferred one, so the council had come to Monday’s meeting prepared to override Mayor Carl A. Redus Jr.’s veto of the contract for the interlocking floor, according to a poll of the aldermen taken Friday by The Commercial.
But the change of heart on the part of Parker and — if Matthews’ statements are correct, the commission — made that override vote unnecessary.
Alderman Irene Holcomb, who has been the most vocal supporter of the project, said it is a shame the project has taken as long as it has. She said Redus ’ veto was disrespectful to the council and a slap in the face, as was his decision not to give a written explanation for the veto until moments before the council meeting began. Holcomb said it was a shame that the project had become mired in “politics and know-it-all attitude.” She said the only opinions she was interested in on the subject were those of the parks officials and that department heads and commissions should have the power to make the decisions affecting their departments.
Alderman Steven Mays said he agreed with Holcomb. Mays had accused Redus at a previous council meeting of intervening in the project in retaliation at Parker for a disciplinary action involving his wife, who is a parks employee. Redus has denied that charge.
The original low bid for the project — the interlocking floor — was rejected at Redus’ request and over protests from Parker. Redus bid the project a second time, resulting in the bids for the hardwood floor and other types of flooring.
Redus’ written statement of veto explanation states that the bid was rejected “to consider additional flooring alternatives.”
Construction for the floor is expected to take three to five weeks, Matthews said.
Hoclomb has also asked that there be improvements made to the Merrill Community Center, and that work has yet to begin.