Neighborhood watch groups as well as city leaders and services drew praise and challenges at Monday night’s monthly Pine Bluff town hall meeting at the convention center.
The watch groups — which work with the police, fire and other city departments in making their communities safer, cleaner and more attractive — were saluted by Mayor Debe Hollingsworth.
“I can’t tell you how important the neighborhood watch groups are,” the mayor said. “They are our neighborhoods’ eyes and ears.”
Deputy Police Chief Susie Powell echoed Hollingsworth, but elaborated on the groups’ roles and impact.
Noting that the city’s newest SAFE (Support Abatement with Fines and Enforcement) Team target area encompasses Plum to Hazel streets between West 13th and 22nd avenues, Powell said the key to the turnaround effort’s success is public participation. She told watch group members in attendance that the joint endeavor to beautify the area and eliminate crime is being observed by people outside the city as well as local residents.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Saying that a sweep and then continued monitoring of the area is necessary to help the city net new businesses and industries, Powell stressed, “Image is everything.” The mayor has said that citizens long to feel more secure in their homes and realize that unkempt neighborhoods can breed crime.
“The public’s involvement is required for change,” Powell said, asking that everyone attending Monday’s session return to a Sept. 9 town hall meeting with a guest. Powell’s challenge prompted Hollingsworth to suggest that some friendly neighborhood watch group competitions be formulated.
The mayor said watch groups can provide a valuable service by having members contact new residents in their neighborhoods. By informing the new neighbors that the group exists and is active in guarding against possible criminal activity, the organizations are serving a double purpose, she said. First, if the new residents are law-abiding citizens, they’ll likely welcome and want to be a part of the group. And if they’re “up to no good,” they’ll probably feel encouraged to move onward, Hollingsworth reasoned.
A few watch group members complained of bad experiences with MECA (Metropolitan Emergency Communications Agency) personnel when requesting police or fire department assistance or an ambulance. Interim Police Chief Jeff Hubanks responded by noting technological, legal and other limitations in offering possible explanations on most of the grievances.
Hollingsworth announced that the city is now providing public information on the identity of sex offenders residing here. She said details are available by telephoning Tasha Ford at 870-730-2110.
Some displeasure was voiced over merchants who have not been paying the city the hamburger taxes they’ve collected at their restaurants or stores. Hollingsworth said residents can expect “to see some significant changes coming” in the levy’s collection enforcement.
Grumblings against ongoing illegal dumping were repeated, and a complaint was lodged against transient merchants interfering with tax-paying businesses.
A woman in the audience was upset by the city council’s recent decision to remove from the city’s condemnation list a house co-owned by Alderman Glen Brown and his siblings. The woman said the unanimous vote smacked of favoritism.
Hollingsworth said the council action followed an opinion by City Attorney Althea Hadden-Scott that condemnation notification should be more complete on such heir properties. The woman scoffed at Hadden-Scott’s advice, saying that the Brown house had a worse appearance than some chicken coops she had seen.
Meanwhile, the mayor said she hoped that she and the council could come to “accord” and produce stronger legislation with “more bite” against owners of condemned properties who refused to correct the “problems.”
Hollingsworth said the city is aiming to enhance its communications with the public by enhancing its website, and indicated she might consider a suggestion that future town hall meetings be held within each of the city’s four wards.
A presentation on city infrastructre improvements made possible with voter-approved sale-tax bond money won approval and applause, as did an observer’s remarks on achievements of Hollingsworth, Hubanks and other leaders.
Council members participating in the gathering were Bill Brumett, Charles Boyd, Lloyd Holcomb Jr. and Steven Mays. Absent were Brown and Aldermen Wayne Easterly and George Stepps and Alderwoman Thelma Walker.
Brown has yet to attend a town hall meeting.