On Monday, White Hall Mayor Noel Foster announced that the city had received a $452,000 Installation Readiness Implementation Grant from the Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation.
It’s the fourth such grant the city, located near the Pine Bluff Arsenal, has received, said Foster. The grant will include technical assessments for emergency power, outdoor warning systems, emergency communication, and surface road access during emergency events.
“It will provide the resources to address the high-priority findings and recommendations of the previous Military Installation Resiliency Reviews in support of the U.S. Army Pine Bluff Arsenal,” said Larry E. Wright of LE Wright & Associates PLLC.
Wright is a consulting engineer for the White Hall and an adviser to the White Hall/Jefferson County Military Affairs Advisory Committee, which supports the arsenal’s mission.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The 2025 contract to complete the assessment was awarded to HR Green, an engineering firm headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that specializes in technical analysis and evaluations.
The grants were made possible by the Governor’s Military Affairs Council and the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, which provides technical and financial assistance to partner with the Department of Defense.
PLANNING IN SUPPORT OF ARSENAL
“The new grant will sustain the momentum gained by the previous grants in 2019, 2021, and 2023,” Foster said.
“The first grant funded the baseline study, the second grant implemented key recommendations, the third grant helped identify opportunities to enhance community support to Pine Bluff Arsenal, and this grant will implement the key recommendations,” Foster said.
The previous grants reviewed compatibility and encroachment issues near the arsenal, implemented high-priority recommendations for access road design and encroachment prevention, and assessed risks to off-post critical infrastructure in support of the arsenal’s military readiness mission, Wright said.
Additionally, the grant money will be used to host a community-wide tabletop exercise, further enhancing local agency coordination and response to future emergencies, and improving the arsenal’s readiness posture, according to Wright.
The tabletop and communication exercises will align with command leadership changes at the arsenal, which occur every two years.
“The intent is to ensure that leadership at Pine Bluff Arsenal and the surrounding communities renew and reinforce their communication protocols and planning during emergencies,” Wright said.
This will enable the evaluation of outcomes from previous exercises and the implementation of corrective adjustments.
BREAKDOWN OF RECOMMENDATIONS
Overall, the grants were designed to conduct a military installation readiness study to identify the risks, hazards, and vulnerabilities of concern as they relate to the ability of the military to conduct its missions on the arsenal installation that could be mitigated through investments and solutions outside the fence line in the community.
The purpose of the 2025 grant is to provide resources for implementing the high-priority recommendations and after-action items from the previous study and tabletop exercise after-action report.
TECHNICAL ASSESSMENTS NEAR ARSENAL
The work will include a technical assessment to determine the type, quantity, cost and other specifications related to the purchase of ice and snow removal, and pretreatment equipment.
It will be dedicated to use in maintaining the arsenal access roads leading to the Plainview and Dexter gate entrances.
The scope also includes an assessment designed to determine the type, quantity, cost, and other specifications related to the purchase and installation of a backup generator to ensure a continuous power supply at the White Hall Community Center on Dollarway Road “which could serve as an alternate emergency operations center and serve as an emergency relief center,” Wright said.
This will support the center’s critical functions and be equipped with automatic switchgear capabilities to activate immediately in the event of a power outage.
JEFFERSON COUNTY-WIDE ASSESSMENTS
It will also undertake an assessment to determine the type, quantity, cost, and other specifications related to the purchase and installation of upgraded or replacement systems of Jefferson County’s current outdoor siren system.
There are newer systems now available, Wright said.
Additionally, Wright said, the assessment includes implementing an integrated public alert and warning system capability to notify residents using wireless emergency alerts.
“It will also develop a countywide secondary communication system to provide reliable backup capabilities during emergencies, with options including, but not limited to mesh networks, which allow devices to connect directly and reduce congestion, radio frequencies (e.g., VHF, UHF) for low-bandwidth emergency messaging, and satellite-based devices to maintain connectivity when local infrastructure fails,” Wright said.
