By Ray King
Legislation authorizing the hiring of two people for the Harbor Oaks Golf Course and money to pay for expenses were pulled during a meeting of the Pine Bluff City Council Monday night.
With Council Member Lloyd Holcomb Jr., running the meeting in the absence of Mayor Shirley Washington, a $260,000 budget adjustment requested by Parks and Recreation Director Samuel Glover was pulled and will be considered later.
Council Member Ivan Whitfield was the first to object to the budget adjustment and after the meeting told Deltaplex News why.
According to the budget adjustment, $51,000 of the money would have gone to repairs at the Splash Park and another $11,500 for maintenance while the balance would have paid for things like electricity, water, an alarm system, gas/oil/lubricants, equipment purchases, advertising and infrastructure.
The resolution which was pulled called for the hiring of one Golf Course Superintendent who would be paid $42,000 and at least one golf maintenance worker who would be paid $14,17 an hour. Additional workers would depend on the budget.
A resolution authorizing regular payments to the Pine Bluff/Jefferson County Beautification Facilities Board was approved by a vote of 7-1 with Council Member Joni Alexander casting the no vote.
She said Pine Bluff/Jefferson County Clean and Beautiful, which will receive the payments, is “not doing their job.” She also said spending $800 each month to rent an office in the Reynolds Building is not a good way to use the money.
Whitfield, who is Chairman of the Public Works Committee to which Clean and Beautiful reports and he had talked to its director about using office space in the Kevin Collins building (the old Main Library) when it is available.
Each quarter, the Pine Bluff Street Department will pay the Beautification Facilities Board (Clean and Beautiful) $4.250 from the street department maintenance budget.
