The Pine Bluff City Council will meet today at 5:30 p.m. to consider a rental housing ordinance, a downtown pedestrian trail project, employment policy changes and several budget amendments.
A proposed ordinance establishing minimum rental housing standards is up for its third and final reading.
If approved, the measure would require landlords to maintain basic habitability standards, including working plumbing, electrical and sewer systems, access to hot and cold water, heating and air conditioning, pest control, and structurally sound roofs and walls.
The ordinance would allow residents to report suspected violations to the city’s Code Enforcement Department. Property owners would generally have 30 days to address issues or demonstrate progress toward compliance.
The proposal also includes fines for repeat violations and outlines limited exceptions for landlords in cases where issues were disclosed in advance or access to the property was denied. Tenants would be required to maintain clean and safe living conditions and avoid property damage.
Council members will also consider a $150,200 engineering contract with Civil Engineering Associates LLC for a proposed pedestrian trail in the Delta Rhythm and Bayous Cultural District.
The project would include sections of Second Avenue, Pine Street, Third Avenue and State Street and covers surveying, design, drainage, landscaping and construction preparation.
Design work could begin this summer, with construction targeted for 2027.
A separate ordinance would establish a 90-day probationary period for new nonuniform city employees. During that time, supervisors would evaluate performance, attendance and conduct before determining whether to continue employment.
The council is also expected to consider participation in UAPB’s “Juneteenth in the Bluff: An Arts and Culture Festival,” including temporary street art at the intersection of Main Street and Third Avenue for the June 19 event.
Other items on the agenda include a resolution designating Sept. 27 as Professor Joseph Carter Corbin Day and beginning the process of renaming Second Avenue in his honor.
Corbin founded Branch Normal College, which later became the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
Additional agenda items include appointments to the Urban Agriculture Task Force, nuisance property actions, delinquent cleanup assessments and two budget amendments.
One would allocate a $75,000 grant from the African American Mayors Association, while another would transfer $75,000 from the Special Projects Fund to the Street Department for a street overlay project.
