By Ray King
The Pine Bluff City Council on Tuesday will vote on individuals who are being recommended for appointment to an ad hoc committee to study the feasibility of a drag strip racing facility for Pine Bluff.
The council will meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday because of the Federal President’s Day Holiday Monday.
The council’s Traffic and Aviation Committee of the council has been working on the idea of a drag racing facility since 2019 when former Committee Chairman Ivan Whitfield brought up the idea. Earlier this year, Council Member Joni Alexander, who replaced Whitfield as chairman of the committee when the council realigned committee assignments in January, asked each council member and Mayor Shirley Washington to submit one name of a person to serve on the committee.
Washington submitted the name of John Edward Berry, Council Member Lloyd Holcomb Jr., submitted the name of Mack L. Akins, Council Member Steven Mays submitted the name of Warren Levell Booker, Council Member Steven Shaner submitted the name of Dennis Bradley, Council Member Ivan Whitfield submitted the name of Lloyd Cato Jr., and Council Member Glen Brown Sr., submitted the name of James B. Nelson.
Applications for each of those individuals show that most have racing experience and in some cases own their own cars.
Also on the agenda Tuesday is a resolution sponsored by Mays that calls on the Mayor, the director of Code Enforcement and the city’s Finance Department to work toward increasing staffing levels in the Code Enforcement from one inspector per ward to two per ward. He resolution sets a 30-day time limit for a plan to be developed.
Council Member Whitfield is sponsoring a resolution asking that state auditors, when they conduct their audit, include the Urban Renewal Agency which Whitfield said has never been audited and is funded by city sales tax funds,
