By Ray King
By a vote of 5-3, the Pine Bluff City Council on Monday voted to give an attorney for Garland Trice two weeks to try and work out an agreement on money the city says Trice owes for the demolition of a building he owned on Main Street.
The council had been scheduled for a public hearing on a lien for 620 Main St., the building Trice owned that partially fell in 2014, resulting in the closure of a two-block section of Main Street for several years until April 18, 2017, when it was determined to be a safety hazard and was torn down.
According to legal paperwork served on Trice in March, the city incurred $123,496.97 in expenses that Trice is responsible for.
Council member Ivan Whitfield made the motion to give Trice’s attorney, Luther Sutter time to talk with Pine Bluff City Attorney Althea Hadden Scott before the next council meeting after Sutter, who is from Benton, complained about what he said were “due process issues” and threatened legal action.
After the meeting, Whitfield explained his reasons for the motion.
Council members Glen Brown Sr., Steven Mays, Bruce Lockett and Joni Alexander joined Whitfield in voting for the two- week delay while Council Members Glen Brown Jr., Lloyd Holcomb Jr., and Steven Shaner voted no.
Also Monday, a resolution authorizing a contract with Vortex Aquatic Structures for equipment and installation of the equipment at the Lake Saracen Splashpad was approved, as was a resolution authorizing the city to renew a lease agreement with the Pine Bluff Military and Veteran’s Museum at 714 W. 4th Ave. for five years.
