By Ray King
The Pine Bluff City Council made history Tuesday night as its first meeting of 2024 was held in the newly refurbished council chambers located in the basement of the former Pine Bluff/Jefferson County Main Library, now called the Kevin Collins Police Training Center.
Before the meeting, mayor Shirley Washington talked about the new facility.
There were no ordinances or resolutions on the agenda for the first meeting, but the Finance Committee met and recommended that a city employee who is retiring be paid $20,809.20 for unused sick leave and vacation pay.
The administration committee also met and voted to allow council members to retain the chairmanship of the committees they chaired in 2023 through the end of this year.
While not as prone to flooding as the police and fire department on the west side of the Civic Center Complex, the Collins Training Center and former library has experienced some flooding in the past and Washington was asked about that.
Because of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., national holiday on Jan. 15, the next council meeting at the new facility will be Jan. 16 at 5:30 p.m.
