By Ray King
By a vote of 7-1, the Pine Bluff City Council on Monday approved a resolution creating a task force to look at bringing tiny houses and container houses to the city.
The resolution was sponsored by Council member Bruce Lockett who explained it to Deltaplex News.
Council member Steven Mays cast the only no vote after complaining that if tiny houses were allowed, they would mostly end up in the Fourth Ward.
Council member Lloyd Holcomb Jr., chaired the meeting in the absence of Mayor Shirley Washington.
According to the legislation, the task force will include two members of the Planning Commission, one member of the Inspection and one member of the Zoning Department, the Executive Director of Southeast Arkansas Regional Planning, one member of the City Attorney’s Office, three members of the City Council, two contractors, two real estate agents, three members of the public and a representative of Habitat for Humanity.
The resolution provides no budget and task force members will work as volunteers.
For the second straight meeting, legislation dealing with naming rights to property at the 6th and Main Plaza in return for a $2 million donation from Simmons Bank to complete the project was tabled and not considered by the council.
Added to the agenda was an ordinance to create a financial agreement with Wells Fargo Financial Leasing Inc., to finance the purchase of mowers and a tractor for the Harbor Oaks Golf Course.
Council members voted to suspend the rules and read the ordinance three times before adopting it.
The ordinance provides that the city will pay $3,719.18 per month for a term of 60 months and will receive two John Deere new riding greensmower, one John Deere tractor and one TDR-X mower, all of which have a life span of more than one year.
The ordinance followed an ordinance approved last month that waived competitive bidding and allowed the city to buy the equipment from P&K Golf and Turf Company, which had the equipment available.
