The owner of a salvage company charged with removing fallen buildings in downtown Pine Bluff said he will clear enough debris to open part of Main Street by mid-June, but it could take up to two years to complete the cleanup.
Danny Bradshaw, owner of Mr. Brick Antique Brick Buy and Sell in Fordyce, told members of the Pine Bluff Planning and Development Committee on Tuesday that he would open two lanes of Main Street -- one northbound lane and one southbound lane -- in the 400 block by June 15.
Bricks, building materials and other fallen debris from at least three collapsed building have forced the closure of the 400 block of Main Street since early last year.
"He is working continuously," said Dee Herring-Gatlin, a Pine Bluff real estate agent who represents Bradshaw. "His plan is to get Main Street cleared off. There are a lot of positives going on that the people don't realize.
"This is going to be a long process."
Mayor Dede Hollingsworth said city crews have assessed other downtown buildings that also could tumble in the future. Several of the century-old buildings are in disrepair because there was no code enforcement enacted years ago, Hollingsworth said.
"We are paying for the consequences now," she said.
Officials said if the city had to clean up the debris, it would cost between $375,000 and $400,000. The city would place liens on the property holders in an attempt to recollect the expenses, but it would take some time, Hollingsworth said.
Bradshaw bought the collapsed buildings and has taken on the liability of them. He intends to salvage bricks from the old buildings and resell them.
"The only cost to the city with [Bradshaw's] plan is the inconvenience of having portions of Main Street blocked off," Hollingsworth said.
Some aldermen oppose the plan. Steven Mays called the length of time given Bradshaw "unacceptable."
"It's taking too long to get things done," Mays said. "Any other city in the state of Arkansas would not be doing this. They'd be a lot more progressive.
"He has Main Street blocked. It's full of rubble and trash. It's not fair to our citizens."
Mays tried to impose time limits on Bradshaw's project, but other aldermen have disagreed with him.
Alderman Thelma Walker said the debris-strewn Main Street gives people a bad impression of Pine Bluff.
"People who come here wonder what's going on," she said. "I had one woman ask me if we had a tornado come through town.
"It's hurting businesses that are downtown. People shop for convenience. It's not convenient to shop downtown."
Bradshaw said Tuesday he will install chain link fencing along Main Street to separate his work from traffic lanes. Herring-Gatlin said he will set up a staging are where workers will clean bricks he's salvaged from the buildings on a vacant lot along Main Street. Currently, workers are piling bricks on Main Street, cleaning them and then placing them on pallets to be hauled away, which forced closure of the street.
"The difference between Danny is that he is assuming liability of the property," Herring-Gatlin said. "Down the street, others are negligent property owners.
"We're about 20 years behind. Prior city leaders did nothing to enforce ordinances to maintain buildings and they began to deteriorate."
Hollingsworth said she hopes Bradshaw will clean up the debris within two years as he offered.
"We knew these buildings needed our full attention," Hollingsworth said. "We are taking a proactive approach.
"We'll have that fence up, but it will still be an eyesore. But it is progress."
State Desk on 05/12/2016