PINE BLUFF -- The Pine Bluff City Council's Public Works Committee is recommending the hiring of a professional fundraiser to facilitate two major projects.
The committee suggested paying the fundraiser $180,000 to help come up with millions of dollars to build a multipurpose center and an aquatics facility.
Committee member and former Pine Bluff Alderman Irene Holcomb said the committee felt that Catherine Johnson and Associates of Little Rock was the best candidate for the job. The City Council must approve the measure before the firm could be hired.
Catherine Johnson and Associates' proposal showed a cost of $15.3 million to construct both buildings. The proposal estimates raising about $8.8 million to complete the multipurpose center and $2.5 million to complete phase one of the aquatics facility.
A five-eighths-percent sales tax and bond initiative that passed in 2011 allocated about $4.2 million toward the project, but Pine Bluff Mayor Debe Hollingsworth has said the amount isn't nearly enough.
Pine Bluff Finance Director Steve Miller said the city had planned all along to raise the remaining funds for the multipurpose and aquatics centers, and wording about a fundraiser was included in the bond project approved by voters.
Both the aquatics center and a planned multipurpose center are set to be constructed on 11th Avenue just a few blocks from the city's Civic Center, which houses City Hall, the main library and the headquarters for the police and fire departments.
Initial proposals for the multipurpose building show it would be more than 43,000 square feet, and the aquatics center is planned to be 26,000 square feet, according to plans drawn up by the Nelson Architectural Group of Pine Bluff.
Plans for the two-story multipurpose building call for amenities including two game rooms; a room for dance, art, music and taekwondo; a fitness area; a miniature gymnasium; a track; a gym with indoor batting cages; a golf training room; a learning center; and a kitchen.
The aquatics center, which would be built first, would feature two pools, bathrooms, party rooms, changing and locker rooms, a patio, a deck, and storage space, according to city plans.
Many in Pine Bluff have expressed concern that the aquatics center and multipurpose building projects have taken years to materialize. But Hollingsworth and other city officials say they have prioritized the bond projects by order of importance. The city has constructed a new fire station, purchased new emergency equipment for both the police and fire departments, and started renovations to the police and fire department headquarters.
Pine Bluff resident Judy Hanson said she understands that some projects may be more important than others, but "we voted to have these projects done, and it just seems like it's taking forever to complete. I wish we could at least see some progress on them."
Larry Simms of Pine Bluff said he hopes that the aquatics center will raise awareness about the importance of learning to swim. About three-quarters of Pine Bluff's residents are black, and USA Swimming Foundation statistics show that 60 percent to 70 percent of black children nationwide cannot swim.
The foundation's statistics also show that the drowning rate for black children is three times higher than that of white children.
"It's a big issue," Simms said. "We don't currently have a public-access pool here in Pine Bluff, and it's important to me that all black children learn to swim.
"I swam in college, and I plan on talking to the city about possibly being a swim coach. I am ready for this facility to be built so we can get on with this important business."
State Desk on 12/07/2015