New policies coming for Earle community center

New policies coming for Earle community center

News & notes from July council meeting

news@theeveningtimes.com

Earle will be forming a committee to develop rules and policies for renting the city’s community center.

“We need to set some rules and some rates,” said Mayor Sherman Smith.

“We can’t just say $100.

We need to set some guidelines and boundaries based on an hourly rate and set some rules.”

The building, which is located on Hwy. 64, was once a former car dealership.

The city received a grant in 2013 from east Arkansas Planning and Development for $22,000 to renovate the building but the center has seen only sporadic use.

The center has been used as the site for a free health clinic, family events, and at one point East Arkansas Family Health Center was interested in renting it. Several community and youth groups also expressed interest in using the building but nothing ever materialized.

In recent years the building has been the source of more conflict than actual use. The city installed air conditioning, fixed the roof, replaced ceiling tile, expanded the kitchen to make the building useable, but had to repair glass and concrete when it was vandalized after it went unused.

It was also the source of a threatened lawsuit after one group claimed the city council slandered their event. Nothing came of the lawsuit.

Smith said there is interest in the building and would just like the city to come up with some consistent rules for its use. “We just want to ensure that everybody is paying the same thing and have rules to govern it,” Smith said.

Smith asked councilmembers to turn in any names of citizens who would be interested in serving on the committee to him for consideration.

In other business:

• Smith told the council that he spoke with East Arkansas Planning and Development

Division, which

oversees the Solid Waste District, about an incinerator and would like to learn more about it.

“You can set it up and it allows you to burn brush and similar things like that,” Smith said. “So I am going to go sit down with them and find out exactly how that works.”

• Smith also informed the council that he will be looking into ways to pick up and dispose of junk tires.

“We’ll see what we can do about some of these tires,” Smith said. “I know some people that have 200 or 300. So we’re going to deal with that.”

• Police Chief Jerry Eaves informed the city that they are down two part-time officers and are looking to fill those slots. One officer was injured and another officer left to take a job in Forrest City.

“We’re on an expedited process to get those positions filled,” Smith said.

• Street Department Supervisor Nemi Matthews told the city that they have the new garbage containers in that they ordered.

“We covered the list that we had,” Matthews said.

“But if you need one just call the office and we will take care of that.”

Matthews also reported that grass cutting was going well and that they have repaired

the second bush hog.

The city has also started

spraying for mosquitoes

three nights a week.

By Mark Randall