Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – Oct. 8, 2024 – City Council unanimously passed a last-minute resolution declaring an emergency and authorizing the mayor to allocate funds to construct “reasonable public protection structures” on properties near the old Citizens Bank building.
Structural Engineer Jordan Lane, with North Delta Engineering, recommended constructing a protection barrier in front of First Horizon Bank and stabilizing outside panels to allow the removal and securing of the vertical support post. After adding stabilization, Lane recommended demolishing parts of the east wall facade down to the fifth floor.
Professional services associated with building analysis will likely exceed purchasing guidelines and Engineering Department budget allocations.
Councilman Chris Moore, who originally alerted city officials of the issue that resulted in a review of the structural safety of the building, motioned to walk on to the resolution to speed up the process.
“We do want to be as transparent as possible during this process, but safety is our number one priority and keeping the citizens informed is my duty. Last Wednesday I received a call from Councilman Chris Moore regarding a protrusion on the side of the Citizens Bank building,” Mayor Harold Copenhaver said. “During that assessment, there were two areas of concern that were noted, both of which I believe are in this action report. One is noticeable if you look at the building that prompted an initial call. The second is a vertical support that is noted in the report.”
“It was determined that a safety hazard could exist,” he continued. “We have spoken with entities associated with the property. They are currently involved in legal proceedings, but they are aware of the issues and will continue to be updated as we know more.”
Copenhaver added that engineering firms Womack, Phelps, Puryear, Mayfield and McNeil are serving as outside counsel to the city regarding the matter.
Several council members had questions and comments, including queries about the two parties that are in litigation of the private property and if the city could interview in the property lawsuit; as well as what could be done to stabilize the building and how much this was going to cost the city.
Moore asked Duncan asked about the property owners and how it has been consolidated.
“When we started dealing with this property many years ago, there were a variety of owners of the property underneath,” Duncan replied. “Then, Mr. [Bruce] Burrow had a 99-year lease on the building itself. Since that time, one entity out of Little Rock has managed to gain title to all of the property underneath the building. So, it’s no longer owned by 12 or 13 different entities, it’s now owned by one. So those two parties are currently in litigation to determine ownership of the building and that’s basically where that stands. I think it’s important to note that the last part of that litigation has been a motion for quite a while.”
She also noted that they had discussions about maybe the possibility of intervening in that lawsuit to see if the process could be sped up.
“Now we’re down to only two people. One owns a building, one owns a property, and we need a decision,” she explained. “The one that owns the property is suing the one that owns the building for title, for superior title. And that’s before the judge. So, what we really need is a decision from Judge Lusby as quickly as possible on who the rightful owner of the building is. That’s why before you, you have a resolution to authorize the mayor to hire a third-party legal firm to represent the city and try to intervene in that lawsuit to speed that process up.”
Jonesboro Engineering Director Craig Light was also on hand to help with structural questions.
According to Light, the structural elements appeared intact, however, cladding on the outside of the building had come loose in two specific areas they knew of.
“We have been able to visually look at the connection between the cladding in the building, and it has failed. At least a portion of it is no longer connected, and it is a risk of falling off the building. The other area has moved, but we weren’t able to verify if it has completely disconnected from the building at this point,” he stated.
“Ultimately, our goal is to take the necessary actions to open Main Street in some capacity as soon as possible. On that note, I do want to say to the community, please continue to support our downtown business owners. No doubt this has stopped some of the traffic from going downtown. We don’t want our businesses to suffer for the actions that are outside our control. So please continue to come downtown, eat, shop and enjoy the center as we all know it,” he said.
Update: City of Jonesboro Director of Communications Donna Malone said on Friday morning that the construction was already underway on the protection wall for First Horizon Bank across the street from the former Citizens Bank Building.