Jonesboro Mayor Harold Copenhaver says he will bring back a proposed funding mechanism to make improvements to the city. At today’s State of the City address sponsored by the Greater Jonesboro Chamber of Commerce held at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Red Wolf Convention Center, Copenhaver said the plan could fund more trails, improvements to city facilities, quality of life projects, a park in East Jonesboro, funding overlays for city streets, completion of the remaining parts of the shooting sports complex, additions to the Forum Theater, completion of a Caraway Road project, and streetlights to light up dark areas and neighborhoods. “Some of these proposed projects span across several administrations,” Copenhaver said. “I want us to work together and complete them.”
Copenhaver said he sees an aging police station and municipal courtroom that “have outlasted their use.” He sees a lack of pedestrian infrastructure and vacant land that could anchor downtown.
The mayor citied the work of Chief of Police Rick Elliott. “As Chief has said many times, the numbers show crime in Jonesboro is actually down.” He also recognized Chief Marty Hamrick and the Jonesboro Fire Department for the work they do.
Copenhaver shared that the city had recently received a zero errors and mistakes audit from the Arkansas Legislative Joint Audit Committee, sharing credit with Steve Purtee, City Finance Director, and his team.
He said one of the big complaints he gets from citizens is “lack of lighting. It’s too dark.” The mayor said he is working with City Water and Light to increase lighting in targeted areas, and reflected on a five-million-dollar federal grant that will fund new lighting on Johnson Avenue from Main Street East to Red Wolf Blvd.
Copenhaver used the word “together” repeatedly during his remarks referencing projects and efforts he wants to see done in 2024. He referenced the work of the Salvation Army, a cooperative arrangement between hotel owner Naz Kazi and the Jonesboro Police Department to provide lodging vouchers to the homeless, and the work done by the United Way of Northeast Arkansas. Copenhaver recognized the 26-year history of the Have-A-Heart Wish-A-Thon for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which recently raised in excess of $466,000 which will be used to grant wishes to children with critical illnesses. He presented “keys to the city” to the three women who founded the Make-A-Wish event in 1999, Christie Matthews, Danna Johnson, and Sharron Haggenmacher. Haggenmacher was unable to attend.