The meeting can be seen in its entirety on the City of Hope's Facebook page.

The yes votes on the motion by Director Reginald Easter, seconded by Kiffinea Talley, to place the new fire department headquarters on East Third came from Directors Mark Ross, Reginald Easter, Linda Clark and Vice-mayor Kiffinea Talley.  The no votes were from Directors Steve Montgomery and Trevor Coffee.  Mayor Don Still voted no.

The board had winnowed down its choice of potential locations to the Village location owned by Kathryn Dickinson and an area of land between South Main and Walnut owned by the Brazzel family. 

In the discussion prior to the vote, Montgomery started the conversation by saying he favored the Main Street location on land currently owned by the Brazzel family because the fire department headquarters could be built faster there versus at Village Shopping Center which has more buildings, each of which would need to be asbestos-tested before demolition.  

Mayor Still cited the regulation that 85 percent of the funding for the purpose of the fire department building would need to be spent within three years of it being received.  City Manager J.R. Wilson clarified that not spending the money within that time would endanger the tax-exempt status of the bonds sold to provide Hope with payments in advance of sales tax receipts. A one-cent sales tax to fund the new fire department, new recreation and aquatic center and city park improvements was approved by Hope voters in this past November 5th, 2024 election.

Director Mark Ross asked about the asbestos testing of buildings at the Village Shopping Center. Wilson said this had not been done yet because it was judged best to wait until the city board made its choice on a preferred location first.

Mayor Still said the South Main location fit the city’s needs because of its placement south of Sixth Street, which is in accord with the trend of residences moving south of town.  This would lower the chances of the city’s insurance rating going down based on residences being more distanced from a fire department.  

Wilson said one of the methods by which an Insurance Services Office rating is determined can be based on the response time from the fire department rather than from distance.  He said he had been told this by an ISO employee.

Ross said he had measured a 2/10ths of a mile differential between the two proposed locations.

Vice-mayor Talley said she had heard that Hope’s firefighters had expressed a preference for the Village location because it offered more room for a training facility that could be built later.  

Wilson spoke about another potential advantage for the fire department building being placed at Village.  He learned at a  recent meeting he had attended with Assistant City Manager Daniel Shelman, Hope-Hempstead County Economic Development Director Anna Powell and Jim Jackson a developer in Little Rock that, if the city board chose the Village location, the fire department and its surroundings would be in an opportunity zone. Investors in properties there can therefore get a tax break under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

Wilson said Jackson arranged a meeting between Hope officials and Dana Deere.  Wilson described Deere as “a former N[ational]S[ecurity]A[gency] diplomat, and he's been around the world, good at putting deals together. And he got away from NSA, and he started his own companies. He gets investors to develop housing that improves communities.” 

Deere makes arrangements with large local companies to help fund the building of housing for their workers and then rent out those housing units for a discounted rent amount.

Wilson said Deere and his associates expressed interest and will be coming to the city in June to look at the Village Shopping Center site.  The potential deal would have the city selling land in the zone for $1 and making an investment of $200,000 toward the development.

Director Coffee said he favored locating the new fire department at the South Main location because of too many unknowns about the Village Shopping Center location, including the difficulties of emergency vehicles pulling out on busy East Third.  He said locating the department on South Main would make it a “cleaner build.”

Mayor Still opened the discussion up for citizen comments at this point.  Pastor Gary Johnson of Calvary Baptist Church, a longtime Hope resident, said both options had advantages.  He said he realized the Village location would need cleaning up and that the location on South Main seemed to be the easier of the two choices because fewer buildings would be demolished.

Marsha White said she would like to hear from fire department personnel.  Hope firefighter Justin DeVenney then approached the podium and said he preferred the Village location because it provides three acres that could be used in training and to park fire trucks from volunteer departments in the county needing to resupply.

Wilson said the Village location would have to undergo a Phase One study in addition to its buildings needing an asbestos test. That study would look for any fuel tanks that may be left underground from gas stations that may have been located there in the past.

Director Ross asked when the demolitions at the Village location could begin.  Wilson replied that it would depend on when contractors could get started and that the city street department could help in this work to save money on the project.

Director Montgomery asked about the other acreage that would be cleared out around the fire department building. Wilson said it would be green space maintained by the city until funding could be found to install training facilities there.

After Easter’s motion in favor of the Village Shopping Center location, the vote was taken.  With the 4-3 result, the Village location was chosen.

Before the discussion of fire department options, City Engineer Jeremy Stone updated the board on plans for the pickleball and tennis courts at Fair Park.  Appearing by video conference, Stone said he had implemented the board members suggestions so that the bathrooms will be closer to the playground than in a previous design.  The pickleball and tennis courts will be in a combined center, Stone said, which will “allow people to look both directions and provide … better controlled access to the facility.”

Mayor Still asked about the sewer hookup. Stone said it would be 300 feet from the southwest corner of the existing tennis court near the park’s mound. 

Stone also reported that a Geo-technician is coming Friday to take samples of the ground. Results will be available in two weeks.  More detailed drawings of the pickleball and tennis courts will be provided in a month. That is also the time when board members’ input about color selections and paint preferences will be welcome.

In other business, a resolution allowing the City Manager to sell property given to the city and county as part of the deal by which both entities were provided property formerly leased by Steward Healthcare.  The Hempstead County Quorum Court will be voting on a counterpart resolution.  County regulations on such sale will prevail, Wilson explained, and the property will likely be made available on the internet.  To Director Coffee’s question about whether any buyers have expressed interest, Wilson said none had done so.

City Attorney Randal Wright read the resolution.  It was then approved unanimously by the board.

A truck that was used by the city’s wastewater department was declared surplus and put up for sale. It has already been replaced by a 2024 Dodge Ram.  The board approved the motion.

Police Chief Kim Tomlin appeared to ask for permission to apply for the STEP grant and the STOP grant.  As Wilson explained it, the STEP grant  “allows the police to get overtime enforcement for certain traffic enforcement, and DWI, DUI programs, other things, and the STOP grant helps them deliver services for domestic violence and have an investigator assigned to work those cases under 50% of his time.”

Tomlin said, “We've been doing them a long time. We think they're excellent help for our department in all kinds of different ways. And we just would like for you to say yes.” The board members unanimously did so.

Wilson said the city has applied for grants from the Arkansas Department of Transportation to replace electronics at three Hope intersections, including East Third and Hazel, East Third and the Clinton Bypass and Hazel and the Clinton Bypass.  The first of the intersections was deemed not eligible for the grant, but the other two are.  Wilson explained how the financing would work.  “The program is up to a million dollars of federal money. Federals pay 80 percent.  The state would pay 10 percent. The city has to pay 10 percent of anything we decide to do.”

As for the Hazel and East Third intersection, Wilson said he hopes to adjust things so that permits to pass through are not given to trucks with loads so tall they damage the traffic lights.  Currently one traffic light on that intersection is out of commission due to this. But Wilson said he’d been told this adjustment is not likely. 

Vice-mayor Talley asked if Hope had other opportunity zones in addition to the one that includes the Village Shopping Center.  Wilson said Hope does and that when Dana Deere and his associates visit, “We’re going to show them everything we can. We don't really care where they build. We want them to build. We want the investment.”

Wilson also said the new electronic payroll system is in beta testing.  He also said the board would see new designs for the Recreation and Aquatic Center at the next meeting.

Mayor Still called for an executive session. When the meeting was called back to order, Director Ross made a motion to increase City Manager Wilson’s salary to $120,000. The motion passed unanimously and was applauded.  

Pastor Johnson during Citizen Comments said Lloyd Bright, longtime watermelon grower, said that 2026 would be the one hundredth anniversary of the raising of the first giant Hope Watermelons.  Johnson said this should be celebrated since fewer and fewer growers were attempting to grow the giants.  Director Ross praised Johnson for his work in promoting Hope’s history.

Adjournment occurred about 54 minutes after the meeting began at 7:00 p.m.