The Capital Improvement Bond Task Force for the City of Jonesboro on Tuesday discussed competing proposals to locate a new E‑911 real‑time intelligence center and, eventually, a combined police headquarters either on Washington Avenue downtown or at a Caraway Road site but did not take a vote. The committee agreed to meet again on Tuesday, Oct. 21 at 4:00 p.m. to vote on a site recommendation to send to the Public Safety Committee.

The discussion centered on three criteria the task force had listed in advance: economic impact, city financial impact and public safety implications. Officials and public commenters weighed construction and site‑preparation costs, property acquisition and the operational effects of separating the E‑911 center from investigators and patrol staff.

The city has set aside $5.5 million from bond proceeds for the project, but speakers said both site estimates exceed that figure. Councilman Emmiston and others summarized staff estimates showing the Washington site would be about $654,000 cheaper for the first phase (the E‑911 center) when demolition, asbestos removal and drainage improvements are included; the combined Phase 1 (E‑911) and Phase 2 (police headquarters) estimate for Washington was presented as $30,949,000, about $1 million less than the Caraway Road total. The Caraway option would require acquiring privately owned land, which speakers said is estimated at about $1.5 million.

Council members and department leaders disputed whether the downtown location’s advantages — including proximity to other government offices and retention of roughly 112–130 downtown parking spaces used for events — outweigh operational disruptions during construction. "Barbecue Fest this weekend ... as soon as we break ground on that property, that's all going to be fenced off. There's no more public parking there," Police Chief Elliott said, raising concern about losing event parking and about interim displacement of patrol personnel.

Lieutenant David McDaniel, who runs the department’s real‑time crime center, urged keeping the center adjacent to investigators. "Those investigators know things. They've been on the phone. They need to come look at that footage with their own eyes," McDaniel said, arguing that face‑to‑face, real‑time collaboration would be degraded if dispatch and investigators are separated by blocks and by a construction period that could extend years. The lieutenant said the department currently relies on a small, lean team and that splitting the units would threaten operational efficiency for time‑sensitive investigations.

Residents at public comment emphasized both public‑safety and taxpayer concerns. Patty Lack said, "We have $5,500,000 from the bond money…that's all we have or we allotted for," and asked where additional funding would come from. Jeremy Terrell urged negotiators to seek a lower purchase price for the Caraway parcel and warned that "a million dollars is a ton of money." Multiple speakers suggested alternative uses for the downtown lot — including a museum or mixed‑use development — and one commenter urged the city to consider a city‑owned parcel on Johnson as another option.

Task force members also reviewed technical findings about the Justice Complex building downtown. A structural evaluation presented at the meeting concluded the roof truss damage was not caused by weather and therefore would not be covered by the building insurer; one repair estimate provided for a single truss was $115,000, and staff cautioned that additional trusses could fail in time if the building were repeatedly repaired rather than replaced.

No formal site selection vote occurred. The chair said that, because of "legislative constraints," a final vote must be taken when the full council is in session; the task force set a meeting to vote on Oct. 21 and will forward its recommendation to the Public Safety Committee if approved. Other formal actions at the meeting included approval of the previous meeting minutes and adjournment, both of which passed by voice vote.

The task force left the record open for committee members to review the detailed cost breakdowns and encouraged members to consult with Chief Elliott and other staff before the Oct. 21 vote. The chair also asked staff to put the meeting on the calendar and confirmed the committee would seek to present a recommendation to the Public Safety Committee following the vote.

Next steps: committee members will review the detailed site‑cost matrices and speak with police staff; the task force will reconvene at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 21 to vote on a recommendation to the Public Safety Committee. If the task force approves a site, that recommendation will move to the Public Safety Committee and, if approved there, to the full City Council for ratification.