BUSINESS MATTERS

Pine Bluff initiative chairman encouraged by interest to improve city

Interest in Go Forward Pine Bluff, an initiative aimed at improving the Jefferson County town and increasing its tax base, was far from what Chairman Mary Pringos anticipated.

Pringos was counting on about 40 citizens -- 10 each for four focus groups -- to participate in a year's worth of strategic planning. When discussing the finalized blueprint this month, Pringos said nearly 100 people took part in mapping the city's future along with the UALR Institute for Economic Advancement.

Nearly half of those were under the age of 40, which Pringos took as a sign of encouragement.

"We had twice as many people as I expected," Pringos said. "And the number of people under 40 shows that people understand this is their future we're talking about here. We didn't need to sit back and wait another 30 years to see what else goes wrong."

Go Forward Pine Bluff, born in late 2015 through a donation from the Simmons First Foundation, is focused on four interconnected areas: education, economic development, infrastructure/government and quality of life.

Declining population statistics illustrate as well as anything the needs that exist. Pine Bluff's population has fallen nearly 17 percent since 2003 when the city had about 54,000 residents. According to U.S. Census Bureau data the population in 2015 was 44,772.

Implementing the plan will require a minimum of $40 million, raised through a mix of individual and corporate donations, the extension of a 3/8th percent sales tax for economic development and an additional sales tax for infrastructure and government services.

Plans call for the creation of The Generator, an arts- and innovation-focused center similar to North Little Rock's Innovation Hub. Pringos said the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the Arts and Science Center of Southeast Arkansas and Southeast Arkansas College in Pine Bluff will work together to implement the business incubator.

Particularly important in Pine Bluff will be improved job training. The city has seen about $10 billion in capital spending allocated for the creation of about 3,500 jobs since 2012.

Unemployment in Pine Bluff is 4.7 percent compared to 4.0 percent for the state.

Energy Security Partners announced in September plans to invest at least $3.5 billion to build a plant nearby that will convert natural gas into liquid. The 1,300 or so direct jobs created by the plant won't be available until late 2021 or 2022, so the city needs to prepare workers for jobs at the plant, as well as for jobs currently available.

Locals point to the 3/8th percent sales tax as key in generating additional jobs and luring industry to town.

A focus on attracting new workers is also included in the plan. One of the items recommended is cleaning up a Main Street that is literally crumbling.

Bricks from buildings have closed down traffic on portions of Main Street for nearly a year, though Pringos said one lane has now reopened.

More than 600 residential properties have been condemned by the city. Identifying houses that can be saved is a priority and those that can't be saved need to be torn down as soon as possible.

"We have a lot of blight," Pringos said. "There are some beautiful buildings that we'd like to find a way to save, though. It's such a shame."

Pringos is optimistic about the efforts to restore those old buildings and the community.

And she shared one action item not included in the plan, but one she believes will go a long way in securing Pine Bluff's future success: residents need to be kinder to themselves and their city.

"We all realized sometimes we're our own worst enemy. We talk negatively about ourselves because we've heard so much about it," Pringos said. "That just generates more negativity. There is plenty of good here."

If you have a tip, call Chris Bahn at (501) 378-3518 or email him at [email protected]

SundayMonday Business on 01/15/2017

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