The city of Pine Bluff has a brand new app that allows residents to report city street issues such as potholes.
In addition, a Vacant Building Registration program has been established to identify and register vacant buildings within the city.
About 50 people, including property owners, city officials, executive directors, real estate agents and an attorney, received an introduction and review of both programs on Monday during a Community Town Hall Meeting. Hosted by the City of Pine Bluff, the event took place at the Pine Bluff Convention Center Banquet Room.
"It blesses my heart to see those of you citizens showing interest in this community," Mayor Shirley Washington told the group. "I think that we are pretty constant because those of you who are here are the ones who are here on a frequent basis. And I know you're doing your part to encourage others to take part."
Tom Bennett, director of the Pine Bluff Street Department, said that SeeClickFix program is the result of a brainstorming seminar that he and staff participated in to determine ways to be more efficient and accountable. The new app is called Fix Pine Bluff.
"SeeClickFix is a community-driven communication tool and request management system that bridges communication between the citizens and city services mainly the street department," Bennett said.
He explained that the new app, which is called Fix Pine Bluff, can be downloaded from a smart phone app store. Once in the application, the user would click on "Pine Bluff, Arkansas" as the location. A display will then become visible that allows the user to type in an address where a problem has occurred or exists. The other option is to pick a location on the map, he said.
Once the location is selected, it will "synchronize with the software application and will create a request," Bennett said.
A list of categories showing possible problems will then be displayed. If the category is not there, a problem can still be reported under the "Other" category.
"It could be a (traffic) signal light issue, a tree down, a cave in ..." Bennett said.
Once a category is selected, then the user is presented with another screen where details can be added.
"If you want to give a more visual presentation, you can take a picture with your camera," he said.
The photo can be included with the overall request. The individual submitting the issue can show or hide their identity. They can also choose if they want to be notified with status updates by creating an account and signing in or reporting as a guest. Once the problem is reported, the responsible party is notified. The individual who reported the issue will receive updates on the status of the issue if they choose to be kept informed.
"It's not a very complicated process. Our goal was to make it user friendly which it is," Bennett said.
If a person does not have a smart phone, they can still use the service from a computer by visiting https://seeclickfix.com/pine-bluff/report or by calling the Pine Bluff Street Department at (870) 543-5141.
Alderman Bruce Lockett, who sponsored the Vacant Property Ordinance, said that the Pine Bluff City Council passed it in September 2021.
"One thing about policy is that (while) policy is a great tool, if everybody doesn't understand it, you can't implement it," said Lockett, who chairs the Development and Planning Committee.
He mentioned meeting Kelvin Beene, who had served as president of the National Code Enforcement Association, at a Municipal League meeting. He said that Karla Williams, director of Pine Bluff's Code Enforcement Department, knew Beene.
"I worked with the mayor's office to see if we could get some funding to hire Mr. Beene to consult with our Code Enforcement Office and it was a beautiful marriage," Lockett said. "He was able to train our Code Enforcement Department about Vacant Property Ordinance."
On a monthly basis, the Development and Planning Committee places 10 to 15 houses on a Nuisance and Condemned list, according to Lockett. These are houses that have deteriorated beyond repair.
"I am just here to help. I am here to serve. I live and breathe code enforcement," said Beene, who is CEO of Code Performance Consultants. "A lot of people who own property here don't live here."
Beene said that one of the goals of the property registration aspect of the program is to have a person who can be contacted if something is going on with the property, Beene said.
"What happens when Cousin Ray moves to Vegas and pipes freeze and water spills all over the place? We have to have local contact with people who own these properties," Beene said.
Karla Williams, director of the City of Pine Bluff's Code Enforcement, said that any commercial or residential property that has been vacant for six consecutive months must be registered. The assessed annual fee is $200 per residential vacant building and $500 for a vacant commercial building. The fee is due and shall be paid at the time of registration.
If the fee is not paid on or before Oct. 15, the owner shall be in violation and can be assigned to Jefferson County District Court. A lien can be placed on the property for any unpaid fees, Williams said. She added that the unpaid registration fee can constitute a debt owed to the city and can be collected from civil action through the court or by foreclosure of the lien.
Beene said that the annual fees property owners must pay is not a "money grab," but it is about accountability.
"It's about making people maintain the properties that they own and give them incentive to do something with it," he said.
Williams said that the property can be removed from the registration list by providing proof of sale or a listing by a licensed real estate agent to the code enforcement office. There are some exemptions to these rules that include if the building is owned by a government entity, buildings that are vacant due to fire or an act of God or a casualty rendering the structure unsafe for occupancy. In that case, the property would be placed on a condemnation list. Buildings that are registered may be exempt from paying fees if being actively marketed for sale or lease, a building under reconstruction or renovation, a building involved in probate or if the owner is incapacitated.
Washington said that although she did not initially feel good about property owners having to register their vacant properties, she liked the fact that it was brought to the city by Lockett.
"I thought at first that it was something to penalize our citizens, but I had to really give that some serious thought and say no, (Lockett) is doing what we want our council members to do. We want our council members to come forth and add value to the improvements that we're striving toward making in this community," Washington said.
"It's asking our citizens to have some skin in the game. If they have a vacant property ... if we're going to hold them accountable, then I think they will be more likely to put some money in that house and get that house on the market so that it passes inspections and it's ready to be rented. And then from that point on, they will probably keep that house in good condition. But what made me feel even better about this is that we're not going to start with residential, we're going to start with commercial."
Beene anticipates that while some property owners will have negative feelings the end result will be positive for Pine Bluff.
"I know that some people will not be happy with it but I will tell you something – this works. This is the first step to the rebirth of Pine Bluff. There's so much culture here. There's so much history here. There are generations of families here. This is our community," Beene said.
From left, Angela White Smith, Attorney Rosalind M. Mouser, Realtor Floretta P. Scott, Kenneth Gray and Brenda Gray. William Fells III (standing), special projects coordinator for the city of Pine Bluff, was passing out documents to the audience. This group was reviewing the documents shared during Monday's Town Hall Meeting. (Special to The Commercial/Kim Jones Sneed)
Pine Bluff Code Enforcement Karla Williams makes comments Monday at a town-hall meeting. (Special to The Commercial/Kim Jones Sneed)
Pine Bluff Street Department Director Tom Bennett details the SeeClickFix app to residents Monday at the Pine Bluff Convention Center. (Special to The Commercial/Kim Jones Sneed)