TEXARKANA, Ark. -- During a regular meeting Monday, the city Board of Directors approved spending more than $219,000 on public restrooms for downtown's Front Street Festival Plaza.
The restroom stalls are part of a plan to revitalize the plaza that includes modernizing its stage and installing new lighting, landscaping and traffic controls.
Manufactured by AMS Global of De Queen, Arkansas, the restroom stalls will be "semi-permanent" prefabricated structures connected to sewer, water and electrical lines and climate controlled.
A location for the restrooms has not been finalized, but City Manager Jay Ellington has said they will be on city property. Ellington said delivery of the stalls will take 120 to 240 days.
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In February, the city Advertising and Promotion Commission approved allotting $315,000 for the restrooms, $225,000 for 20 stalls and $60,000 for foundations, plumbing, electrical work and roofs for them.
The plaza plan is divided into four stages. Stage One is building a roofed structure around the stage, now a bare platform, that would accommodate sound and lighting equipment and provide space for sponsor advertising.
Stage Two is installation of the restrooms and removable traffic control barriers called bollards. Stages Three and Four comprise the remainder of the work, including improvements to the plaza's "Blessed Be the Tie That Binds" rail track sculpture.
The city will pay for Stage One using a general fund allocation of $400,000 approved by the Board of Directors as part of the current city budget. The initial estimated cost of improving the plaza's stage is $250,000, which will be partially offset by private sponsors in exchange for advertising.
In other business, the Board voted unanimously to table a proposal by Ellington to hire a consulting firm to help with requesting proposals for waste collection. The current haulers' contracts expire in 2024.
The measure would have authorized a $44,000 contract with Solid Waste Specialists LLC for developing a request for proposals, evaluating proposals received and making further recommendations.
Ellington said without using a consultant, the process would take 800 to 1,000 hours for city staff, who are already "overloaded."
Ward 1 Director Terry Roberts and Mayor Allen Brown said they could not support the contract, both because of the cost and because it was unclear exactly what the firm would do.
"I could really use $44,000 for potholes in my ward," Roberts said.
The Board could consider the measure again at a future meeting. Ellington said he would continue to consult with the city Solid Waste Committee in seeking to answer the Board's concerns.
Also on Monday, the Board voted unanimously to reimburse Texarkana Regional Airport with $37,900 in American Rescue Act funds for engineering services related to new construction.
Another unanimous vote rezoned land in the 6000-6100 block of East Broad Street to allow a boat and RV storage business there.
The Board's next meeting is scheduled for May 16.