Initiatives and Projects

Character City

In May of 2001, Pine Bluff took its first steps toward becoming a “City of Character”. The City now hopes to turn those tentative first steps into a confident, purposeful stride on the path to the success we have all envisioned for our community.

A “City of Character” is a city that strives to foster those qualities in its government, schools, businesses, churches, families and individuals that encourage success in not only those vital components of our community, but also in the community as a whole.

Each month, we will ask you to join us in emphasizing one such character quality in our effort to strengthen the character of our community. As we move from quality to quality, however, we must not abandon those qualities upon which we have already focused. We must keep them always among our tools for success.

The first Tuesday of each month, the Character Council of Southeast Arkansas presents extensive information about the character quality for the month at the Donald W. Reynolds Community Services Center, 211 West Third Avenue. The presentations are held at both 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in meeting room A/B. Citizens interested in helping promote character in the areas of family, business, the faith community, education, government, law enforcement and communications are encouraged to attend at least one of the monthly meetings. A seven-minute concerning each character quality DVD is shown, along with a brief Power Point presentation. Bulletins with additional information are also available for purchase for $2.00 each. All of the monthly Character Council presentations are free and open to the public.

Pine Bluff Community Litter Elimination Action Network (CLEAN) Campaign

Pine Bluff Mayor Carl A. Redus Jr. has made improving the quality of life in Pine Bluff his administration’s top priority. Recognizing that success in meeting that goal will only come about as a result of public and private, corporate and individual cooperative action, the mayor has asked for the participation of every business, church, civic organization and individual Pine Bluffian to contribute to the achievement of this goal.

The Pine Bluff Community Litter Elimination Action Network, or CLEAN, campaign, begun in 2005, is part of a multifaceted initiative aimed at improving the quality of life for current and potential citizens of Pine Bluff, individual and corporate. A clean city is one that evidences the pride of its residents and will be much more likely to retain residents and attract the attention of site developers looking for new cities in which to locate job-bearing industries.

It is with this in mind that Mayor Redus has called on everyone who lives and works here to help clean up Pine Bluff. With the aid of individual and corporate citizens, as well as churches and civic organizations, the CLEAN campaign…through volunteer ward cleanups…resulted in the removal of more than 600 tons of litter and junk from Pine Bluff’s streets, alleys, sidewalks, ditches, yards and parking lots in 2005.

In tandem with this initiative, the Pine Bluff Inspection and Zoning, Police and Fire Departments are stepping up enforcement actions in order to promote the best quality of life that can be had in Pine Bluff.

To find out how you can help, please contact the Pine Bluff / Jefferson County Clean and Beautiful Commission at (870) 543-4901 or the Mayor’s Office at (870) 543-1855.

Historic Preservation

Historic preservation promotes economic development and community revitalization; encourages us to appreciate, protect and celebrate our heritage; increases our knowledge of our city’s past; and strengthens our identity and local pride.

With this in mind, in 2005 Mayor Redus led the way in establishing the Pine Bluff Historical District Commission. The commission’s existence means Pine Bluff is a certified local community and therefore enables Pine Bluff to qualify for grant funds offered through the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program. It is hoped that the commission and potential grant monies will help revive interest in some of Pine Bluff’s historic neighborhoods and structures.

The Pine Bluff Historical District Commission meets the third Friday of every month at 1 p.m. Call the Mayor’s Office, (870) 543-1855, for information meeting venues.

Lakeshore Pavilion

The Lakeshore Pavilion Recreation Complex will provide an exceptional and convenient outdoor recreational facility unique for Pine Bluff, thereby increasing participation in outdoor recreational activities among a wider variety of users and addressing a scarcity of recreational opportunities in the area.

At this time, there is no facility in the heart of the community that can be used for the scope of activities anticipated to take place in the Pavilion park. Expanding the existing park’s facilities will allow it to be better utilized by the citizens of Pine Bluff, Jefferson County and surrounding communities in Southeast Arkansas by providing for a variety of outdoor recreation activities at an easily accessible site. Current and potential recreation lists, upon completion of this project, will have a downtown park location with a gamut of outdoor recreation options and will be better able to take advantage of the existing amenities of Lake Pine Bluff and Regional Park. The expansion of and improvements to the existing park will include the following facilities:

The Pavilion

The Pavilion will be a 10,080 square-foot structure located over the waters of Lake Pine Bluff. Of that structure’s area, fully one-third, or 3,360 square feet, will be left uncovered to better facilitate such outdoor recreational activities as fishing, boating, bird watching and nature observation. The covered portion will accommodate picnickers, recreation-oriented educational sessions, City of Pine Bluff Parks and Recreation-hosted events, the Farmers’ Market, concerts and music festivals and other such activities.

Event Overflow Structures

Event overflow structures include two covered structures on shore (4,900 and 7,200 square feet) for recreational activities requiring a smaller space than provided by the Pavilion, overflow event staging for activities requiring more space than offered by the Pavilion, or additional paved parking.