Jail Settlement Comments
Pine Bluff City Council Meeting
February 21, 2006

It is somewhat ironic that, as Pine Bluff and Jefferson County became part of a great frozen winter-scape over the weekend, the City and the county experienced a thaw in relations.

I want to thank everyone who collaborated in the settlement of the jail dispute. I think everyone can agree that the distance between our two local governments represented by this dispute has been allowed to exist for far too long.

My thanks extend to Jefferson County Judge Jack Jones. The judge and I negotiated Friday evening for a grueling…but ultimately rewarding, I think…eight hours. We both made concessions and we both had our little victories, but in the end the people of Pine Bluff and Jefferson County are the ultimate winners.

The Pine Bluff City Council, members of which have stepped up on numerous occasions to put forth good faith efforts to resolve this issue, is also due many thanks. I am also grateful to our council members for demonstrating…just as they did in supporting the successful campaign to improve the Pine Bluff School District…a cohesiveness that many have said has long been absent from local government. Maybe we should have more Saturday night meetings!

The Jefferson County Quorum Court also deserves our thanks. Instead of being unreasonably hard-nosed, they…like the council…relied on a spirit of cooperation and their sense of the interests of the citizens of both Pine Bluff and the county in coming to an understanding with us.

And, of course, the attorneys…our shepherds in these affairs…must also be praised for their efforts. They helped us balance our need to protect the interests of our constituencies with our good intentions…something that is not always easy to do.

I also want to point out that while the jail issue…as obviously important as it is…did not define city-county relations. Our local governments have demonstrated this past year that we can work together despite such differences. The Lakeshore Pavilions, upon the completion of that project, will be a testament to that fact.

It will be through just such collaborative actions that we will be able to achieve our common goal for Pine Bluff: Safety, Success and Self-Respect. Indeed, this process, this coming to terms, has moved us farther along that path.

Thank you.