Jonesboro task force weighs downtown Washington site versus Caraway Road for new E‑911 center and future police headquarters

The Capital Improvement Bond Task Force in Jonesboro discussed placement of a new E‑911 dispatch center and the longer‑range police headquarters, weighing a downtown Washington Avenue site against a Caraway Road site and reviewing a structural‑engineer report on the city’s Justice Complex.

The task force was told a structural‑engineer report obtained by the city’s insurer concluded “the damage to the building was not caused by [a] weather, incident. And so they're not willing to pay … towards any of the repairs to the building, because of that,” said Craig Latt, a city staff member who presented the engineer’s findings. Latt said a local structural engineer estimated $115,000 to repair a single damaged roof truss but warned other trusses could fail and the repair might not be long‑term. “I can't — I hope that we don't put any more money into that building. Just my own opinion,” he added.

That assessment framed much of the task force’s discussion because it affects whether the city should invest in renovating the existing Justice Complex, build the E‑911 facility downtown at Monroe and Madison (the Washington site), or acquire and develop a new site on…