Jonesboro finance committee forwards contractors, Title VI certification and $500,000 playground grant to full council

The City of Jonesboro Finance Administration Council Committee voted to forward four resolutions to the full City Council, including two construction contracts, adoption of a Title VI transit program and an amended grant application to fund an all‑inclusive playground.

The measures include a recommended contract with Michelle's Excavating Inc. for alleyway improvements funded by Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) FY24 public facilities and improvements funds; a recommended contract with Crabtree and Sons Inc. to install and upgrade Jonesboro Economical Transit System (JET) bus shelters using an FY21 Federal Transit Administration buses and bus facilities grant; formal adoption of a Title VI nondiscrimination program for JET; and an amended application to the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism for an FY26 outdoor recreation matching grant to build a $500,000 all‑inclusive playground at Craighead Forest Park, with a $250,000 local match.

Why it matters: the items move procurement and grant decisions closer to final approval by the full City Council and would commit federal and local funds to public‑facing projects including transit infrastructure and an inclusive playground. The playground application was amended from an earlier project and increased in scope and match amount, a change committee members discussed before recommending it to council.

Michelle's Excavating contract: Committee…