The Pine Bluff City Council on Monday, Feb. 4, 2026, passed a resolution expressing ongoing support for the Pine Bluff Urban Renewal Agency (PBURA) and reappropriating $860,000 toward go-kart track construction.
The 6–2 vote (Mays and Denton opposed) notes dissolution talk had undercut PBURA’s ability to secure grants. The $860,000 city match pairs with about $1.2 million from Go Forward Pine Bluff to finish construction, fixtures and early operations. PBURA cited blight remediation of more than 200 condemned properties, downtown acreage that helped land a $500,000 brownfield award, and more than $4 million in private partnership funds.
The same meeting saw the first reading of an ordinance that would abolish PBURA effective Dec. 31, 2026, and shift duties to existing city departments — a debate Mayor Vivian Flowers and Director Chandra Griffin framed around financial transparency and unpaid contractor invoices.
