Saline River Chronicle

City Council approves rezone for new restaurant and Bryant’s Building demolition go-ahead given, plus full Council report

A new Cajun restaurant will be opening soon in Warren following action taken Monday night by Warren City Council.

Nicholas Hebert appeared before the council to request rezoning of his property at Pierson and McCauley. Upon a recommendation from Warren Planning Commission, the area was rezoned from R2 (multifamily residential) to C1 (commercial). An ordinance was given three readings and passed unanimously by the council.

By Tim Kessler
By Tim Kessler

Saline River Chronicle Freelance Contributor

The restaurant will be called Route 63 Ribs and Rice. No opening date was immediately set.

In other action:

  • City Clerk Janice Nelson reported city sales tax collections for February totaled $88,224. County sales tax collections totaled $41,172. Both were down about 6 percent. Mayor Gregg Reep said that was surprising, considering the collections were made in December during the Christmas season. “It’s the first time in a long time it’s been down,” he said.
  • Irma Brunson was reappointed to Warren Housing Authority board for a five-year term.
  • A memorandum of understanding between the city and Warren Water and Sewer Commission for use of a city building was said to be rewritten. It will be presented at next month’s meeting.
  • A motion was approved to adopt the 2001 audit report. Reep said there were no major findings.
  • Police Chief Shaun Hildreth said he expected to make several new hires next month.
  • Alderwoman Dorothy Henderson said she would present Brag and Impact Awards to Warren Police Department. “Law enforcement is hard work,” the mayor added.
  • Fire Chief Chuck Moore said his department made 30 calls in February, with half of those being during the ice storm. He said the Firemen’s Ball raised about $15,000 for new equipment.

Alderman Joel Tolefree said the Fire Committee was looking at new policies for the Fire Department. It is also asking the fire chief about a proposed amended ordinance prohibiting burning leaves in ditches.

  • Sanitation Manager Rob Johnson said a new trash truck is in use. Another truck will arrive in about three weeks. He is planning to hire a part-time thrower. He added he would be meeting with the new Blankinship Court owner on Thursday to address some code violations.

Sanitation Committee Chairwoman Latanza Atkins said a community clean-up is set for April 29. A community committee to make recommendations on code violations is being formed.

  • A contract with McClelland Engineering for $6,500 in regard to the city landfill was approved. Reep said the landfill has not been used in several years and the city will work with the engineers to formally close it.
  • A bid from T&T Construction for $69,000 to demolish the Bryant’s Building was approved. Johnson said the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality must do a site report on the building and then it could be torn down 10 days later.
  • Johnson said an effort has begun to remove unlicensed vehicles from city streets. Those issues will be dealt with alphabetically, with seven letters sent to owners of vehicles on streets beginning with “A.”
  • Street Foreman Monty Hearnsberger his crew has been busy fixing potholes and cleaning up debris from the ice storm.
  • Street Committee Chairwoman Emily Moseley said committee members had agreed to allow the Street Department sell an old dump truck and tractor. The council approved a motion to buy a surplus dump truck for $7,500.
  • An amended ordinance will be presented in April to increase street cut fees to $225 for a half-cut and $350 for a full-cut, with utility companies to repair their cuts to city specifications. Alderman Joel Tolefree said the committee considered prices charged by other cities and based the decision on the needs of the Warren community. City Attorney Murray Claycomb was approved to draft an ordinance with the new rates.
  • Council members also agreed to amend an ordinance to prohibit burning of leaves in ditches. The ordinance will be presented next month.
  • Reep reported the Warren Baseball and Softball Complex has been busy with many games and large crowds. He said Warren School Superintendent Bryan Cornish had promised to help with lighting issues at the complex. He added two new scoreboards would be provided by donations from private citizens.
  • Reep said Cromwell Engineering Co. had looked at Warren Cultural Center and felt that it was structurally sound. He said a letter had been sent to school officials to request that they join in an exploratory study on necessary repairs to the center.

15 comments / Add your comment below

  1. I don’t know why the mayor is suprised. There is no where to shop in Warren. People go to Monticllo or somewhere out of town. We go to Little Rock once a month. Glad to see a new restaurant in town.

    1. Correct. Short sight over the years has caused Warren to deplete while Monticello has progressed by southeast Arkansas standards. If Warren leaders had a vision that was Warren first, they would take care of themselves and not Monticello. But that’s not the case.

  2. The price of gasoline in Warren definitely drives the citizens out of town to shop. We buy the gasoline out of town ( always cheaper elsewhere), then we shop out of town, then we are hungry……so we eat out of town……..therefore where is our money spent……out of town!! And what started this? The Price 0f Gasoline in Warren!!!

  3. The price of gasoline in a town with limited economic resources for its citizens should be a crime.

  4. Along the lines of generating commerce, what are the chances of having the old Southern Mill Woodlands Office placed on the national historical register and transforming it into a Forestry Museum? There is ample parking space. The building needs work as does the parking lot. Just an idea from one who is big on lighting candles versus cursing darkness.

  5. I, too, am a senior citizen and I completely agree with the person who already responded, using that moniker. As a senior citizen, I depend upon the various Food Bank locations, here in the County, for the majority of the food in my pantry because the price of groceries is ridiculous! My friends and I make a trip to Walmart about every other week, to buy the remainder of the necessary items that make the life of a senior citizen a little more comfortable, as well as pick up prescriptions while doing our shopping! While in Monticello, of course me and my friends are going to eat because there are so many more places to choose from! Whoever drives also fills her tank at Murphy because the price of gas is usually anywhere from .15 to .30 a gallon CHEAPER so why would anyone buy gas in Warren when you can do one stop shopping, on hwy 425, in Monticello? As senior citizens, who live on Social Security, we have to go wherever it is necessary and do whatever is necessary to make our lives a little better! I also agree with the Lumberjack, it should indeed be a crime!

  6. Positives:

    ***A Mayor who knows how to work the system and has the contacts
    ***A world-renowned High School Football program responsible for placing multiple NFL players
    and numerous D1 key competitors
    ***One of the most productive, longtime pine timber land bases on the globe
    ***The best free press outlet in South Arkansas
    ***A world famous and longstanding annual festival
    ***A shooting sports complex second to none in the area
    ***Numerous public hunting and fishing venues
    ***A populace with a solid generational work ethic spanning back to 1919
    ***Located in close proximity to one of the foremost defense complexes in the world—(Did you know that?).
    ***Located in close proximity to the one of the two foremost Bromine producing areas in the world—(Did you know that?)
    ***Located in reasonable proximity to the Mississippi automotive manufacturing facilities.
    ***Some say the soil in parts of Bradley County is conducive to grape production. I know wine is a sore subject but isn’t there or wasn’t there going to be a medical marijuana dispensary in Warren? ‘Just sayin’.

    Here’s another idea: Exploit and expose those red brick streets! Close Main Street on from, Church Street on the South end to Cedar Street on the North End. Call it the Red Brick District—-RBD. Business traffic can use Myrtle Street on the East side and Martin Street on the West side. Create a safe environment for retail commerce, evening concerts, etc.—– but yes, make it flexible for the annual PTF Parade. That area could be precious and rich with history.

    Don’t worry about what other cities around Warren have, find ways to capitalize on Warren’s strengths and use those strongpoints to provide goods and services unique to peer towns in South AR region.

    1. All of that is nice. But what is a shooting range going to do for the economy in the big picture? Nothing. High school football? That is only going to do so much too as the successful players play, go to college and leave town. Back to the shooting range, majority of Warren folks have their own land to shoot on so a shooting range is another waste of money if you ask me. As is the “COVID emergency building they are pitching. Use 2.1 million for something the town needs. Can they not use the old armory for emergency needs? How many emergencies are they thinking will happen in Warren, Arkansas especially when they are scared of progress and town shuts down at 4:30. You are correct about the proximity to the defense complex and Bromine. Absolutely, bring those types of jobs to Warren. I read an article the other day where the state of Arkansas is looking into placing a space launch pad in the state. Why not us? Why don’t the city and county pitch for that in Warren? Look at the vast land everywhere that is unused. There are decent roads, proximity to river access and rail. There is also proximity to a university that would benefit from a technology boom from something like that. But I can hear it now. People throwing a fit about having something unsafe like a launch pad to space in Warren. How it would be loud. How it would bring traffic problems and so on. It’s those kinds of minds that set Warren back. Until leadership gets their minds out of 1950’s Warren, nothing will change.

      Your red brick district sounds like a great idea. An actual DECENT place to eat in town. A place to get a decent cup of coffee equipped with high speed internet for out students to study and visit. People to go get coffee before going to work. Retail shops for people to actually be able to shop in Warren. Heck, why not pitch to Amazon to put a distribution center down there to service the ARKLAMISS. Put a whataburger in town. But progress has always scared warren people. Progress brings competition to the folks in town who like to pretend they are big fish in a very very small pond. And if anyone in town starts a business, it’s usually the warren people that turn on them because they hate seeing others get ahead. Warren will look like Fordyce/McGehee/Dermott in the coming years if they don’t find decent industry to come to town. Look what’s happening to the buildings downtown. It’s about to look like a third world country in Warren if people don’t wake up.

  7. All of the negativity is useless & can even be damaging to Warren’s image. You never know when a developer is in town looking around & talking to residents about our town. You cannot force a chain, box store, industry, or anything else to come here & start up a business. That is strictly a corporate decision. I personally talked to Burkes Outlet for three months trying to get them to open a store here. I had a building & parking that could accommodate their needs. The developers went to all the surrounding areas to see if it would be feasible for them to put a store in Warren. I even went so far as to ask Potlatch/Deltic if they would sell some land in the event Burkes wanted to build new or if the other building availability didn’t work out, they said yes they would be willing to sell the land. The developers visited Monticello & found the old Stage store already set up as a department store & it was close to Walmart (high traffic volume)That was all they needed. Warren lost again to Monticello, not because I didn’t try. It doesn’t matter how much you beg or cry for something to come to Warren, in the end it’s all up to the corporations where THEY want to build THEIR stores. It’s not the Mayor, City Council, Chamber of Commerce, County Judge, financial institutions, or anyone else’s fault, stop blaming them. It’s the corporations that make the final call.

    1. So what’s the solution? Keep bleeding population and drying up? Someone told me of a local diesel repair shop(hometown people allegedly) who wanted to build a state of the art facility in town at the industrial park. And shocker, leadership refused to work with them and guess what…Monticello they go. Warren should be bending over backwards for their own and their owns business prospects in their hometown. But that’s not how it works down here unless you’re in the establishment. The ole shucks mentality isn’t cutting it with leadership.

  8. I too wonder why Mayor Reep is so surprised at the sales tax in the city and county being down. Warren is a dying town. And Andy Gibbs somebody is definitely working the system. Just not sure it’s for the good of all involved. While busy rezoning for a new restaurant to come the City is planning the Destruction of the Sandwich Shop on Cedar Street which has been in business 27 years and Should have passed on down to his Son not end up in a pile of rubbish. Along with putting 6 people out of work. If you can exert enough time and effort to rezone, why can’t you take the time to sit down and talk with a Man and Woman you have known for Many Years about how to Save their Business???

  9. What good is a shooting sports complex?

    ***High School Sporting Clays and/or Skeet Tournaments = gas, meals and lodging.

    ***Regional 3 Gun Competitions

    ***Recreational Shooting/ Personal Firearms Training/Area LEO Training

    ***Arkansas is a global hub for the manufacture of ammunition. Sig Sauer, Remington/Federal and Fiocchi have production facilities here. Capitalize on this by having the best shooting sports complex possible.

    I would need more facts about the Sandwich Shop closure. If the building was not up to code or a safety hazard, there might have been issues with insurance coverage.

    I have traveled all over the U. S., Mexico and Ontario, Canada for the last 33 years. It is not uncommon for people to know where Warren, AR is due to the High School Football program. How many Pro players have come from any other town or city in Arkansas? It’s a unique honor built upon strong families, hard work, blood, sweat and tears. You may leave Warren but Warren never leaves you. The story is not over yet.

    I found out who Gregg and Beverly Reep were when my parents moved across the street from them. When my late mother got sick, Beverly was there for her. Good intentions are great but you have to know the ins and outs of the processes necessary to garner State and Federal monies. I am confident Mayor Reep understands this.

    Yes, there are a lot of challenges facing Warren. I learned a lot growing up here. Two things that come to mind right now are critical importance knowing yourself and knowing what your strengths are. You can’t out Wal Mart Wal Mart. You can’t worry about Monticello. That die has been cast. As far as a launch site, that will probably be located in East Camden for a myriad of logistical reasons speaking as one who has worked in that complex selling goods and services. Keep your focus on the windshield; not the rearview mirror.

    Warren has a lot of large, old houses. Why not turn them into well-run B&B’s? Football game at UAM? Why not go to Warren and stay in a nice Bed and Breakfast and have Breakfast in the Red Brick District the next morning? Here on business at Lockheed Martin in E Camden? Hey let’s go to Warren, stay in one of those B&B’s, grab a quick nine at the Golf Course and eat a steak in the RBD. My point? Play the cards you are dealt to the best of your ability.

  10. Andy Gibbs, I don’t know why you would need any facts about the legal statistics on the closure of the Sandwich Shop. That was not even mentioned in my Comment. What I said was it is beyond my comprehension as to why Mayor Reep didn’t take the time to sit down with the Man(who he has known for more than 50 years) and his Wife, who owns the business and ask them if there was any way the City could help, maybe try to figure out options, at least talk with them. These are hometown people who have served the people of Warren diligently and with the utmost kindness for 27 years and this is the Thanks they get….You can’t spare just a little bit of your time to ask “Brother, Can I be of Help”?

    1. One less place to eat in Warren, shocker. Can’t wait to return home to a town that looks like Dermott one day.

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