RISON - Mayor Charles Roberts told the Rison City Council Tuesday night that the city will be taking ownership of the old mini-storage building in the 200 block of Main Street in the downtown area this week after an Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) inspection revealed no hazardous materials inside.Meanwhile, Roberts also said ADEQ informed him that asbestos and lead paint were detected in the old Cash Grocery building, which is also located in the 200 block of Main Street. The City of Rison bought the Cash Grocery building in 2024 with the intent of tearing it down to get rid of an eyesore.The mayor said the Technical Assistance to Brownsfields (TAB) program at Kansas State University has been assisting the city with testing both buildings for hazardous materials. The TAB program works with ADEQ for that purpose.Brownsfields are abandoned, idled or underused commercial and/or industrial properties that hamper development of an area.Roberts said the TAB program will also help the city find the funding to have the hazardous material removed from the site. He did not have a timeline as to how long that could take.The city stopped short of taking ownership of the old mini-storage building next to FBT Community Park until it could be determined if the building had contain hazardous materials. Now that the building has been cleared, the city can move forward with accepting the building.Roberts said he is scheduled to meet with FBT Bank officials on Thursday to officially sign the building over to the city. FBT Bank is donating the property to the city.Both the Cash Building and mini-storage had fallen into disrepair. The roof on the Cash Grocery building has completely collapsed while portions of the roof on the mini-storage were starting to collapse as well. There was also questions about the structural integrity of the mini-storage building facing the park.Once both buildings are razed, the...
To access content, please login or purchase a subscription.