RISON - The Rison City Council agreed during its meeting Tuesday night to at least investigate the possibility of taking ownership of the old Lion service station building located at the corner of Main and Third Streets in downtown Rison.
Mayor Charles Roberts told the council during its regular monthly meeting that the owner of the building, Ira Moore, had offered to give the building to the city if it wanted it. He said Moore was also considering the possibility of selling the property to a private individual.
While the council seemed open to the idea of possibly refurbishing the building, there were concerns of what kind of shape the building is in. It has been vacant for several years. Councilman Bruce Grubb said he did not want it to become a “money pit” for the city.
Roberts expressed the same opinion and said he would like to have a contractor look it over before making a decision. He offered to arrange a time for the council to look at it as well.
The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places due to its art-deco architecture, which was a popular design concept during the 1920s and 1930s.
Making improvements within the city seemed to be a theme not only in the city council meeting, but during the Rison Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting held before the council meeting.
Roberts told the council that he would check with the Arkansas Municipal League to see what zoning restrictions, if any, exist for using residential houses as overnight rentals like through Airbnb. He said he discussed the matter with the zoning committee before the council meeting.
Rison currently has no overnight lodging options. Roberts said he knows of one building owner within a commercial zone of the city that is considering the possibility of developing some overnight lodging.
However, he told the Herald in an interview after the meeting that he k...
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