Mayor Working to Keep Up With Town’s Rapid Growth

Brookland Mayor Kenneth Jones discussed what’s fueling the town’s rapid growth Wednesday.

Monday night Region 8 News reported about a new shopping center coming to town.

Jones said city officials are trying to keep up with the growth while trying to stay ahead of the game.

He said the city’s school district is like a magnet, drawing families to town.

“We have people come here all the time looking to live here, and the first thing they ask about is our school,” Jones said. “We are very proud of our school district. It draws so many people here.”

Location plays another role in the town’s growth as Jonesboro continues to expand toward Brookland, and Paragould being a neighboring town.

“You know, Memphis is about an hour drive, Little Rock is about a 2-hour drive, we are in a good location,” Jones said.

City officials are working hard to keep up with the growth by staying ahead of it.

The city’s sewer plant suits 500,000 gallons a day. Currently, the city only uses a fifth of that.

Five subdivisions are in the works from planning to construction stages.

Over the next few year, Jones said that will add up to about 500 new homes in Brookland.

Jones said it can be overwhelming

“We try to prioritize what we need to do and do it in steps,” Jones said. “We’ve worked hard over the last 11 years, and we are very proud of the progress, but we have a lot more progress.”

The proposed shopping center is called the Shops at Brookland Crossing.

The plan includes a grocery store, restaurant, bank branch, convenience store, retail space and office space.

Full Article at Kait8.com | Wednesday, October 11th 2017

Full Article at Kait8.com | Monday, October 9th 2017