JONESBORO, Ark. —The City of Jonesboro is exploring a takeover of the City Stars program — the 501(c)(3) organization for which Parks Director Danny Kapales served as CFO.
Sources say the program will soon be placed under full municipal control. As part of the transition, the existing board will be dissolved, and oversight of both operations and finances will be transferred to the city.
Chief Administration Officer Brian Richardson could not confirm anything when asked, only stating, “The city is prepared to do what we have to do to ensure youth sports continue on without any interruption.”
At a specially called Finance and Administration meeting on Friday, Mayor Harold Copenhaver made statements connecting the Stars program with recent Federal law enforcement activity in Jonesboro.
“I want to start off with the 20000-pound elephant in the room,” Copenhaver said.
Following a meeting city staff had with the Department of Justice, the city is prepared to serve as a trustee for City Stars financial activities.
The Department of Justice expressed no concerns with the protocols in place with the City and the handling of public funds.
We do expect this to have a budget impact – but have no way to predict what that will be until a baseline is established.
The city continues to work closely with authorities and legislative audit to ensure youth sports continues without issue during this time.
It is my understanding that the City Stars Board has recently voted to work with the city on this transition. We appreciate their help on this matter and their shared efforts in supporting the thousands of youth in our community that enjoy these programs.
– Mayor Harold Copenhaver
Timing
The parks department and Kapales’ home were both raided by the FBI earlier this week, although authorities have remained tight-lipped about why.
A statement from the FBI to NEA Report confirmed a court-authorized activity in Jonesboro. City Attorney Carol Duncan denied a FOIA for emails related to the incident, citing an ongoing criminal investigation.
NEA Report will continue following this story and providing updates.
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Has anyone even tried to get information through the newly formed Jonesboro Transparency office, is their Transparency office even open? I said the feds were investigating financial crimes; it was obviously: You can know about people by the company they keep. There’s more to come.