2021-04-13 - Laserfiche WebLink

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MAYOR COMMENTS Mayor Elumbaugh said he gave his State of the City live on Facebook and asked the council for the approval to insert the document into the minutes. Councilmember Bryant so moved and Councilmember Poole seconded. All voted for. 2020 State of the City What a Year! 2020 was definitely a year we will never forget. We were humbled by the worldwide viral pandemic known as Covid- 19 and its devasting impact on our everyday lives. We witnessed drastic changes that most never dreamed could happen. The virus rapidly spread around the world faster than government and health agencies could react. Those most venerable to the disease, the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions, were tragically taken from us in devastatingly large numbers. To make matters worse, health guidelines prohibited visitations and funerals that are customary in our society. The pandemic continues, but there is finally light at the end of the tunnel as several effective vaccines are being administered. The arduous task of vaccinating the entire world’s population has begun, but we are not out of the woods and we must all continue doing our part to rid the world of this virus. Every aspect of normalcy has been upended by the pandemic and the City of Batesville was no exception. 2020 began as routine as any with concentration on the 2020 Census and what it means to our community in federal dollars. By the time the city council meeting took th place on March 17, the entire city was virtually on lockdown as city offices were forced to close in order to protect essential workers and the public. We had to ask ourselves the previously unthinkable question of how we would continue providing essential services if everyone in a department became infected and had to quarantine at home? How would the water and wastewater departments continue operating if no one was able to work? Discussions centered around making sure that essential police, fire, water, wastewater, and solid waste services continued uninterrupted and plans were made to minimize the potential exposure of city employees. The twice-monthly meetings of the city council were reduced to one per month and there were significant changes to the way all parts of government operated. “ZOOM” meetings and video conferencing became the norm instead of the exception. The city began “live streaming” city council meetings on Facebook to keep the public better informed of the status of city services and state public health mandates. By April, vast numbers of people were being quarantined at home and many organizations advised their employees to work from home if possible. The April police report noted that accidents had gone from 31 in March to only 11 in April as most citizens stayed home. In April, Tourism Director, Kyle Christopher, reported on the devasting effect Covid-19 was having on the tourism industry. Hotels remained empty as scheduled events and meetings were postponed or cancelled entirely. The Batesville Advertising & Promotions Commission acted swiftly to come to the aid of the industry by refunding February and March lodging taxes to help our hotels stay afloat. Though the pandemic wreaked worldwide havoc on the economy, several local commercial projects continued moving forward th including First Community Bank’s new operations center being constructed across South 14 street from the bank’s main facility. To ensure the utmost safety for their employees, the bank proposed constructing Batesville’s first pedestrian “sky bridge” to connect the main building to the new operations center. Constructing a “sky bridge” over city right of way initially seemed problematic, but the city found the solution by the leasing the bank the “air space” rights over the street. The aerial walkway will certainly enhance Batesville’s skyline! As people coped with the new normal, many began to take outdoor walks where it was easier to “social distance” attaining a new appreciation of the outdoor walking trails we have been fortunate to build over the last several years. I was no different, and in mid-March I began my campaign to “walk every street” in Batesville. By mid-April I had managed to walk 48 miles of our streets giving me a unique perspective on our city. Impressed by the idea of a mayor walking every street in his city, the Arkansas Municipal League began promoting the idea to all the cities across our state. While some governmental entities enacted layoffs and work furloughs in anticipation of significantly reduced sales tax collections, the City of Batesville adopted a more moderate “wait and see” approach. As the year progressed, it became apparent that this approach had been the right one. Congress’ passage of the Marketplace Fairness Act in 2017, allowing local governments to receive sales tax from online purchases by consumers, proved pivotal in keeping city services functioning. Instead of sales tax collections dropping significantly, the exact opposite occurred as more and more people shopped online. In August, the council approved selling an excess parcel of land next to the Batesville Police Department to Bad Boy Mowers giving them the much-needed room for continued expansion and job growth. The October council meeting emphasized the “Issue 1” proposal that would be on the ballot in November. If voters failed to approve the continuation of the state half-cent sales tax for roads, local governments would lose significant amounts of street revenue. Thankfully the voters gave a “thumbs up” to the continuation of the tax. In November, the council passed a Resolution for the City of Batesville to collaborate with the City of Southside, Independence County and the Arkansas Department of Transportation on a project on Ramsey Mountain. This project was necessary to create an emergency lane outside of existing traffic lanes that would allow traffic to be diverted around future accidents on Ramsey Mountain. We look forward to continue working with our partners to make this a reality. The highlight of November was the completion of the Sara Low Memorial Dog Park. We were extremely honored to have her father, Mr. Mike Low and her sister, Alyson Low present for the dedication. Many thanks for all the generous donations the city received and for all the hard work and effort done by our city employees. We appreciate Steve Bryant, who was instrumental in leading the fundraising campaign raising approximately $85,000 towards this project. Although 2020 was an extremely stressful year, the Christmas Season reminded our community of what is most important in life …our health, our families and our loved ones. The city worked tirelessly to make the Christmas Season “one to be remembered” with the phenomenal White River Wonderland Christmas Lights Display. During the year, we trademarked the term “Christmas Capital of Arkansas”