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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-01-27 MINUTES OF COUNCIL JANUARY 27, 2009 The Batesville City Council met in regular session on January 27, at 3:00 PM at the Municipal Building. Mayor Rick Elumbaugh presided over the meeting. Councilmember Krug gave the invocation. Upon roll call the following councilmembers answered present: Tommy Bryant, Margarett Henley, Davy Insell, Fred Krug, Doug Matthews, Matt McDonald, Richard O'Neal, and David Shetron. Also present were the City Clerk and the City Attorney. Councilmember Shetron moved to approve the minutes from the previous meeting and Councilmember Insell seconded. All voted for. Councilmember Insell moved to approve the prepared agenda as amended. Councilmember Bryant seconded and all voted for. COMMENTS FROM CITIZENS Mr. John Schwake with Five Star Taxi addressed the council in opposition of granting a taxi franchise to Mr. Vincent Miele. Mr. Miele was a former employee of Mr. Schwake. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None NEW BUSINESS A. REQUEST FOR A TAXI FRANCHISE, VINCENT MIELE Mr. Vincent Miele addressed the council to request a taxi franchise from the City. Mr. Miele said he has a vehicle and can provide the City Clerk with all the necessary requirements for a franchise. Councilmember Shetron moved to grant the franchise upon all franchise requirements being fulfilled and provided to the City Clerk. Councilmember Krug seconded and all voted for. B. REQUEST FOR A TAXI FRANCHISE, LYNN CISSELL Ms. Lynn Cissell with Call A Taxi addressed the council to request for a reinstatement of her taxi franchise. Ms. Cissell acquired a franchise in 2007 for JET Taxi managed by Mr. James Thomas. Ms. Cissell said she has changed the name and would like to reinstate her franchise and will pay for last years fee as well. Councilmember Matthews moved to grant the franchise upon all franchise requirements being fulfilled and provided to the City Clerk. Councilmember Shetron seconded and all voted for. C. CONSIDER A RESOLUTION TO ACCEPT THE BID CONTRACT FOR BAD BOYS ROAD IMPROVEMENTS Councilmember Insell introduced a resolution authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to enter into various contracts for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission project to benefit Bad Boy Mowers. Mr. Stalker read the resolution in full. Mayor Elumbaugh said this was a State grant for road and parking lot improvements for Bad Boy Mowers and would be entirely paid for by the State. Councilmember Insell moved to adopt the resolution and Councilmember Matthews seconded. All voted for except Councilmembers Shetron and Bryant abstained. The resolution was given #2009-1-2-R. D. CONSIDER A RESOLUTION FOR ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES FOR EMERSON CLIMATE TECHNOLOGIES Councilmember Shetron introduced a resolution authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to enter into an architectural agreement with Lee and Associates for the renovations of the former White Rodgers building and other improvements to benefit Emerson Climate Technologies. Mr. Stalker read the resolution in full. Councilmember Matthews moved to adopt the resolution and Councilmember Shetron seconded. All voted for. The resolution was given #2009-1-3-R. E. CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE FOR THE FINANCING OF THE NEW FIRE STATION IN WEST BATESVILLE Councilmember McDonald introduced an ordinance authorizing the City of Batesville to incur short-term financing in the amount of$1,085,000.00 at an interest rat of 2.96% for three years. Councilmember McDonald moved to suspend the rules and read the ordinance by title only and wave the second and third readings. Councilmember Bryant seconded and the roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. Mr. Stalker read the ordinance by title only. Councilmember Bryant moved to adopt the ordinance and Councilmember Matthews seconded. The roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. The ordinance was given #2009-1-5. Councilmember Bryant moved to adopt the emergency clause and Councilmember Matthew seconded. The roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. F. CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE 2008 BUDGET Councilmember Insell introduced an ordinance to amend the 2008 budget. Councilmember Matthews moved to suspend the rules and read the ordinance by title only and wave the second and third readings. Councilmember Insell seconded and the roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. Mr. Stalker read the ordinance by title only. Councilmember Bryant moved to adopt the ordinance and Councilmember Matthews seconded. The roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. The ordinance was given #2009-1-6. G. CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE TO ADOPT THE 2009 BUDGET Councilmember Matthews introduced an ordinance to adopt the 2009 budget. Councilmember Insell moved to suspend the rules and read the ordinance by title only and wave the second and third readings. Councilmember Bryant seconded and the roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. Mr. Stalker read the ordinance by title only. Councilmember Insell moved to adopt the ordinance and Councilmember Bryant seconded. The roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. The ordinance was given #2009-1-7. Councilmember Matthews moved to adopt the emergency clause and Councilmember Insell seconded. The roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. H. EXECUTIVE SESSION Councilmember Bryant moved to go into executive session to consider an appointment to the Planning Commission. Councilmember McDonald seconded and all voted for. Upon returning from executive session, Councilmember Shetron moved to appoint Mr. Ken Smith to the Planning Commission. Councilmember Bryant seconded and all voted for. Mr. Smith will be replacing Councilmember Bryant who resigned when his council term began. Mr. Smith's term will expire 6/10/2010. I. ENGINEER'S REPORT Mr. Damon Johnson, City Engineer, addressed the council with his report. He said all the departments were doing well and operating as expected. He said his only comment was the importance of educating the public on upcoming sales tax proposal on March 10th to pay for the 50 million dollars plus wastewater upgrade. Mr. Johnson said if the sales tax fails, sewer rates will have to increase 300% in order to pay for the improvements. J. MAYOR'S ANNUAL STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS I would like to say thank you to the citizens of Batesville for giving me the opportunity to serve as your mayor of this great city, and I am pleased to report tonight on the state of our city. I commend our hard working council members for all of their support and dedication given to this city. I also continue to be impressed with our workforce. From the supervisors to each employee, they continue to serve the citizens beyond their call of duty. Even with two floods and the remnants of the winds of Hurricane Ike blowing through our city, they continue to give 100 percent. First, I would like to reflect on some of the accomplishments over the past twelve months. With the continued support of the 1/8 cent sales tax that our citizens passed in 2006, an architect was hired to move forward with the new fire station in Westside. Ground was broken for the station two weeks ago. The ground breaking did not come about without the generous support from County Judge Bill Hicks and his crew assisting in hauling over 20,000 cubic yards of clay gravel to help raise the site out of the flood plain. Also assisting was our dedicated firemen hauling gravel as well. The street department as always continues to stay focused on improving our streets and drainage problems in our community. Unfortunately, due to the high price of oil in 2008, very few blocks were able to be over-layed with asphalt. Drainage will continue to be a challenge for the department also. Traffic flow on Sidney and Myers Street was improved with a yield lane on Sidney Street entering Myers, and a turning lane on Myers Street. Traffic flow leaving the parking lot from the Batesville High School onto Pioneer Drive was improved by extending and restriping the turning lane. The sanitation department fleet was upgraded with the lease of a new garbage truck. The city will continue replacing the aging fleet with this particular lease program. This will assure our citizens reliable service and keep our fleets on the job instead of in the garage with mechanical problems. The department also received a new chipper machine through a recycling grant. Believe me; this was greatly needed with the three disasters that we faced last year. Batesville Water Utilities completed its first year under direction of the council and mayor since the abolishment of the water commission. These departments operate with fourteen less employs than in 2007. The water treatment plant completed a three million dollar upgrade to the purifiers and filters last year. This should assure our citizens ample water supply for a number of years. The department continues to replace broken water and sewer lines all over the city. The city also contracted out the meter reading this past year allowing the city to reduce a small fleet of vehicles being used for this purpose. The city dispatch is a department that we sometimes overlook, but is a very crucial department. This department operates 24/7, 365 days a year,just like our fire department. Both of these departments are very important to the public safety of this community. Our supervisors continue to make strides in making these departments the best they can be. Animal control completed its first full year in its new location on College Street. Like all new facilities,there have been a few minor problems with the structure, but those little things have been taken care of, and it will serve the community well. Please don't forget to check out the dogs and cats at the shelter if you are in need of a new pet. In the parks department there were also many up-grades. One improvement was the extension of the wrought iron fence at Riverside Park. Also, a new EVO playground structure was purchased with the help of a parks and recreation grant and a generous donation of$20,000 dollars from the Batesville Jaycees. A dedicated group of students from Lyon College, called Project Playground, raised over $9,000 for equipment at the Poke Bayou Trail. The parks and athletic fields continue to get a record number of uses. Fitzhugh Park will be getting a face lift this year with the help of a grant from Independence County. These parks are not just used by the residents of the city, but our entire community, which is a wonderful thing. Currently, a local task force has been formed to evaluate all of our recreational facilities in the city. If any one is interested in serving on this task force please call the city hall. The landscape/cemetery department took on a huge challenge this year by getting the City of Batesville back on the Christmas Trail of Lights. With the help of several generous donations, it is obvious they did a remarkable job. This not only brought a bit of pride to our community, but brought in several individuals to our town to view the lights, dine and shop in Batesville. This department assures me that next year will even be better. Also, we cannot forget the face lift that was given to the Welcome to Batesville sign at the top of Ramsey Mountain. A special thanks to Mr. Bud Shreve, his son, Mark, and the many citizens who helped raise the funds necessary. Code enforcement is another department that is very crucial to the city. The city will be adding a new employ to the staff this year. This department has a number of responsibilities including condemnation of structures that are declared unsafe, enforcing regulations, and issuing building permits throughout the city. The city also adopted a new subdivision code recommended by the Planning Commission, which is the first revision since the early 1970's. The city and commission also worked on a comprehensive master plan for the City of Batesville. This has been a year long project that included having public meetings in order to get feed back from our citizens. This plan will consist of a road map for our community that will help identify areas for new roads, parks, residential areas, industrial locations, and identify many other statistics for this area. Throughout this coming year there will be many challenges for Batesville. The most crucial challenge will be to overhaul the wastewater system. In 2008,the city received a consent administrative order. This order stated that the city is required and mandated by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality to solve the problems. We must increase the sewage capacity from 4.3 MGD to 8 MGD, and rehab our collection system, old sewer lines, and man holes throughout the city. It is obvious that we are not in the best of economic times, but without correcting our wastewater facility problems, it is impossible to recruit any new industry, expand existing industry, or create growth in our area. The only solution is to propose a sales tax or increase sewer rates by 300%. On a positive note, Independence County was successful in passing a 1/4 cent sales tax for economic development. Governor Beebe has stated many times that the state will assist any community who is willing to help themselves. In closing, my repeated thanks to the council members for their dedication and determination in helping to move our great city forward. Always remember that the council and I work for you,the citizens, and it is our obligation to be transparent and willing to listen, with only Batesville's best interest in mind. As we begin this new year, it is my sole desire to see Batesville prosper. Unity,teamwork and collaboration will lead us to achieve many things for our beautiful, historic city. K. REVIEW FINANCIALS The council reviewed the December 2008 financials. COMMENTS FROM THE MAYOR Mayor Elumbaugh said he, the City Clerk and at least one councilmember had a conflict with the scheduled February 10th council meeting. He said there was nothing pressing for that meeting and asked the council to cancel the meeting for the 10th and only have one meeting on the 24th. Councilmember O'Neal moved to cancel the February 10th meeting and Councilmember Bryant seconded. All voted for. LIAISON REPORTS None COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilmember Shetron gave the council a proposal from Meadowland Media to film Parks & Recreation Commission meetings, Planning Commission meetings and various other city meetings. Mr. Shetron said he thought it would be good for public relations in helping to inform the citizens of Batesville on how their city is managed. The council said they would take the proposal under advisement. Councilmember Krug made a motion to allow councilmembers and their family members to enroll in the City's health insurance program at the total expense of the councilmember. Councilmember Bryant seconded and all voted for. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Councilmember Bryant moved that the meeting be adjourned. Councilmember Insell seconded and all voted for. RICK ELUMBAUGH, MAYOR DENISE M. JOHNSTON, CITY CLERK