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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-07-11 MINUTES OF COUNCIL JULY 11, 2000 The Batesville City Council met for its regular meeting on July 11, at 5:30 P.M. at the Municipal Building. Mayor Joe Biard presided over the meeting. Councilmember Gaither gave the invocation. Upon roll call, all the council answered present. Also present were the City Clerk and the City Attorney. Councilmember Ford moved to approve the minutes from the previous meeting. Councilmember Cargill seconded and all voted for. Councilmember Insell moved to approve the prepared agenda and Councilmember Ford seconded. All voted for. PUBLIC HEARING ON CODE VIOLATIONS REGARDING RAILROAD PROPERTY ON LAWRENCE STREET Code Enforcement Officer Chad McClure showed the council current pictures of the North Arkansas Railroad property on Lawrence Street. The Mayor noted that the property had been cleaned somewhat but not to the satisfaction of neighbors or the city. Mr. Bob Wilroy who runs the sign shop located on the property asked for a list of exactly what the city wants cleaned up. Mr. McClure gave the council a brief background of the times Mr. Wilroy and the railroad had been notified regarding the property. The Mayor suggested that he, Mr. McClure and Mr. Wilroy look at the property and come back to the council with a suggestion of improvements to be made. The council was in agreement. REPORT ON LANDERS THEATRE - TERRY CHANDLER Mr. Terry Chandler read a letter from a Mr. Jerry Brown, a structural engineer, who said the walls of the theatre were sound and not unsafe to the public. Councilmember Cargill moved to release the condemnation of the property so Mr. Chandler can start fixing the front of the building for office rental. Councilmember Bone seconded and all voted for. MAYOR'S ANNOUNCEMENTS Mayor Biard read a prepared statement regarding the courtesy car. Mayor Biard said he would re-pay the three insurance payments that the city paid on the courtesy car. Councilmember Carpenter asked Mr. John Ed Welch with Hughes, Welch and Milligan, LTD several questions regarding the audit. In general, Mr. Welch said the audit was good but there was a lack of internal control, specifically in travel and meal reimbursements. Mr. Welch said the council was responsible for making policy for the city officials and city employees to follow. The City Clerk said she had contacted several other cities for copies of their policies on travel for a guide to use for Batesville. COUNCIL TO CONSIDER REPLACING BROKEN CAR WINDOW The council read a memo from Safety Directory Sharon Taylor regarding a broken car window on an automobile parked at the Lockhouse Restaurant. Mr. Palmer said the window was probably broken by a mower at Riverside Park. Councilmember Insell moved to pay the damages and Councilmember Pectol seconded. All voted for. DISCUSSION OF PROPOSAL BY PEPSI TO PAINT TOWER AT THE FIRE TRAINING CENTER Councilmember Bone addressed the council regarding their decision at the last meeting to allow Pepsi to paint a Pepsi can on the tank at the Fire Training Center. Ms. Bone said she thought that painting a Pepsi can on the tank would hurt the integrity of our city. After some discussion, Councilmember Bone moved to reverse last weeks motion to paint the tank and for the city to find the money to paint the tank to look more presentable. Councilmember Cargill seconded and all voted for except Councilmember Insell. EXECUTIVE SESSION Councilmember Insell moved to go into executive session. Councilmember Gaither seconded and all voted for. After returning from executive session, Councilmember Cargill moved to appoint Mr. Dave Stallings to the Utility Commission. Councilmember Bone seconded and all voted for. Mr. Stallings term will be from 7-11-00 thru 5-10-05. ORDINANCE NAMING STREET IN EAGLE MOUNTAIN SUBDIVISION Mayor Biard read an ordinance that would name a certain street in the Eagle Mountain Subdivision. The street is located south off Eagle Mountain Boulevard and has been requested to be named Eagle Mountain Pointe. Councilmember Bone moved to suspend the rules and place the ordinance on the second reading. Councilmember Pectol seconded and the roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. The Mayor read the ordinance for the second reading. Councilmember Bone moved to further suspend the rules and place the ordinance on the third reading. Councilmember Cargill seconded and the roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. The Mayor read the ordinance for the final reading and Councilmember Bone moved to adopt the ordinance. Councilmember Pectol seconded and the roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. The ordinance was given #2000-7-1. Councilmember Bone moved to adopt the emergency clause and Councilmember Cargill seconded. All voted for. CODE ENFORCEMENT REPORT Mayor Biard asked the council to give him two more weeks to talk to the property owner of the old Dairy Queen property on Harrison Street. The Mayor said he would talk to the owner and report to the council at the next meeting. Councilmember Ford moved to give the Mayor an additional two weeks before condemning the property. Councilmember Gaither seconded and all voted for. Mr. Irvin Kimmer, a property owner next to 1331 East College, addressed the council and gave a brief history of the property. Mr. Kimmer said the house has not been occupied in the past 11 years. Mr. McClure said the council started condemnation proceedings on the property on May 23. Councilmember Insell moved to set a public hearing to proceed with condemnation proceedings at the August 22 meeting. Councilmember Carpenter seconded and all voted for. Councilmember Bone moved to start condemnation proceedings on property located on Vine Street, Lot 10, Block 7, School Addition. Councilmember Pectol seconded and all voted for. DISCUSSION ON COMP TIME IN LAW ENFORCEMENT Councilmember Insell addressed the council regarding compensation time for C.I.D. officers. Currently there is 972 to 975 hours of comp time for the C.I.D. department. Mr. Insell said unless more officers are hired, the comp time is going to continue to grow. Mr. Insell said he thinks that the Quorum Court should approve to pay the comp time down to 40 hours and the city should reimburse the county for the metro C.I.D. Sheriff Ron Webb said he did not think that the Quorum Court would authorize paying the officers for the overtime. He also said that if the county was to pay comp time, all the officers in the Sheriffs Department should receive paid compensation. Chief Deputy Jim Smith gave the council a copy of a letter that he passed out to the Sheriffs employees that would force officers to take comp time. Sheriff Webb recognized the fact that forcing the employees to take their comp time would make the department run even more short handed. Councilmember Insell asked for the Sheriff to attend the August 8 meeting to report on comp time. UTILITY RATE HEARING STUDY PRESENTED BY WATER UTILITIES Councilmember Insell moved to take a five-minute break before starting the utility presentation. Councilmember Ford seconded and all voted for. Mr. Larry Tharnish, Utility Manager and Mr. Jim Ulmer, an engineer with McGoodwin, Williams and Yates, Inc. at Fayetteville gave an opening presentation to the council regarding water and sewer rate studies. After an hour presentation, the Mayor announced that the Utility Department will continue their presentation at the next meeting. PAID BILLS REPORT The council was given a copy of the paid bills report for the month ending June 30, 2000. There being no further business, Councilmember Mitchum moved that the meeting be adjourned. Councilmember Insell seconded and all voted for. JOE M. BIARD, MAYOR DENISE M. JOHNSTON, CITY CLERK