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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-01-11 MINUTES OF COUNCIL JANUARY 11, 2000 The Batesville City Council met for its regular meeting on January 11, at 5:30 P.M. at the Municipal Building. Mayor Joe Biard presided over the meeting. Councilmember Pectol gave the invocation. Upon roll call, all the council answered present except Councilmember Cargill. Also present were the City Clerk and the City Attorney. Councilmember Ford moved to approve the minutes from the last meeting and Councilmember Pectol seconded. All voted for. Councilmember Ford moved to approve the prepared agenda. Councilmember Pectol seconded and all voted for. STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS - MAYOR BIARD Mayor Biard gave his annual State of the City Address as required by law. "It is required that the Mayor present a State of the City Address in January of each year. This year my remarks will be somewhat different as I will speak about the future and less on the past year. I can tell you that we accomplished our objectives in 1999 and in fact in the 5 years I have been here, we, and I emphasize "we", great strides have been made in area such as development of the White River and other projects are on the way to further enhance this valuable resources....500 blocks of streets have been re-surfaced and yet there is still much to be done....our parks and recreation budget is now one of the largest we have...our streets lights to a great extent have been upgraded to make safer neighborhoods....and I could go on and on but so much for the past...Lets talk about the future. In my remarks tonight, I could have skirted some of the issues and put my ideas in glossy terms, but instead I'm going to talk to you in straight terms that I think we can all understand. I well understand that my proposal will not meet with approval with everyone but the time has come to determine where Batesville is going in the 21St century. WE can move ahead and make our city truly one of the best in the state and possibly the best or we can fall behind. There is no such thing as remaining the same. Again, there are no hidden agendas. It is straight to the point. In the paper last year, it was said that I "caved"on the annexation proposal. I can now tell you why I asked the council to withdraw. I could see the annexation issue and the one I will discuss tonight coming together at nearly the same time. Given the facts and in my opinion, my proposal tonight is more urgent than annexation plus as you know, there was a great hostility move on that issue. Let it be clear now, should this pass the council, we shall proceed in a diligent manner. Before we get to the heart of my presentation, let me point out that the council could raise our millage rate to 5 mills on property tax. We only levy 2.2 mills. Because of re- appraisal, that is not one area you want to deal with. In October I believe the council was almost ready to abolish the 19-year-old Interlocal Law Enforcement Agreement. Without a funding mechanism in place and other considerations, the council agreed to give me until tonight to present a plan to address the law enforcement issue, but there are other almost equally important things facing this city and thus the need to confront many issues under one funding umbrella. Being in the media in August, 1981, when the Interlocal agreement was put into place, I well remember the friction and turmoil between several parties including the city council and the Civil Service Commission. Frankly, in my opinion, we should have never had the commission. But, now to the point. It is time to give you the two words which is the heart of my proposal. Those words are "Sales Tax". Now, before some people get upset, please afford me the opportunity to discuss what I have in mind. Some will argue the sales tax is a regressive tax but compared to what...the property tax? While I will propose a penny, we should bear in mind that this time last year, we were paying a half-cent tax for the county jail, so in essence, we are asking for a half-cent compared to last year. A few facts...A sales tax falls about equally on all residents. The sales tax is painless to collect. It is collected by the state through means already in place. No new expenses are needed to collect the tax. It will be paid in part by people not living in our city-tourists and visitors who use city facilities without paying for them otherwise. 228 cities have their own sales tax. A few of these are Arkadelphia, Ash Flat, Bald Knob, Cabot, EI Dorado, Eureka Springs, Forrest City, Fort Smith, Harrison, Hot Springs, Jacksonville, Jonesboro, Little Rock, Malvern, Melbourne, Mountain View, Newport, Paragould, Pocahontas, Rogers, Russellville, Searcy, Sherwood, and Texarkana. No one has to tell me that a tax under any name in any form, is not popular. Tomorrow, there will be those upset with my proposal but we must remember this is a suggestion as a solution to our problems and if passed by the city council, the people will in the end make the decision to move forward or not. If you, as mayor, believe you know most of the problems and not do anything, that indeed is a "caretaker government". As to our problems, we cannot depend upon the county, the state or federal government. If we're going to do the best for our city, we are going to have to do it. To me, Batesville is a wonderful city...proud of the past, doing well at the present and an almost unlimited potential for the future. We must plan now to address areas of concern for now and years from now." The Mayor gave the council a copy of two ordinances to act on at the next council meeting to levy a one-cent sales tax and to call a special election. The Mayor, council and members of the audience discussed several areas which the sales tax revenues could be used. FLOOD LEVEE REPORT Special Projects Director Jim Woods gave a report to the council regarding the Batesville Levee Project. Mr. Woods said the $6,000 budgeted in 2000 is for USGA Service Contracts. CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE TO REZONE PROPERTY ON NEELEY STREET FROM R-2 TO C-2 Mayor Biard read an ordinance that would rezone certain property of J.R. Rogers from R-2 to C-2. The property is located at 808 Neeley Street. Councilmember Bone moved to suspend the rules and place the ordinance on the second reading. Councilmember Gaither seconded and the roll call count was 7 for and 0 against. The Mayor read the ordinance for the second reading and Councilmember Gaither moved to further suspend the rules and place the ordinance on the third and reading. Councilmember Insell seconded and the roll call count was 7 for and 0 against. Mayor Biard read the ordinance for the final reading and Councilmember Gaither moved to adopt the ordinance. Councilmember Bone seconded and the roll call count was 7 for and 0 against. The ordinance was given #2000-1-1. Councilmember Carpenter moved to adopt the emergency clause and Councilmember Gaither seconded. All voted for. CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE TO WAIVE COMPETITIVE BIDDING Mayor Biard read an ordinance that would waive the requirements of competitive bidding during the calendar year of 2000 on the purchases of used equipment, SB-2, hot mix asphalt, cold mix asphalt and employee health insurance. Councilmember Carpenter moved to suspend the rules and place the ordinance on the second reading. Councilmember Bone seconded and the roll call count was 7 for and 0 against. The Mayor read the ordinance for the second reading and Councilmember Bone moved to further suspend the rules and place the ordinance on the third reading. Councilmember Carpenter seconded and the roll call count was 7 for and 0 against. Mayor Biard read the ordinance for the final reading and Councilmember Bone moved to adopt the ordinance and Councilmember Ford seconded. The roll call count was 7 for and 0 against. The ordinance was given #2000-1-2. Councilmember Gaither moved to adopt the emergency clause and Councilmember Carpenter seconded. All voted for. EXECUTIVE SESSION Councilmember Gaither moved to go into executive session. Councilmember Insell seconded and all voted for. Upon returning from executive session, Councilmember Bone moved to re-appoint Mr. Steve Bryant to the Airport Commission. Councilmember Carpenter seconded and all voted for. Mr. Bryant's new term will be from 11/9/99 through 11/9/2004. MAYOR'S ANNOUNCEMENTS Mayor Biard said a stop sign request has been made at the intersection of Water and 3rd Streets. The council agreed that this is one of the cities most dangerous intersections because of the blind corner. Councilmember Gaither moved to place a stop sign on Water Street to stop traffic traveling west. With the stop sign currently on 3rd Street, this will make the intersection a two-way stop. Councilmember Carpenter seconded and all voted for. CEMETERY RESOLUTIONS The council considered three cemetery resolutions; Dr. Robert V. Baker, #00-11-1 for $400.00, Charlene Mason, #00-11-2 for $1,200.00 and Gladys Tarrance, #00-11-3 for $400.00. The resolutions being in order, Councilmember Gaither moved that they be adopted and Councilmember Pectol seconded. All voted for. PAID BILL REPORT The council was given a copy of the paid bill report and revenue report for the month ending 12/31/99. FINANCIAL STATEMENT The council was given a copy the financial statement for the month ending 11/30/99. There being no further business, Councilmember Mitchum moved that the meeting be adjourned. Councilmember Gaither seconded and all voted for. JOE M. BIARD, MAYOR DENISE M. JOHNSTON, CITY CLERK