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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-05-15 MINUTES OF COUNCIL MAY 15, 2018 The Batesville City Council met in regular session on May 15, at 5:30 pm at the Municipal Building. Mayor Rick Elumbaugh presided over the meeting. Utility Billing Supervisor Nick Baxter gave the invocation. Upon roll call, the following Councilmembers answered present; Chris Beller, Tommy Bryant, Sonya Crafton, Margaret Henley, Doug Matthews, Chris Poole and David Shetron. Also present were the City Clerk Denise Johnston and City Attorney Tim Meitzen. Councilmember Paige Hubbard was absent. Councilmember Bryant moved to approve the minutes from the previous two meetings. Councilmember Henley seconded and all voted for. Councilmember Bryant moved to approve the prepared amended agenda. Councilmember Shetron seconded and all voted for. CITIZENS COMMENTS None UNFINISHED BUSINESS None NEW BUSINESS A) POLICE DEPARTMENT REPORT Police Chief Alan Cockrill addressed the council and asked Independence County Sheriff Shawn Stephens to join him. Chief Cockrill gave the council his department report for May then said he wanted to inform the council on the recent developments with the county jail. The Chief said he recently received a letter from Sheriff Stephens informing him that the Independence County Jail will not be taking any female prisoners until further notification. Sheriff Stephens explained that the jail cannot keep enough female jailers to have one on duty 24/7. He said the undesirable working conditions along with low wages were the problems. The county pays jailers, male and female, $11.18 per hour. He said most county jails have low wages but the prisons in Newport pay $16.51 per hour, which is where most of his employees have gone to. Chief Cockrill said that in the meantime his officers will have to transport any violent or felon females to either Lawrence, Jackson or Craighead County, which ever one has room. This will cause his fuel to be overbudget and will reduce the number of officers on the street. He said he will always send two officers to transport a female prisoner. Several of the council expressed their sympathy for the Sheriff for having to tend with the budget issues with the jail. Councilmember Bryant mentioned that the cities in the county were supposed to be paying 30% of their fine moneys to the County to help with jail expenses. The county keeps all of Batesville's fine money in lieu of the city paying for District Court and Jail expenses but it is unsure if the 30% dedicated to the jail is still being distributed. Sheriff Stephens said he has called a meeting for Thursday at 1:00 pm at the District Court building do discuss possible solutions for jail funding and he invited the council to attend. B) ENGINEER'S REPORT City Engineer Damon Johnson addressed the council with his monthly report. Mr. Johnson gave each councilmember a letter from Olsson Associates who recently purchased McGoodwin, Williams & Yates Engineering firm which is the engineering firm the utilities department has used for many years. The letter, written by Mr. Jim Ulmer discussed the analysis of bids received for the utilities next large project of replacing approximately a mile of water lines to 18" lines on White Drive. Mr. Johnson explained that when Olsson reviewed the Statement of Qualifications required to be submitted with the bids, it appeared that the low bidder, Cornerstone Construction of Russellville, Inc. of$1,299,082.58 may have limited experience regarding construction of projects of the size and complexity of the project being bid. Having reviewed all of the bids and qualifications, Olsson was recommending to reject the low bid and go with the second lowest bid from Boyles Construction Company, Inc. in the amount of$1,526,669.00. Mr. Johnson said it is crucial that the work performed on the job be done with expertise because it ultimately provides water to the hospital and several industries. Councilmember Shetron cautioned the council to be prepared for possible litigation from the low bidder. Councilmember Matthews moved to take the advice of the engineers and accept the bid from Boyles Construction Company, Inc. for$1,526,669.00. Councilmember Bryant seconded and all voted for. C) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION ENDORSING INTIMIDATOR, INC. TO PARTICIPATE IN THE TAX BACK PROGRAM Councilmember Bryant introduced a resolution to endorse Intimidator, Inc. to participate in the Tax Back Program authorized by the State of Arkansas. Mr. Robert Foster was present to answer any questions from the council. Mr. Foster said the addition to Intimidator would be in 3 phases and include a 206 thousand square feet building. Councilmember Shetron moved to read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Bryant seconded and the roll call count was 7 for and 0 against. Mr. Meitzen read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Bryant moved to adopt the resolution and Councilmember Shetron seconded. The roll call count was 7 for and 0 against. The resolution was given #2018-05-01-R. D) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO APPLY FOR A GRANT FROM THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION ON BEHALF OF THE BATESVILLE AIRPORT Councilmember Matthews introduced a resolution authoring the Mayor to apply for a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration on behalf of the Batesville Municipal Airport. The grant will be approximately $520,000.00 for runway rehabilitation. Councilmember Matthews moved to read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Shetron seconded and the roll call count was 7 for and 0 against. Mr. Meitzen read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Bryant moved to adopt the resolution and Councilmember Beller seconded. The roll call count was 7 for and 0 against. The resolution was given #2018-05-02-R. E) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING AND APPROVING THE EXECUTION OF A LEASE-PURCHASE AGREEMENT WITH BANCORPSOUTH Councilmember Bryant introduced a resolution to authorize the city to execute a lease-purchase agreement with BanCorpSouth to finance 2 front load sanitation trucks. Councilmember Bryant moved to read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Shetron seconded and the roll call count was 7 for and 0 against. Mr. Meitzen read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Bryant moved to adopt the resolution and Councilmember Shetron seconded. The roll call count was 7 for and 0 against. The resolution was given #2018-05-03-R. F) EXECUTIVE SESSION Councilmember Bryant moved to go into executive session. Councilmember Henley seconded and all voted for. Upon returning from executive session, Councilmember Matthews moved to re- appoint Ms. Sylvia Crosby to the Housing Authority. Councilmember Bryant seconded and all voted for. Ms. Crosby's term will end May 27, 2023. G) PAID BILLS REPORT The council was given a copy of the April, 2018 paid bills report for review. MAYOR COMMENTS Mayor Elumbaugh informed the council that last week he changed roles and was able to instruct 300 3rd graders how to swim. The "Every Child A Swimmer" program has been a huge success for the past several years and since our new aquatics instructor is not here yet, the Mayor had the opportunity to instruct the kids. He said even though it has been several years since he has taught kids how to swim, he still had the skills. The Mayor thanked the Kiwanis for sponsoring the program and spoke on the importance on kids learning to swim. LIAISON REPORTS None COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilmember Henley commented on the large amount of limbs and leaves throughout the city. The Mayor said he is aware of that and said the sanitation department has been running the past few weeks with a light crew do to illnesses and vacations. He said he talked with Sanitation Supervisor Marty Thompson this morning and he said they were working in getting caught up in the next couple of weeks. ADJOURNMENT There being no more business, Councilmember Beller moved that the meeting be adjourned. Councilmember Bryant seconded and all voted for. RICK ELUMBAUGH, MAYOR DENISE M. JOHNSTON, CITY CLERK