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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-01-14 MINUTES OF COUNCIL JANUARY 14, 2020 The Batesville City Council met in regular session on January 14, 2020 at 5:30 pm at the Municipal Building. Mayor Rick Elumbaugh presided over the meeting. Utility Office Manager Nick Baxter gave the invocation. Upon roll call, the following Councilmembers answered present; Tommy Bryant, Scott Fredricks, Julie Hinkle, Paige Hubbard, Fred Krug, Doug Matthews, Pete Musgrave and Chris Poole. Also present were the City Clerk Denise Johnston and City Attorney Tim Meitzen. Councilmember Hinkle moved to approve the minutes from the previous meeting. Councilmember Fredricks seconded and all voted for. Councilmember Hinkle moved to approve the prepared agenda and Councilmember Bryant seconded. All voted for. CITIZENS COMMENTS Ms. Twyla Wright with the Old Independence Regional Museum addressed the council and thanked them for their continued financial support for the museum. Ms. Wright also gave each member a year-end report from the museum and also informed them that the museum has been notified that they will again host another Smithsonian traveling exhibit titled “Voices and Votes: Democracy in America.” UNFINISHED BUSINESS None NEW BUSINESS A) POLICE DEPARTMENT REPORT Police Chief Alan Cockrill was unable to make the meeting due to illness. B) ENGINEER’S REPORT City Engineer Damon Johnson addressed the council with his monthly report. Mr. Johnson said the city street crews were still cleaning up debris from last Friday nights storm. Most of the damage was due to severe flash floods. He said a portion of Broadwater Lane collapsed due to the rain and street crews are working on those repairs as well. Both utility plants are running well. He said he will be concentrating on the Water Treatment Plant Master Plan throughout this year. He said the “repaint” of the Eagle Mountain water tank is about half way completed. The crews have been concentrating on the outside of the tank during the mild weather conditions so far this winter. The city’s logo is being placed on the East and West sides of the tank with the West side logo recently completed. The Section Contract III sewer line project has been delayed with engineering issues but hopefully will be put out to bid in early spring. The Hwy 106 utility line relocation is ready to go out for bids. st The Corp of Engineers are expected to start around the 1 of February on the bank stabilization project at Riverside Park. Mr. Johnson said the pedestrian bridge will be removed for the work to be done but replaced once it is completed. C) FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORT Fire Chief Brent Gleghorn addressed the council and showed them a couple of the new body armor jackets that the council approved to purchase a few months back. Chief Gleghorn said they are made of steel and have a 10 year life span. The Chief said in his report that in 2019 his department responded to the Independence County Jail 19 times due to inmates damaging fire sprinkler heads. He said that comes to approximately $6,217.00 in man power and equipment if it were being billed to the county. The Chief said the inmates are charged with a misdemeanor which does not detour them from doing the damage. He said he visited with the Sherriff and discovered a state law that allows a felony charge to be filed if damages are made to a government building. He is hoping that being charged with a felony will reduce the number of damages to the sprinkler heads. Councilmember Bryant asked why we were responding to the county jail. Chief Gleghorn said there were no businesses in Batesville that can repair sprinkler heads. Responding does take two trucks with two firemen which leaves only two firemen on duty to respond to a fire. The topic then went to the rescue truck. Chief Gleghorn said that in 2019, the rescue truck responded to 105 calls outside the city limits of Batesville. He said the city’s “jurisdiction” is from Antioch Road south to Rocky Point. North of Antioch Road Cave City responds to and South of Rocky Point, Pleasant Plains responds to. However, he said if any of the respondents need assistance, they all help out. The Mayor commented on how valuable the rescue truck is and how many lives it has saved in Batesville and Independence County. D) CHRISTMAS LIGHT REPORT FROM JOHNNY ABBOTT Mr. Johnny Abbott, Landscape/Cemetery Supervisor, addressed the council with a report on the Christmas light display. The Christmas lights were turned on thst November 27 and continued to January 1. Mr. Abbott said the car count of 38,509 was down a little from last year, however, he said many cars parked outside of the park and walked through the lights instead of driving. He said some of the new items this year included hierographic glasses to view the lights through, children’s games, 92 new pieces, 225 new cascading lights for the trees and 35 new rope lights to light up the walking track. Mr. Abbott said the lights brought in almost $65,000.00 this year not including sponsorships. He also said he had 12 new sponsors in 2019. Mr. Abbott commended his crew for their hard work and long hours to produce a fantastic Christmas light display for Batesville and our surrounding area and states. E) CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING THE RULES AND PROCEDURES FOR THE TRANSACTION OF BUSINESS OF THE COUNCIL Councilmember Bryant introduced an ordinance to adopt the rules and procedures for the transaction of business of the council. Councilmember Hinkle moved to suspend the rules and read the ordinance by title only. Councilmember Bryant seconded and the electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. Mr. Meitzen read the ordinance by title only. Councilmember Hinkle further suspended the rules and moved to suspend the second and third readings. Councilmember Bryant seconded and the electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. Councilmember Bryant moved to adopt the ordinance and Councilmember Poole seconded. The electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. The ordinance was given #2020-01-01. F) CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE TO WAIVE COMPETITIVE BIDDING ON CERTAIN ITEMS FOR 2020 Councilmember Bryant introduced an ordinance to waive certain items for 2020. Councilmember Bryant moved to read the ordinance by title only. Councilmember Hubbard seconded and the electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. Mr. Meitzen read the ordinance by title only. Councilmember Bryant moved to further suspend the rules and waive the second and third readings. Councilmember Hinkle seconded and the electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. Councilmember Bryant moved to adopt the ordinance and Councilmember Fredricks seconded. The electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. The ordinance was given #2020-01-02. Mr. Meitzen read the emergency clause. Councilmember Bryant moved to adopt the emergency clause and Councilmember Hinkle seconded. The electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. G) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT WITH KM MASONRY, INC FOR CONSTRUCTION AND REPAIR OF THE LIBRARY STEPS Councilmember Hubbard introduced a resolution to authorize the Mayor to enter into a contract with KM Masonry, Inc. for the construction and repair of the Library steps. Mayor Elumbaugh said the City received the $50,000.00 grant to build the steps and even though there is going to be one less parking space, he said the steps will be a great improvement for the new Library. Mr. Meitzen read the resolution in full. Councilmember Bryant moved to adopt the resolution and Councilmember Fredricks seconded. The electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. The resolution was given #2020-01-01-R. H) CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE TO ESTABLISH AND AMEND FEES FOR THE MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS OF CITY OWNED PARKS AND RECREATION FACILITIES Councilmember Bryant introduced an ordinance to establish and amend fees for the maintenance and operations of city owned parks and recreation facilities. Mr. Meitzen read the ordinance in full. Councilmember Krug explained that the new golf course fees were recommend by the Golf Association to the City’s Parks and Recreation Committee who then is recommending them to the council for approval. Councilmember Bryant moved to suspend the rules and waive the second and third readings. Councilmember Hubbard seconded and the electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. Councilmember Bryant moved to adopt the ordinance and Councilmember Fredricks seconded. The electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. The ordinance was given #2020-01-03. Mr. Meitzen read the emergency clause and Councilmember Fredricks moved to adopt. Councilmember Bryant seconded and the electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. I) CONSIDER SUPPLEMENT CHANGES TO THE EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK SPECIFICALLY FOR THE AIRPORT EMPLOYEES Mayor Elumbaugh said we would not be considering the changes to the handbook tonight because the City also needed to make a few corrections as well. He said there the proposed changes will be on the next meetings agenda. Mayor Elumbaugh introduced Mr. Justin Thompson who is replacing Mr. Daren Wilkes as the Airport Manager. Mr. Wilkes is retiring from the position. Mr. Thompson has recently retired from 20 years in the Airforce and has moved back to his hometown of Batesville. J) PAID BILLS REPORT The council was given a copy of the December, 2019 paid bills report for review. MAYOR COMMENTS Mayor Elumbaugh commended the Street Department and other city departments for their fast response to last Friday’s flash food and storms. The Mayor said he was brought up to date several times through the early morning hours of Saturday as the crews worked out in the elements. st The Mayor invited everyone to his monthly Mayor’s meeting to be held the 1 Thursday in February. Next months guest will be Arkansas Access. LIAISON REPORTS COUNCIL COMMENTS th Councilmember Matthews reported a street light out at 17 and College Streets. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Councilmember Matthews moved that the meeting be adjourned. Councilmember Bryant seconded and all voted for. RICK ELUMBAUGH, MAYOR DENISE M. JOHNSTON, CITY CLERK