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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-03-05 MINUTES OF COUNCIL MARCH 5, 202 The Batesville City Council met in regular session on March 5th, 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, Scott Fredricks, Julie Hinkle, Paige Hubbard, Fred Krug, Doug Matthews, Chris Poole and Landon Reeves. Councilmember Brittany Bennett was absent. 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 Krug seconded and all voted for. Councilmember Fredricks moved to approve the prepared agenda. Councilmember Hinkle seconded and all voted for. CITIZENS COMMENTS None UNFINISHED BUSINESS None NEW BUSINESS A) RECOGNIZE THE LADY PIONEER BOWLING TEAM Mayor Elumbaugh recognized the 5A Lady Pioneer State Champion Bowling Team and their coaches, Sheila Smart, Samatha Hogan and Eric Hogan. The Mayor congratulated the team and presented each member a certificate of accomplishment. B) RECOGNIZE THE BATESVILLE PIONEER SWIM TEAM Mayor Elumbaugh recognized the 5A Pioneer Swim Team State Champions. Mayor Elumbaugh said the Pioneer Swim Team has won the State championship for 3 years in a row and 4 out of the last 5 years. The Mayor congratulated the swim team coach Alfredo Aleman-Velasco and presented each swim team member a certificate of accomplishment. C) POLICE DEPARTMENT REPORT Assistant Police Chief John Scarbrough addressed the council with his departments monthly report. For the month of February, the report shows 839 calls for service, 42 accidents, 13 arrests and 40 incident reports. Assistant Chief Scarbrough also reported he has been approved for approximately a $130,000 grant to equip all of his vehicles with computers, scanners and printers. This should greatly improve efficiency in his department and should be installed by the end of this month. Also, 4 new radars have been installed in vehicles. D) ENGINEERS REPORT City Engineer Damon Johnson addressed the council with his monthly report. Mr. Johnson reported that Broad is currently being prepared for paving and should be completed this week. The plans for the new Water Treatment Plant should be 100% complete by the end of the month and ready for the State regulatory review. Mr. Johnson reported that all other departments were running well. E) FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORT Fire Chief Mark McCollum addressed the council with his monthly report. Chief McCollum said his crew is working on the ISO rating for the City as well as hydrant inspections. F) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN ADMINISTRATIVE AGREEMENT WITH WRPDD TO APPLY FOR A GRANT FOR BATESVILLE PUBLIC SCHOOL CAMPUS Councilmember Poole introduced a resolution authorizing the Mayor to enter into an administrative agreement with White River Planning and Development Distract, Inc. to apply for a grant for improvements to the childcare facilities on the Batesville Public School Campus. Councilmember Reeves moved to suspend the rules and read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Poole seconded and the electronic roll call count was 6 for and 1 abstained (Fredricks). Mr. Meitzen read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Reeves moved to adopt the resolution. Councilmember Poole seconded and the electronic roll call count 6 for and 1 abstained (Fredricks). The resolution was given #2024-03-01-R. G) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING CHIEF ELECTED OFFICIALS TO SIGN AN APPLICATION FOR CDBG FUINDS Councilmember Poole introduced a resolution authorizing the Chief elected official for the City of Batesville to sign an application for CDBG funds. The funds through the Arkansas Community and Economic Development Program will be for improvements at the Childcare Facilities for the Batesville Public School system. Councilmember Matthews moved to suspend the rules and read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Hinkle seconded and the electronic roll call count was 7 for and 0 against. Mr. Meitzen read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Reeves moved to adopt the resolution. Councilmember Fredricks seconded and the electronic roll call count was 7 for and 0 against. The resolution was given #2024-03-02-R. H) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT WITH BULLARD CONSTRUCTION, LLC FOR THE REPAIR OF THE SOCCER RESTROOM AND CONCESSION BUILDING Councilmember Fredricks introduced a resolution authorizing the City to enter into a contract with Bullard Construction, LLC for the repair of the soccer restroom and concession building. Councilmember Hubbard moved to suspend the rules and read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Poole seconded and the electronic roll call count was 7 for and 0 against. Mr. Meitzen read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Hubbard moved to adopt the resolution. Councilmember Fredricks seconded and the electronic roll call count was 7 for and 0 against. The resolution was given #2024-03-03-R. 1) EXECUTIVE SESSION Councilmember Poole moved to go into executive session to consider the hiring, firing, promotion or demotion of one or more city employees. Upon returning from executive session, Mayor Elumbaugh read a letter of resignation from Police Chief Alan Cockrill. Chief Cockrill is retiring after 38 years in law enforcement with the Arkansas State Police, Independence County and the City of Batesville. Chief Cockrill's last day of employment with the City will be April 1, 2024. Councilmember Hinkle moved to accept Chief Cockrill's resignation and Councilmember Matthews seconded. All voted for. The Mayor said Assistant Police Chief John Scarborough will fill in as interim Police Chief until a new Chief can be hired. Mayor Elumbaugh also mention that the City Clerk /Treasurer will be retiring this year as well and that her position will be split and a Finance Director will be hired as well as appointing a City Clerk. The Mayor said the Finance position will be advertised and he hoped to start interviewing applicants soon. J) FINANCE REPORT The council was given a copy of the February, 2024 financials for review. MAYOR'S COMMENTS Mayor Elumbaugh said the next council meeting will be March 26t". He also said the annual Cemetery clean-up is scheduled for March 18 — 22. He encouraged everyone to remove anything they wish to keep from their monuments and return them after the 22"d Everything left in the cemetery will be disposed of. LIAISON REPORTS None COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilmember Hinkle asked everyone to take a minute and go to the Chamber's website for a link to vote for the USA Today 10 best small towns in the South. She said Batesville is a Top 20 Finalist and deserves to win. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Councilmember Matthews moved that the meeting be adjourned. Councilmember Fredricks seconded and all voted for. The meeting was adjourned at 6:26 pm. i c k E I u N augh, Wayor enise M. Johnston, ty Clerk