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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-01-24 MINUTES OF COUNCIL JANUARY 24, 2023 The Batesville City Council met in regular session on January 24, 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, Fred Krug, Doug Matthews, and Chris Poole. Also present were the City Clerk Denise Johnston and City Attorney Tim Meitzen. Councilmembers Brittany Bennett and Paige Hubbard were absent. Councilmember Poole moved to approve the minutes from the previous meeting. Councilmember Hinkle seconded and all voted for. Councilmember Hinkle moved to approve the prepared agenda as amended. Councilmember Krug seconded and all voted for. CITIZENS COMMENTS None UNFINISHED BUSINESS None NEW BUSINESS A) WHITE RIVER WONDERLAND UPDATE Cemetery/Landscape Supervisor Johnathan Abbott addressed the council with an activity update of the White River Wonderland. Mr. Abbott started by thanking his employees for the endless work for the past four months to make the Wonderland come to life and to the sponsors who help keep the displays updated. He said we had 38 new displays this year and approximately 2.5 million lights. The new Castle was a big hit as well. He said there were approximately 45,000 cars that drove through the Wonderland. That is down by about 2,000 from 2021, however, in 2021 we only had 2 bad weather days compared to 8 in 2022. He estimates 135,000 people either drove or walked through the Wonderland from not only Arkansas but from surrounding states and beyond. Mayor Elumbaugh bragged on Mr. Abbott and his crew for making Batesville the Christmas Capital of Arkansas and also thanked the sponsors. The Mayor said the displays continue to grow which makes the annual maintenance increase as well. Mr. Abbott added that the lights of the “drive tunnel” have dry rotted and will need to be replaced soon. He got a quote of $15,000 to replace the lights with LED lights. He said he will do what he can to make the current tunnel lights work as long as possible. B) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION SETTING FEES FOR THE CEMETERY PERMANENT MAINTENANCE FUND, LOT SALES AND DEED CHANGES FOR OAKLAWN CEMETERY, GRAY’S ADDITION TO OAKLAWN CEMETERY AND THE MAUSOLEUM LOCATED IN OAKLAWN CEMETERY Councilmember Poole introduced a resolution to set the fees for permanent maintenance, lot sales and deed changes for Oaklawn Cemetery, the Gray’s Addition to Oaklawn Cemetery and the mausoleum located in Oaklawn Cemetery. Councilmember Bryant moved to read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Hinkle seconded and the electronic roll call count was 6 for and 0 against. Mr. Meitzen read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Bryant noted that this resolution is related to Resolution #2022-12-05-R which set the opening and closing fees for the cemetery. Councilmember Fredricks moved to adopt the resolution. Councilmember Bryant seconded and the electronic roll call count was 6 for and 0 against. The resolution was given #2023-01-01-R. C) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION DESIGNATING AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR, CITY CLERK AND CITY ENGINEER TO EXECUTE CERTAIN DOCUMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH THE FUNDING ADMINISTERED BY ARKANSAS NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION Councilmember Bryant introduced a resolution authorizing the Mayor, City Clerk and City Engineer to execute certain documents in connection with the funding administered by Arkansas Natural Resources Commission. Councilmember Bryant moved to read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Fredricks seconded and the electronic roll call count was 6 for and 0 against. Mr. Meitzen read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Bryant moved to adopt the resolution. Councilmember Fredricks seconded and the electronic roll call count was 6 for and 0 against. The resolution was given #2023-01-02-R D) EXECUTIVE SESSION Councilmember Fredricks moved to go into executive session to consider the promotion, demotion, hiring or firing of one or more city employees. Councilmember Bryant seconded and all voted for. Upon returning from executive session, Mayor Elumbaugh said no decision was made. MAYOR COMMENTS th Mayor Elumbaugh said the next council meeting will be February 14 and the th second meeting falls on February 28 which creates a conflict with his scheduled. th Councilmember Fredricks moved to cancel the February 28 meeting and Councilmember Krug seconded. All voted for. LIAISON REPORTS None COUNCIL COMMENTS None ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Councilmember Matthews moved that the meeting be adjourned. Councilmember Bryant seconded and all voted for. The meeting was adjourned at 6:05 pm. RICK ELUMBAUGH, MAYOR DENISE M. JOHNSTON, CITY CLERK