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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-05-09 MINUTES OF COUNCIL MAY 9, 2023 The Batesville City Council met in regular session on May 9, at 5:30 pm at the Municipal Building. Mayor Rick Elumbaugh presided over the meeting. Councilmember Doug Matthews gave the invocation. Upon roll call, the following Councilmembers answered present; Brittany Bennett, Tommy Bryant, Scott Fredricks, Paige Hubbard, Fred Krug, Doug Matthews, and Chris Poole. Also present were the City Clerk Denise Johnston and City Attorney Tim Meitzen. Councilmember Julie Hinkle was absent. Councilmember Bennett moved to approve the minutes from the previous meeting. Councilmember Hubbard seconded and all voted for. Councilmember Bennett moved to approve the prepared agenda. Councilmember Poole seconded and all voted for. CITIZENS COMMENTS Mr. Landon Downing addressed the council in regards to the proposed refinancing of the WWTP Utility Bonds and the Parks and Recreation Bonds. Mr. Downing said he chose Batesville to live and raise his family and was in favor of the new Water Treatment Plant and additional Parks and Recreation facilities and improvements. He said Batesville is a progressive community and a great place to live. OLD BUSINESS A) SECOND READING OF AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE PROPERTIES INCLUDED IN THE BATESVILLE COMMERCIAL HISTORIC DISTRICT Mayor Elumbaugh said that a mistake was found in this ordinance and it has been corrected and is under new business for consideration. In order to remove this ordinance from the agenda it needs to go through the adoption process. Councilmember Bennett moved to waive the second and third readings. Councilmember Hubbard seconded and the electronic roll call count was 7 for and 0 against. Mayor Elumbaugh asked if there was a motion to adopt the ordinance. There being no motion, the ordinance failed. NEW BUSINESS A) POLICE DEPARTMENT REPORT Police Chief Alan Cockrill addressed the council with his monthly report. Chief Cockrill reported 72 incidents, 19 arrest and 43 accidents for the month of April. The Chief also provided data from the new electronic speed monitoring devices. The 5 devices were placed on Main, College, Boswell, Craig and Baker Streets. The average speed for the 5 streets was 22.09 MPH on the posted 25 MPH limit. B) ENGINEER’S REPORT City Engineer Damon Johnson addressed the council with his monthly report. Mr. Johnson asked the council for the approval of the bid received from Tri State Mack for the 3 new dump trucks for the Construction Department. He said the trucks are on the 2 year buy-back program. Councilmember Poole moved to approve the purchase of the 3 dump trucks. Councilmember Matthews seconded and all voted for. Mr. Johnson reported that Sanitation Supervisor Jason Jones and Purchasing Agent Billy Corter traveled to Sikeston, Missouri to look at a leaf truck. He said Sikeston went from 8 employees picking up leaves to 1 employee. He said the truck is approximately $250,000.00 and there is about an 18-month lead time. Mr. Johnson said the purchase of a leaf truck will probably come up in the 2024 budget. Mr. Johnson said he gave a tour of the current 60-year-old Water Treatment Plant and 7-year-old Wastewater Treatment Plant to Batesville’s large usage companies as well as key business owners to inform them of the need to update the Water Treatment Plant. The Utilities portion of the Broad Street project is complete and ready for the paving. He said hopefully that will be completed soon. Street Department is working on drainage issues and going to start a large th project on 20 Street close to Harrison Street as soon as school is out for the summer. Street Department also got the Boat Dock put back into the river. Contract Section III should be completed in two to three months. C) FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORT Fire Chief Mark McCollum addressed the council for his monthly report. Chief McCollum said his department issued 5 or 6 Certificate of Occupancy’s to business inside Batesville City limits and went on 49 runs. His report showed 494 training hours for his department and inspected 38 businesses. D) PUBLIC WORKS/SANITATION REPORT Sanitation Supervisor Jason Jones was unable to attend tonight’s meeting. E) PROCLAMATION FOR NATIONAL FENTANYL AWARENESS DAY Mayor Elumbaugh read a proclamation for the National Fentanyl Awareness Day. The Mayor signed the document and presented it to the Independence County Wellness Coalition. F) CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE FOR THE APPROVAL OF AN APPLICATION FOR THE PRIVATE CLUB PERMIT FOR CLUB STELLA ON MAIN Councilmember Fredricks introduced an ordinance to approve an application for a private club permit for Club Stella on Main. Councilmember Fredricks moved to suspend the rules and read the ordinance by title only. Councilmember Bennett seconded and the electronic roll call count was 7 for and 0 against. Mr. Meitzen read the ordinance by title only. Councilmember Bennett moved to further suspend the rules and waive the second and third readings. Councilmember Bryant seconded and the electronic roll call count was 7 for and 0 against. Councilmember Bryant moved to adopt the ordinance. Councilmember Bennett seconded and the electronic roll call count was 7 for and 0 against. The ordinance was given #2023-05-01. Mr. Meitzen read the emergency clause. Councilmember Fredricks moved to adopt the emergency clause and Councilmember Bryant seconded. The electronic roll call count was 7 for and 0 against. G) CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE PROPERTIES INCLUDED IN THE BATESVILLE COMMERCIAL HISTORIC DISTRICT. Councilmember Bryant introduced a revised version of an ordinance to amend the properties included in the Batesville Commercial Historic District. Councilmember Bryant moved to read the ordinance by title only. Councilmember Fredricks seconded and the electronic roll call count was 7 for and 0 against. Mr. Meitzen read the ordinance by title only. Mayor Elumbaugh said the ordinance will be placed on the next meeting’s agenda for the second reading. H) CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE #2001-12-05 IN ORDER TO AUTHORIZE THE NET COLLECTIONS OF THE .0.5% SALES AND USE TAX LEVIED WITHIN THE CITY OF BATESVILLE AND SECURE THE REPAYMENT OF BONDS APPROVED BY THE VOTERS Mr. Ryan Bowman, Bond Council with Friday Law Firm, and Mr. Paul Phillips with Crews and Associates addressed the council regarding the next 3 ordinances. Mr. Bowman explained the process and reassured the council that the proposed ordinances are not requesting any new taxes but will only continue the current .05% tax to pay for the Parks and Recreation Bonds and the 1.0% tax, currently used to pay off the bonds for the Wastewater Treatment Plant. Mr. Bowman said he and Mr. Phillips are available anytime to answer any questions that may arise. Councilmember Bryant introduced the proposed ordinance. Mr. Bowman read the ordinance in full. Mayor Elumbaugh said the ordinance will be placed on the next meeting’s agenda for the second reading. I) CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE CALLING FOR A SPECIAL ELECTION IN THE CITY OF BATESVILLE ON THE QUESTIONS OF ISSUING BONDS UNDER AMENDMENT NO. 62 TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS FOR THE PURPOSE OF FINANCING AND REFINANCING ALL OR A PORTION OF THE COSTS OF CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS Councilmember Bryant introduced an ordinance calling for a special election on the questions of issuing bonds under Amendment No. 62 to the Constitution of the State of Arkansas for the purpose of financing and refinancing all or a portion of the costs of capital improvements. Mr. Ryan Bowman read the ordinance in full. Mayor Elumbaugh said the ordinance will be place on the next meeting’s agenda for the second reading. J) CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE CALLING FOR A SPECIAL ELECTION IN THE CITY OF BATESVILLE ON THE QUESTION OF ISSUING BONDS UNDER THE AMENDMENT NO. 62 TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS FOR THE PURPOSE OF FINANCING ALL OR A PORTION OF THE COSTS OF CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS: LEVYING A ONE PERCENT (1%) SALES AND USE TAX TO COMMENCE ON April1, 2024 FOR THE PURPOSE OF RETIRING SUCH BONDS Councilmember Bryant introduced an ordinance on the question of issuing bonds under the Amendment No. 62 to the Constitution of the State of Arkansas for the purpose of financing all or a portion of the costs of capital improvements: levying a 1% Sales and Use Tax to commence on April 1, 2024. Mr. Ryan Bowman read the ordinance in full. Mayor Elumbaugh said the ordinance will be place on the next meeting’s agenda for the second reading. K) EXECUTIVE SESSION Councilmember Bennett moved to go into executive session to consider an appointment to the Housing Authority. Councilmember Bryant seconded and all voted for. Upon returning from executive session, Councilmember Fredricks moved to re- appoint Ms. Carol Crosby to the Batesville Housing Authority. Councilmember Bryant seconded and all voted for. Ms. Crosby’s term will expire May 27, 2028. L) FINANCIAL REPORT The council was given a copy of the April, 2023 financial report for review. MAYOR COMMENTS Mayor Elumbaugh read a proclamation setting the dates for the Levitt Amp Batesville Music Festival Concerts for the Temporary Entertainment District at Riverside Park. The dates are; May 18, May 25, June 1, June 8, June 15, June 22, July 4, July 13, July 20, July 27, and August 3, all in 2023. The Mayor asked for the council’s approval to give the State a right-of-way for the new passage-way for accidents on Ramsey Mountain. Councilmember Fredricks moved to approve donating the right-of-way and Councilmember Bennett seconded. All voted for. Mayor Elumbaugh asked for 2 or 3 councilmembers to volunteer to serve as a Liaison to the City’s Firemen’s Pension Board. Ms. Johnston reported that she attended th the Firemen’s Pension Board’s annual meeting yesterday, May 8. She said LOPFI sent her information on rolling our local plan into LOPFI and as required she presented the information to the board. The board, realizing that such a move would require approval from the board as well as the City council, requested the Mayor appoint 2 or 3 council as Liaisons to the board and have a meeting to discuss their options. Ms. Johnston did report that the increase in the fire millage to 1 mill is sustaining the pension funds and she has not had to withdraw any funds from their reserves since 2020. Councilmembers Poole, Krug and Bennett volunteered to serve as liaisons to the Firemen’s Pension Board. LIAISON REPORTS None COUNCIL COMMENTS None ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Councilmember Matthews moved that the meeting be adjourned. Councilmember Bennett seconded and all voted for. The meeting was adjourned at 6:36 pm. RICK ELUMBAUGH, MAYOR DENISE M. JOHNSTON, CITY CLERK