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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-02-09 MINUTES OF COUNCIL FEBRUARY 9, 2021 th The Batesville City Council met in regular session on February 9, 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 Bryant moved to approve the minutes from the previous meeting. Councilmember Matthews seconded and all voted for. Councilmember Hinkle moved to approve the prepared agenda. Councilmember Fredricks seconded and all voted for. CITIZENS COMMENTS None UNFINISHED BUSINESS None NEW BUSINESS A) MONTHLY POLICE REPORT Police Chief Alan Cockrill addressed the council with December, 2020 and January, 2021 monthly reports. Chief Cockrill said his department is running smooth. He said he recently filled 3 open positions. When asked if the new hires were certified officers, the Chief said one is certified and the other 2 are uncertified. He said he currently has one officer at the academy. He said there have been several car break-ins recently and they have worked on those cases. Several juveniles were arrested for the break-ins and were released to their parents. B) ENGINEERS REPORT City Engineer Damon Johnson addressed the council with his monthly report. Mr. Johnson said the Construction Department recently went out for bids on pipe and fittings for a large water line replacement project on Broad Street. Only one bid was received. Councilmember Matthews moved to accept the bid of $222,449.96, from Northeast Arkansas Winwater. Councilmember Hubbard seconded and all voted for. Mr. Johnson said contractors have started back to work on the Stillhouse Branch project and hopes to have the work completed in a couple of weeks. Bids have been received and opened for the large sewer replacement project known as Contract Section III. Three bids were received and came in a little higher than expected. The low bid came in a little north of 16 million dollars. Mr. Johnson said after he and the project engineers review the bids, he will come back to the council for approval. Mr. Johnson said the street crews are getting prepared for the ice/snow storm forecasted for tonight and tomorrow. C) CONSIDER A REQUEST FOR A WATER METER LOCATED OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS Utility Office Manager Nick Baxter addressed the council with a request for a water meter outside the city limits of Batesville. Mr. Baxter said the request, made by Jordan Vallance of 78 Dry Run Circle, has signed all the required paperwork for a water meter. Councilmember Krug moved to approve the water meter and Councilmember Fredricks. The electronic vote count was 8 for and 0 against. D) CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER CHAD MCCLURE WITH AN UPDATE ON CONDEMNATIONS Code Enforcement Officer Chad McClure addressed the council regarding recent condemned properties. Mr. McClure reminded the council that on November 10, 2020, the council considered the condemnation of 8 properties, 7 of which they condemned. Mr. McClure said the property at 263 Ramsey Street, a contractor has been secured and the building is being torn down. 441 River Street and 577 th Bayou Street, both properties are going to be renovated. The tenants of 725 26 Street addressed the council. The gentleman said they have fixed the electricity and are ready to have water turned on. He said they were working of the outside of the trailer when time allowed. Mr. McClure said he has not inspected any of the work that has been done. The council voiced their concerns with the fact that the proper owner of the property is not known. Councilmember Fredricks moved for the couple to come to the June council meeting and present a contract on who owns the property. Councilmember Hinkle seconded and the motion carried with a voice vote. The owner of 1905 Neeley Street, Mr. James McReynolds, addressed the council and asked for more time to do the repairs needed to get the house rentable. Mr. McReynolds said he does all the renovation work himself and he also runs a business. Councilmember Fredricks asked Mr. McReynolds how much time did he need and he replied about 9 months. Councilmember Fredricks moved to put a hold on the condemnation proceedings and asked Mr. McReynolds to come back to the June council meeting with an update on his progress. Councilmember Musgrave seconded. Motion carried with voice vote. Mr. McClure said he has not been able to get in contact with the owners of the 1188 Grace Street and 345 Boggs Street properties. E) REPORT FROM JOHNATHAN ABBOTT REGARDING THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS AND VISITOR NUMBERS Cemetery / Landscape Supervisor Johnathan Abbott addressed the council with a report on the Christmas light display and visitor count. Mr. Abbott gave a power point presentation. Mr. Abbott said our light display has grown to over 2 million lights. Approximately 63,499 vehicles and over 200,000 visitors went through the Winter Wonderland this past year. Mr. Abbott said because of COVID, he did not seek any sponsorships for this past season, however, several businesses contacted him. The council commended Mr. Abbott on the job he and his crew for all the work they do to light up our City. F) EXECUTIVE SESSION Mayor Elumbaugh said he did not need to have an executive session at this time. G) PAID BILLS REPORT The council was given a copy of the January, 2021 paid bills report for review. MAYOR COMMENTS Mayor Elumbaugh said he was excited to announce that we have been approved for a grant to construct a splash pad and small pavilion in West Batesville and new playground equipment at Kennedy Park. Batesville School District is providing the land for the splash pad. It is a 50/50 grant from the Arkansas Parks and Tourism Commission. The total project is $250,000.00. LIAISON REPORTS None COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilmember Fredricks said he liked the new roll call system and believes that once the bugs are worked out, it will serve us well. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Councilmember Hinkle moved that the meeting be adjourned. Councilmember Hubbard seconded and all voted for. The meeting was adjourned at 6:20 pm. RICK ELUMBAUGH, MAYOR DENISE M. JOHNSTON, CITY CLERK