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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-08-09 MINUTES OF COUNCIL AUGUST 9, 2022 The Batesville City Council met in regular session on August 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; Brittany Bennett, Tommy Bryant, Scott Fredricks, Fred Krug, Doug Matthews, and Chris Poole. Also present were the City Clerk Denise Johnston and City Attorney Tim Meitzen. Councilmembers Julie Hinkle and Paige Hubbard were absent. Councilmember Fredricks moved to approve the minutes from the previous meeting and Councilmember Bennett seconded. All voted in favor. Councilmember Bennett moved to approve the prepared agenda. Councilmember Bryant seconded and all voted for. CITIZENS COMMENTS None UNFINISHED BUSINESS None NEW BUSINESS A) POLICE DEPARTMENT REPORT Mayor Elumbaugh said Chief Cockrill was unable to attend tonight’s meeting and will make his report next month. B) ENGINEER’S REPORT City Engineer Damon Johnson addressed the council with his monthly report. Mr. Johnson said the road bores for Contract Section III are continuing. He said they had to stop the bore work on the OMP/George’s property due to the poor and saturated ground. Due to the conditions, the sewer pipes shifted and joints opened up. He said he is working closely with OMP/George’s and the repairs should be completed this weekend. As soon as it is safe to resume the work, we will continue the boring. The bore under Hwy 167 is going well. There are two more bores that will require going under railroad tracks in order to tie into the Bayou crossing. The Water Treatment Plant improvement plans are about 30% complete. They will soon be visiting with the Health Department in Little Rock to get the plans approved. The sludge from A-Cell is scheduled to be removed. All other departments are running as scheduled. Councilmember Krug asked when the line replacement on Broad Street will be completed. Mr. Johnson said the new lines have been installed and we are going back with cold mix and concrete as for now. He said it will probably be next year before the entire street will be able to be overlayed. C) MS. CRYSTAL JOHNSON, CEO, BATESVILLE AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE WITH REPORTS ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND A&P. Ms. Crystal Johnson, CEO of the Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce, gave a report for the Economic Development and Advertising and Promotion Commission. Ms. Johnson said there were several Restaurant and Retail businesses in the works and she hopes to have announcements soon. Ms. Johnson talked briefly about the A&P Commission. She said they will be launching a new website next month. She also said there will be a new Way- Finding sign for the holidays, welcoming visitors to the Christmas Capital of Arkansas as you come down Ramsey Mountain. They are also replacing a damaged Way-Finding sign. Mayor Elumbaugh thanked Ms. Johnson and the council for their vision and support for the Economic Development and A & P Tax. D) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION TO WAIVE COMPETITIVE BIDDING FOR A GRAPPLE TRUCK Councilmember Bryant introduced an ordinance to waive competitive bidding for a new Grapple Truck. City Engineer Damon Johnson explained to the council that he and Sanitation Supervisor Jason Jones have found a 2022 chassis that will serve for the Grapple Truck. If the city went out for bids on a new chassis, because of demand, we would have to wait three or more years for the finished product. Councilmember Bryant moved to suspend the rules and read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Bennett seconded and the electronic roll call count was 6 for and 0 against. Mr. Meitzen read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Fredricks moved to adopt the resolution and Councilmember Matthews seconded. The electronic roll call count was 6 for and 0 against. The resolution was given #2022-08-01-R. E) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR AND CITY CLERK TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH WHITE RIVER PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT TO UTILIZE AR DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT FUNDS FOR A DRAINAGE PROJECT Councilmember Bryant introduced a resolution to authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to enter into an agreement with White River Planning and Development to utilize Arkansas Department of Emergency Management funds for a drainage project on Pine Street. Councilmember Matthews moved to suspend the rules and read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Bennett seconded and the electronic roll call count was 6 for 0 against. Mr. Meitzen read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Bennett moved to adopt the resolution. Councilmember Fredricks seconded and the electronic roll call count was 6 for and 0 against. The resolution was given #2022-08-02-R. F) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE SALE OF THE CURRENT BATESVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT PROPERTY TO BAD BOY MOWERS Councilmember Bryant introduced a resolution authorizing the sale of the current Batesville Police Department property to Bad Boy Mowers. Councilmember Matthews moved to suspend the rules and read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Bennett 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 and Councilmember Matthews seconded. The electronic roll call count was 6 for and 0 against. The resolution was given #2022-08-03-R. G) PAID BILLS REPORT The council was given a copy of the July, 2022 paid bills report for review. MAYOR COMMENTS Mayor Elumbaugh told the council that he has appointed Assistant Fire Chief, Ronnie Painter, to be the new interim Fire Chief upon the retirement of current Fire st Chief Brent Gleghorn. Mr. Gleghorn is retirement August 31. He said Lieutenant Bill Johnson is also retiring at the end of August to become the new Office of Emergency Management Director for Independence County. He said the city will be hosting a retirement party for both men. He said the city will advertise for a permanent Fire Chief sometime in 2023. th The Mayor complemented Main Street Batesville for a very successful 77 annual White River Water Carnival and Fun on the Bayou. Mayor Elumbaugh reminded the public that school starts in a couple of weeks, so please watch out for children and drive carefully. The Mayor also said he had a good meeting with George’s Poultry and they have put in the budget for next year, a new pre-treatment facility for their Batesville Plant. He said that is very good news and he is having a meeting in the next couple of weeks with the management of PECO. FIXED ASSET DISPOSAL. City Clerk Denise Johnston informed the council of a fixed asset disposal. The city sold on GovDeals a 2009 John Deere X540 Lawn Tractor, Unit #344. The unit was in the Landscape department and was sold for $500.00. LIAISON REPORTS None COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilmember Bryant said he would like to clear up any confusion regarding the Chamber of Commerce and the A&P and Economic Development programs. The Chamber of Commerce has been hired to run both the A&P and ED programs. These programs are funded through an A&P tax and donations. No monies from the Chamber members are used in any way for these programs. However, all three entities serve for the betterment of the City of Batesville as well as Independence County. Councilmember Krug said there will be a Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting st ceremony on September 1 for the new Midtown Plaza at 700 Harrison Street. He invited all the council to attend. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Councilmember Bennett moved that the meeting be adjourned. Councilmember Fredricks seconded. All voted for. The meeting was adjourned at 6:20 pm. RICK ELUMBAUGH, MAYOR DENISE M. JOHNSTON, CITY CLERK