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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-09-13 MINUTES OF COUNCIL SEPTEMBER 13, 2022 The Batesville City Council met in regular session on September 13, 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, Julie Hinkle, Paige Hubbard, Fred Krug, Doug Matthews, and Chris Poole. 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 Bryant seconded and all voted for. Councilmember Hinkle moved to approve the prepared agenda. Councilmember Hubbard seconded and all voted for. CITIZENS COMMENTS Mr. Brian Norris addressed the council in regards to an upcoming event planned in Batesville. Mr. Norris said there is going to be a Drag Queen event on September th 29 in Batesville and he believes the event will be in violation of several of the city’s ordinances. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None NEW BUSINESS A) POLICE DEPARTMENT REPORT Chief Cockrill said he did not have a monthly report due to a catastrophic event that destroyed 3 computer hard drives and the departments server. IT is still working to repair the damage and so far, has worked between 40 to 60 hours restoring backed up data. B) ENGINEER’S REPORT City Engineer Damon Johnson gave his monthly report. Mr. Johnson said even though the contractors are working with a short crew, the bore under Hwy 167 is complete with the final inspection. The Water Treatment Plant improvement plans are about 30% complete. Street Dept. is redoing the striping in several of our parking lots as well as cross walks. He is also looking into a grant to upgrade our signal lights to bring them up to modern standards. Wastewater Treatment Plant is running smooth. They are still removing sludge from A cell and hopefully this will complete the sludge removal for a couple of years. Mr. Johnson was asked about the solar project. Mr. Johnson said it was “dead in the water”. Due to several circumstances, including rate changes for large consumers, the solar company is no longer able to fund the program. C) RECOGNIZE FIRE CHIEF BRENT GLEGHORN AND LT. BILL JOHNSON ON THEIR RETIREMENT Mayor Elumbaugh recognized and presented Fire Chief Brent Gleghorn and Fire Lt. Bill Johnson with plaques for their years of service to the City of Batesville. Chief Gleghorn had 36 years and Lt. Johnson had 24 years. Both men spoke briefly in appreciation. D) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH WHITE RIVER PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT FOR ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES Councilmember Fredricks introduced a resolution to authorize the Mayor to enter into an administrative agreement with White River Planning and Development District, Inc. The City of Batesville received a grant for $2,105,100.00 from the Economic Development Administration to construct roads and extend utilities. Councilmember Fredricks moved to suspend the rules and read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Hinkle seconded and the electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. Mr. Meitzen read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Bryant moved to adopt the resolution. Councilmember Hubbard seconded and the electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. The resolution was given #2022- 09-01-R. E) CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE GRANTING A FRANCHISE TO OPERATE AN AMBULANCE BUSINESS WITHIN THE CITY OF BATESVILLE Councilmember Bryant introduced an ordinance to grant a franchise to Vital Link for ambulance services inside the city limits of Batesville. Ms. Kathy Lanier, CEO of Vital Link addressed the council to answer any questions. Councilmember Bryant moved to suspend the rules and read the ordinance by title. Councilmember Hubbard seconded and the electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. Mr. Meitzen read the ordinance by title only. Councilmember Bryant moved to further suspend the rules and waive the second and third readings. Councilmember Fredricks seconded and the electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. Councilmember Bryant moved to adopt the ordinance. Councilmember Fredricks seconded and the electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. The ordinance was given #2022-09-01. F) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION FOR THE PURCHASE OF PROPERTY AT 710 ST. LOUIS STREET Councilmember Fredricks introduced a resolution authorizing the purchase of the property located at 710 St. Louis Street from First Community Bank. The building will be the new location for the Batesville Police Department. Councilmember Bennett moved to read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Bryant seconded and the electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. Mr. Meitzen read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Poole moved to adopt the resolution. Councilmember Bryant seconded and the electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. The resolution was given #2022-09-02-R. G) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION FOR THE PURCHASE OF PROPERTY AT 1050 OAK STREET Councilmember Fredricks introduced a resolution authorizing the purchase of the property located at 1050 Oak Street from Lewanda Van Pelt and Gary Brown. The property will be used for the Batesville Police Department. Councilmember Bryant moved to read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Hubbard seconded and the electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. Mr. Meitzen read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Bryant moved to adopt the resolution. Councilmember Hubbard seconded and the electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. The resolution was given #2022-09-03-R. H) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION FOR THE PURCHASE OF LOTS 1 AND 2 OF THE SCHOOL ADDITION Councilmember Bryant introduced a resolution authorizing the purchase lots 1 & 2 of the School Addition from Floyd Lee Anthony. The property will be used for additional parking area for the Batesville Police Department. Councilmember Bryant moved to read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Bennett seconded and the electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. Mr. Meitzen read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Bryant moved to adopt the resolution. Councilmember Poole seconded and the electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. The resolution was given #2022-09-04-R. I) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION FOR THE PURCHASE OF PROPERTY AT 201 S. CENTRAL AVENUE Councilmember Bryant introduced a resolution authorizing the purchase of the food truck lot located at 201 S. Central Avenue. The property will continue to be used as a food truck lot until the city expands the property with a pavilion, green space and splash pad. Councilmember Fredricks moved to read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Bryant seconded and the electronic roll call count was 8 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 8 for and 0 against. The resolution was given #2022- 09-05-R. J) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION TO ACCEPT THE LOW BID AND ENTER INTO A CONTRACT WITH C&S CONTRACTING, LLC FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW PUBLIC WORKS FACILITY Councilmember Bryant introduced a resolution accepting the low bid and enter into a contract with C & S Contracting, LLC for the construction of a Public Works Facility for the City of Batesville and Batesville Utilities. Councilmember Matthews moved to read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Fredricks seconded and the electronic roll call count was 8 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 8 for and 0 against. The resolution was given #2022-09-06-R. K) CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE FOR CHANGES IN THE BATESVILLE EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK Councilmember Fredricks introduced an ordinance for changes in the Batesville Employee Handbook. The proposed changes are in regards to Information Technology. Councilmember Fredricks moved to suspend the rules and read the ordinance by title only. Councilmember Bryant seconded and the electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. Mr. Meitzen read the ordinance by title only. Councilmember Bryant moved to further suspend the rules and waive the second and third readings. Councilmember Bennett seconded and the electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. Councilmember Bryant moved to adopt the ordinance and Councilmember Bennett seconded. The electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. The ordinance was given #2022-09-02. Mr. Meitzen read the emergency clause. Councilmember Bryant moved to adopt the emergency clause. Councilmember Matthews seconded and the electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. L) EXECUTIVE SESSION Councilmember Matthews moved to go into executive session to consider the reappointment for one or more boards or commissions. Councilmember Bryant seconded and all voted for. Upon returning from executive, Councilmember Krug moved to reappoint Mr. Johnathon Burgess to the Parks and Recreation advisory committee. Councilmember Fredricks seconded and all voted for. Mr. Burgess’ term will expire 9/30/25. Councilmember Matthews moved to reappoint Mr. Larry Lilly to the Batesville Appeals Commission. Councilmember Bryant seconded and all voted for. Mr. Lilly’s term will expire 9/8/2027. Councilmember Fredricks moved to reappoint Ms. Julia Nail and Mr. Greg Byler to the City Tree Board. Councilmember Bryant seconded and all voted for. Both terms will expire 9/8/2024. M) FINANCIAL REPORT The council was given a copy of the August, 2022 financial report. MAYOR COMMENTS Mayor Elumbaugh said he needed to call a Public Safety Committee meeting for th September 27 at 5:15pm. Councilmembers on the committee are Chris Poole, Julie Hinkle and Scott Fredricks. All said they would be able to attend. Mayor Elumbaugh said he had a conflict with the scheduled October council th meeting and asked to move it to the third Tuesday, October 18. Councilmember Fredricks so moved and Councilmember Bryant seconded. All voted for. The Mayor asked Sanitation Supervisor Jason Jones to address the council regarding the possibility of purchasing a Class 4 Grapple Truck and Horizonal Grinder with a portion of the ARPA funds. Mr. Jones told the council that his department cannot keep up with the amount of Class 4 and brush and leaves that our citizens request. He said with a horizonal grinder and an additional grapple truck, one man could pickup and dispose of brush where now it takes 3 men. The additional grapple truck will also help with the Class 4 disposals. The horizonal grinder will grind a minimum of 18” tree trunks and will also be equipped to dye the mulch which in turn will be available for our citizens. The Grapple truck will cost approximately $200,000.00 and the horizonal grinder between $313,000.00 to $480,000.00, depending on the size. Mr. Jones said he has a representative of the grinder company coming to ride along to see what demand the city has and what size equipment is recommended. The council was in agreement for Mr. Jones to pursue the purchase of the equipment. LIAISON REPORT 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 6:52pm. RICK ELUMBAUGH, MAYOR DENISE M. JOHNSTON, CITY CLERK