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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-11-27 MINUTES OF COUNCIL NOVEMBER 27, 2012 The Batesville City Council met in regular session on November 27, at 6:30 PM at the Municipal Building. Mayor Elumbaugh called the meeting to order. Mr. Nick Baxter gave the invocation. Upon roll call, the following council answered present; Tommy Bryant, Margarett Henley, Paige Hubbard, Davy Insell, Fred Krug, Douglas Matthews, Chris Poole, and David Shetron. Also present were the Deputy City Clerk Brenda Riley and the City Attorney Lindsey Castleberry. Councilmember Bryant moved to approve the minutes from the previous meeting. Councilmember Insell seconded and all voted for. Councilmember Henley moved to approve the prepared agenda. Councilmember Shetron seconded and all voted for. CITIZENS COMMENTS None UNFINISHED BUSINESS None NEW BUSINESS A) HEAR AN UPDATE FROM Mr. LARRY JONES, DIRECTOR OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION Mr. Larry Jones presented his monthly report. Mr. Jones told the council that Peco Foods had been given a $75,000 grant for additional expansion projects. Peco is pledging an additional six jobs on top of the 300 jobs previously announced. Wholesale Supply has also been awarded a small grant to hire two additional positions. This business is located in the old Sims building. Mr. Jones told the council that the website for the ICEDC will be online by the end of December. The same company that is designing the ICEDC website will also upgrade the county's website. Jerry Wilson and Patty King were recently appointed to the ICEDC commission. Mr. Jones said the County continues to look for a site for the new industrial park. He stressed the importance of local tax dollars and said the community needs to attract more retail stores. Mr. Jones announced that there would be a joint meeting between the ICEDC and Chamber board, set for 5:30 p.m. on December 11, 2012. B) CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE TO WAIVE COMPETITIVE BIDDING AND AUTHORIZE THE BATESVILLE WATER DEPARTMENT TO CONTRACT FOR WATER TREATMENT CONTROL SYSTEM AND ELECTRICAL REPAIRS City Engineer Damon Johnson said the City had hired Multil-Craft Contractors to come in and begin work to upgrade the water treatment plant. After the work began it was discovered that a major component of the specs for controls had been left out of the original contract. The original contract was for $300,000. The new contract is for $600,000. Councilmember Insell introduced the ordinance. Mr. Lindsey Castleberry read the ordinance in full. Councilmember Bryant moved to suspend the 2nd & 3rd reading. Councilmember Insell second. The roll call was 8 for 0 against. Councilmember Bryant moved to adopt the ordinance and Councilmember Insell seconded. The roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. Councilmember Bryant made a motion to adopt the emergency clause and Councilmember Shetron seconded. The roll call was 8 for 0 against. The ordinance was given #2012-11-01. C) ENGINEER'S REPORT Mr. Johnson brought the council up to date on some projects around the City. He told the council that Myers Street had been paved and there was a little cleanup work left to do. Mr. Johnson said that sludge removal at the wastewater treatment plant is under way at cell A. He said we may not have to do it again for a while and could save some monies next year. Also construction at the wastewater plant continues to make progress. Mr. Johnson told the council that the Westside sewer line project had changed a little to get ahead of the state highway department's plans to overlay Hwy 106. The sewer line will cross in two different places. Mr. Johnson told the council that the electrical repairs at the water treatment plants were moving along. Councilmember Tommy Bryant expressed concerns to Mr. Johnson about the lack of water running over lock and dam #1. Mr. Bryant said that both Batesville and Southside's water intake structures are located above the dam. He asks Mr. Johnson to check into what the permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission says about the water flow over the dam, and to contact the County, which operates the hydroelectric plant. D) FINANCIALS The council was given a copy of the financials for October 2012. MAYOR COMMENTS Mayor Elumbaugh informed the council that the annual Christmas Parade will be Monday December 3, 2012. The lighting ceremony will begin at 6:15 pm followed by the parade at 7 pm. Mayor Elumbaugh informed the council that the City has received an increase in health insurance premiums for 2013. He told the council that he would like for the City to go ahead and cover the additional amount for January. There will be some proposal's to look at during the budget process that will address the cost of dependent coverage. Councilmember Bryant made a motion to cover the additional premium for January and Councilmember Insell seconded. All were in favor. Mayor Elumbaugh asked the council to consider pay incentives for all city employees. After a review of the financials, Mr. Krug said he felt like the employee's deserved the pay incentives. Councilmember Krug made a motion that all full time employees get a $500 pay incentive and all permanent part-time receive $250. Councilmember Insell seconded. All were in favor. Mayor Elumbaugh asks Dr. Matthews to tell the council about upcoming Federal Communications Commission regulation changes that will be coming in the future. Dr. Matthews explained to the council about the new regulations and told them that this would be something that will need to be addressed in the near future to keep the City in compliance. Mayor Elumbaugh set 2 budget meeting to discuss the 2013 budget. One will be December 4th, and the other one will be December 10th, both at 5:30 pm. Mayor Elumbaugh also asks the council to move the next council meeting time to 6:30 pm so he could attend another meeting. LIAISON REPORTS None COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilmember Bryant said that he had noticed several street lights out and would like for someone to get a list and report them to Entergy to be repaired. Councilmember Shetron expressed his concerns over a burned out house on College Avenue. Mr. Shetron said it has been burned out for quite awhile and needs something done because it is a safety issue. City Attorney, Lindsey Castleberry told Mr. Shetron and the Council that the property has been in litigation between the insurance company and the property owners. It is set for a jury trial for next spring or summer. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Councilmember Insell moved that the meeting be adjourned. Councilmember Bryant seconded and all voted for. RICK ELUMBAUGH, MAYOR BRENDA RILEY, DEPUTY CLERK