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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-09-11 MINUTES OF COUNCIL SEPTEMBER 11, 2012 The Batesville City Council met in regular session on September 11, at 5:30 PM at the Municipal Building. Mayor Elumbaugh called the meeting to order. Councilmember Hubbard 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 City Clerk and the City Attorney. Councilmember Shetron 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 Matthews seconded and all voted for. CITIZENS COMMENTS None UNFINISHED BUSINESS None NEW BUSINESS A) SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT REPORT Chief Deputy Alan Cockrill addressed the council for the Sheriff's Department's monthly report. Going through the report, Chief Cockrill noted that there were no metro officers dispatched outside the city limits during the month of July. B) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT UPDATE, LARRY JONES Economic Development Director Larry Jones addressed the council. He told them of an upcoming "Entrepreneurship Boot Camp". The 6 night event will teach would be entrepreneurs the tools and confidence to start a small business. He also told the council the ICEDC (Independence County Economic Development Commission) took bids and hired a firm to redesign their web site as well as the County's web site. He said the internet is now the main source businesses and family's uses when deciding on a location to live and work. He talked about the importance of a well designed and updated web site and said they would also have links to the City's and Chamber's sites. Lastly, he said he hoped to have an announcement soon regarding an additional expansion with Peco Foods. The Mayor and council thanked Mr. Jones for his work and keeping them informed. C) CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE BATESVILLE ZONING DISTRICTS MAP Code Enforcement Officer Chad McClure addressed the council with a proposed zoning change. He said the recently annexed land along Highway 167(just south of the river where US Pizza and Townsley's Quick Mart are located), as per our code, was annexed in as R-1. All the annexed property is currently commercial therefore needs to be zoned C-1. He said the commission held a public hearing with no objections. Councilmember Bryant introduced an ordinance to amend the Batesville Zoning Districts Map from R-1 to C-1. Councilmember Matthews moved to read the ordinance by title only. Councilmember Bryant seconded and the roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. Mr. Castleberry read the ordinance by title only. Councilmember Shetron moved to further suspend the rules and waive the second and third readings. Councilmember Matthews seconded and the roll call count is 8 for and 0 against. Councilmember Matthews moved to adopt the ordinance and Councilmember Bryant seconded. The roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. The ordinance was given #2012-9-1. D) CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE TO RENEW AMBULANCE FRANCHISE Ms. Myra Wood, CEO of Vital Link Ambulance Service and Dr. Chris Beller, Chairman of the Board addressed the council regarding an extension of their existing franchise agreement. Ms. Wood gave a brief background of Vital Link since its conception in 1983. Councilmember Matthews introduced an ordinance to grant a 5 year franchise extension to Vital Link. Mr. Castleberry read the ordinance in full. Councilmember Matthews moved to suspend the rules and waive the second and third readings. Councilmember Insell seconded and the roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. Councilmember Mathews moved to adopt the ordinance and Councilmember Bryant seconded. The roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. The ordinance was given #2012-9-2. E) ENGINEER'S REPORT City Engineer Damon Johnson addressed the council with his engineer's report. Starting with the Water Treatment Plant, Mr. Johnson said the contractors are on site pulling electrical wire and bringing our facility up to code and proper safety levels. The Wastewater Treatment Plant is struggling to make permit this month. The extreme drought causes the pond levels to be low which causes excessive algae which then causes high Ph levels. He said the employees are doing all they can to make permit. The construction department is working on a sewer rehab plan primarily in the Westside area where the sewer lines are severely deteriorated. He said the rehab will be a very large undertaking and some of it will contracted out. The Street department has finished the new pedestrian bridge across Stillhouse Branch near the river which is part of the 2nd phase of the Greenway Trail. The Street crew is now cutting the path for the trail which will then be paved. After finishing the trail, the Street department will then return to street and drainage repairs throughout the City. The Row Lake project is almost complete with a little clean up left and finishing the new handicapped fishing pier. The road was completed except for the paving and opened before school started in August. Construction for the WWTP expansion is moving forward as expected. Mr. Johnson said he is still working on our compliance issues with ADEQ and also hoped to have the Master Water Plan completed by the end of the year. F) EXECUTIVE SESSION Councilmember Bryant moved to go into executive session and Councilmember Insell seconded. All voted for. Upon returning from executive session, Councilmember Bryant moved to reappoint Ms. Gail Harley and Mr. Kenny Smothers to the City Tree Board. Councilmember Insell seconded and all voted for. Their terms will expire September 8, 2014. Councilmember Hubbard moved to appoint Mr. Michael Ennis to the Planning Commission. Councilmember Insell seconded and all voted for. Mr. Ennis' term will expire June 10, 2017. G) PAID BILLS REPORT AND FINANCIALS The council was given a copy of the August Paid Bills report and the July Financials for review. MAYOR COMMENTS The council was asked to consider a Cemetery Resolution for Ms. Brenda Baxter on behalf of Dr. J.J. Monfort, Certificate # 12-248-1 for $200.00. Councilmember Matthews moved to adopt the resolution and Councilmember Bryant seconded. All voted for. The council was informed of a fixed assets disposal. Metro Unit#531, a 2002 Chevy Impala VIN#06211. Ms. Paula Grimes with Main Street Batesville is asking for approval to be reimbursed for travel and training that she will be attending later this month. The city received a $4,550.00 grant for such purposes. Councilmember Henley moved to approve the reimbursement out of the grant monies. Councilmember Hubbard seconded and all voted for. The Mayor congratulated Chamber Director Chrystal Johnson for the success of the White River Water Carnival held last weekend. He said the beautiful weather Saturday helped make for a great festival and good crowds. Mayor Elumbaugh said for about 3 years now he has been visiting with several stockholders for the Batesville Country Club about the possibility of obtaining that property for the City. He said there are 72 acres including a club house, tennis courts and a 9 hole golf course, which hasn't been used in about a year. The property appraised for 2.2 million which he said obviously the city would not pay. He said when asked what the City would do with the property he said he really does not know but feels like it would be a great opportunity for our community. Councilmember Bryant said his dad was on the City Council in 1952 when the city was considering the construction of a pool on the Fitzhugh property, which at that time was on the edge of town. He said not all the council thought it was a good idea but 59 years later our citizens still enjoy that pool. The Mayor encouraged the council to drive out to the property and look it over. Councilmember Bryant suggested setting a public hearing on the subject for the next council meeting. LIAISON REPORTS None COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilmember Bryant said he has had several call about the low area just south of the intersection of Jennings and Franklin. He said there are limbs that obstruct the view, especially when viewed from Jennings and Shade Tree Drive and need to be cut back. The limbs are high and the lift truck will need to be used. Mr. Bryant also wanted to thank the City and County employees and EMS and Entergy personnel for their quick response to Friday night's storms. The 80 plus mile an hour winds destroyed three hangers and three aircrafts at the Batesville Airport. Several trees were uprooted and power poles snapped into throughout the County. Highway 167 was blocked for a couple of hours while debris was cleaned up. Hundreds were without electricity for several days. Councilmember Matthews also spoke of the damage and encouraged the City to make sure our property insurance is adequate for such events. The council set a budget meeting for September 18th at 5:30 PM. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Councilmember Matthews moved to be adjourned. Councilmember Insell seconded and all voted for. RICK ELUMBAUGH, MAYOR DENISE M. JOHNSTON, CITY CLERK