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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-08-23 MINUTES OF COUNCIL AUGUST 23, 2011 The Batesville City Council met in regular session on August 23, at 5:30 PM at the Municipal Building. Mayor Elumbaugh called the meeting to order. Councilmember Krug 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 Bryant moved to approve the minutes from the previous meeting. Councilmember Henley seconded and all voted for. Councilmember Bryant moved to approve the prepared agenda. Councilmember Henley seconded and all voted for. CITIZENS COMMENTS Mr. Darrell Birmingham of 1803 North Heights addressed the council and expressed his concern regarding rumors he had heard regarding a proposed parks and recreation tax. Mr. James Griffin of 1070 Arrowhead Lane in Cave City (who owns rental property in Batesville) addressed the council regarding the proposed firing range to be located on lower Main Street behind the Jail. He said his main concern regarding noise has been diminished somewhat after talking to Mr. Randy Reichardt and receiving correct information. Mr. Randy Reichardt of 60 D & D Road addressed the council. Mr. Reichardt offered and encouraged anyone who had concerns regarding the proposed firing range, to be used exclusively by the Sherrif's Department for officer qualification and training, to contact him and he would try to answer their concerns. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None NEW BUSINESS A) MONTHLY SHERIFF'S REPORT, SHERIFF STEVE JEFFERY Sheriff Steve Jeffery addressed the council with his monthly report. The Sheriff said one of his best Metro Officers recently resigned from the department to go to work for the Juvenile Detention Center. Sheriff Jeffery said he was going to try to replace the officer with someone who is already a certified officer. B) PARKS AND RECREATION REPORT, PARKS DIRECTOR JEFF OWENS Mr. Jeff Owens, Park Director, addressed the council regarding activities and improvements in the parks department during the month of July. Mr. Owens gave the council an estimated economic development impact figures that the July baseball tournaments and swim meets had on Batesville and Independence County. Councilmember Bryant asked Mr. Owens to expound on how an updated parks system in Batesville would affect our entire community from an economic standpoint. Mr. Owens gave the council a brief comparison regarding the number of tournaments and the amount of teams that the parks facilities in the City of Jonesboro could accommodate. Mr. Owens also updated the council on several improvements and projects that were in recently completed or are currently in progress. C) ENGINEER'S REPORT, CITY ENGINEER DAMON JOHNSON City Engineer Damon Johnson addressed the council with his engineer's report. Mr. Johnson said the contractors for Phase 1 of the Wastewater Treatment Plant expansion have closed a portion of Chaney Drive in order cut the street to place the new large pipe for the gravity flow sewer. He said the road may be closed up to two weeks. Mr. Johnson also gave a brief update on the other departments in the City and current projects. D) REVIEW JULY 2011 FINANCIALS The council was given a copy of the July 2011 financials for review. MAYOR'S COMMENTS Mayor Elumbaugh asked Fire Chief Brent Gleghorn and Assistant Chief Ronnie Painter to addresses the council. Mr. Gleghorn and Mr. Painter drove to Springfield, MO today to look at some used fire equipment. Chief Gleghorn said they found a 2000 fire truck with just over 15,000 miles for $179,500.00. He said the truck does not have the compressed foam on it but it can be added for approximately $45 - $50 thousand dollars. The Chief said if approved by the council, he could finance the truck over a five year period and pay for it out of the Act 833 funds. Financing over five years would not put a strain on the fund so he could still purchase other items like turnouts and air packs and make minor repairs to their equipment. He said the council could consider during the budget process if the City could fund the addition of the compressed air foam. The Mayor said he would call a budget meeting sometime early next week and hopefully will have a recommendation soon after that. Mayor Elumbaugh announced that Independence County and the City of Batesville has received a grant from the Arkansas Department of Health for the "Communities Putting Prevention to Work" program. Batesville and North Little Rock were the only two cities to receive the grant. The $668,206.00 will be used to offer free exercise classes to the community and purchase and install new playground equipment of several area schools. The Mayor thanked the community for supporting the MDA fire truck pull fundraiser last weekend at Riverside Park. The event raised $6,772.00. The Mayor read a proclamation proclaiming August as Pathfinder, Inc. 40th Anniversary Month. LIAISON REPORTS None COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilmember Bryant said he, Councilmember Henley and the Mayor were among the first class to receive their designation as Certified Municipal Officials. The certification requires 21 hours of classroom credits which covers various topics important to municipal officials. Councilmember Bryant encouraged the rest of the council to work on achieving their certificates as well. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Councilmember Bryant moved that the meeting be adjourned. Councilmember Insell seconded and all voted for. RICK ELUMBAUGH, MAYOR DENISE M. JOHNSTON, CITY CLERK