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01/30/2018 MINUTES WEST MEMPHIS CITY COUNCIL January 30, 2018 A Special-Called meeting of the West Memphis City Council was held on Tuesday, January 30, 2018 at 3:30 p.m.. in the Mayor's Conference Room at City Hall, 205 S.Redding, West Memphis, Arkansas. Invocation was given by Brother John Rech. Mayor Johnson called the meeting to order. Sr. Deputy City Clerk :Cindy Greenwood called the roll. Those present were: Mayor William H. Johnson, City Attorney Michael Stephenson, City Treasurer Frank Martin and Councilmembers:James Pulliaum, Ramona Taylor, Helen Harris, Marco McClendon, Willis Mondy(late), James Holt, Wayne Croom (late)and, Lorraine Robinson. Absent: City Clerk Phillip-Para, Councilmembers: Tracy Catt and Melanie Hutchinson. Quorum being present, Mayor Johnson.proceeded with the meeting. Mayor Johnson stated the reason for the Special-Called Meeting was the Resolution to adopt the 2018 budget. NEW BUSINESS Councilmember Pulliaum made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Taylor to suspend the rules and read the title only of R-1. Upon voice vote, the voting was unanimous. R-1 A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE 2018 BUDGET FOR THE CITY OF WEST MEMPHIS,ARKANSAS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES City Attorney Stephenson read the Resolution. Councilmember Pulliaum made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Holt to approve the 2018 Budget including the 3% raise for city employees and a bonus. Councilmember McClendon asked if the proposed raises were included in the budget. Finance Director Frank Martin said they were not however, the Human Resource Department should be finished with addressing all of the proposals by March 1st. A voice vote was held on the motion to approve the Resolution. The voting was unanimous. The motion carried. The Resolution was adopted and assigned No. 2161. Mayor Johnson presented his 2017 State of the City Message. A copy of the message is attached to the minutes for the record. Having no further business to come before the City Council, Councilmember Taylor made a motion, second by Councilmember Mondy to adjourn. Upon voice vote, the voting was unanimous. The meeting adjourned at 3:40 pm. PASSED and APPROVED this 1st day of, February 2018. Tee." 4�-t{— �4c-t;n 9 MAyo v' WI LIAM H.TdASON, MAYOR ATTEST: PHILLIP P- , CITY CLERK Minutes prepared by: Cindy Greenwood, Sr. Deputy City Clerk MINUTES WEST MEMPHIS CITY COUNCIL January 30,2018 A Special-Called meeting of the West Memphis City Council was held on Tuesday, January 30, 2018 at 3:30 p.m. in the Mayor's Conference Room at City Hall, 205 S. Redding, West Memphis, Arkansas. Invocation was given by Brother John Rech. Mayor Johnson called the meeting to order. Sr. Deputy City Clerk Cindy Greenwood called the roll. Those present were: Mayor William H. Johnson, City Attorney Michael 'Stephenson, City Treasurer Frank Martin and Councilmembers:James Pulliaum, Ramona Taylor, Helen Harris, Marco McClendon, Willis Mondy(late), James Holt, Wayne Croom (late) and, Lorraine Robinson. Absent: City Clerk Phillip,Para, Councilmembers: Tracy Catt and Melanie Hutchinson. Quorum being present, Mayor Johnson proceeded with the meeting. Mayor Johnson stated the reason for the Special-Called Meeting was the Resolution to adopt the 2018 budget. NEW BUSINESS Councilmember.Pulliaum made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Taylor to suspend the rules and read the title only of R-1. Upon voice vote, the voting was unanimous. R-1 A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE 2018 BUDGET FOR THE CITY OF WEST MEMPHIS;ARKANSAS,, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES City Attorney Stephenson read.the_Resolution. Councilmember Pulliaum made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Holt to approve the 2018 Budget including the 3% raise for city employees and a bonus. Councilmember McClendon asked if the proposed raises were included in the budget. Finance Director Frank Martin said they were not however, the Human Resource Department should be finished with addressing all of the proposals by March 1st. A voice vote was held on the motion to approve the Resolution. The voting was unanimous. The motion carried. The Resolution was adopted and assigned No. 2161. Mayor Johnson presented his 2017 State of the City Message. A copy of the message is attached to the minutes for the record. Having no further business to come,before the City Council, Councilmember Taylor made a motion, second by Councilmember Mondy to adjourn. Upon voice vote, the voting was unanimous. The meeting adjourned at 3:40 pm. PASSED and APPROVED this 1 st day of, February 2018. Ac-(,'n9 Mayor WI LIAM H.TUASON, MAYOR ATTEST: PHILLIP P , CITY CLERK Minutes prepared by: Cindy Greenwood, Sr. Deputy City Clerk Mayor William 1-1. Johnson Presents - 2017 State of the City Message The year 2017 was a very successful year and much was accomplished. I am very optimistic regarding our future and are pleased to present this official statement of our status. The Economic Development Department with Director Phillip Sorrell and Project Manager Mallory Darby has made great progress. Mr. Sorrell has been on the.job for one year and one of his first priorities was to establish a strong working relationship with our economic development partners at Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEI?C). This office has achieved that goal and has partnered with AEDC on numerous projects throughout the year to bring good jobs to this area. In 2017,this department completed 11 Request for Information(RFI's)from AEDC, most of which were manufacturing operations employing hundreds of people with large utility and land demands. With the help of AEDC, ASID Mid-South and our utility partners, Nest Memphis-has advanced and remains''in the running on two projects for which this department hosted site visits on multiple occasions. In addition,this department partnered with AEDC to work with a local business considering significant expansion. This project remains active and this department is hopeful it will come to fruition in 2018. Infrastructure development, particularly transportation, is a critical element and also a requirement to achieve sustained economic growth. Much of 2017 has been focused on such infrastructure development through the $10,900,000 improvements project in the City owned Dail Port Logistics Park. These improvements were funded by a'Tiger IST grant through the Department of Transportation and Federal Railroad Administration. The project consists of the upgrade of the 14,000 feet of City owned railroad that currently serves 6 local businesses. This grant also allowed the city to purchase 45 acres in the Dail Port Logistics Park for construction of a Freight Bulk Transfer Facility. This multi-modal facility will allow movement of freight between rail, road, or river thus providing businesses.cost effective options for shipment of their incoming raw materials or outgoing products. Also,this infrastructure development ekes,our ability to market property for industrial development,particularly the adjacent 1,200 acre Mega Site. The Economic Development Department has begun a multi-department effort for development of a new city website. The development of this new website will aid in delivering a more cohesive message across all city departments and streamline the services offered in them. From the economic development website, our goal is to better connect with the industries that are looking to locate or expand in Nest Memphis by better communicating our assets. Given the current state of information exchange through digital content,this office feels this is the most effective means to tell our city's story and reach the widest market in a cost-effective manner. Regarding business activity during 2017, some of the major business development successes include the start of the new$25,000,000 Baptist Hospital Crittenden; construction of 2 hotels with a third planned along the 74' Street corridor, construction of over $30,000,000 in new and existing building improvements within the West Memphis School District; and completion of the new Delta Regional River Park that connects to the Big River Crossing bike/pedestrian trial system which promotes tourism in the area. Planning and Community Development with Mr. Paul Luker has also been successful. In 2017 building permits were issued for industrial and commercial development with an estimated cost of more than$29,000,000. This figure includes 6 permits for new construction and 29 permits to re-model or add onto existing buildings. Additionally, the department issued 10 permits for new single-family homes and another 90 permits to re- model or add-on to exiting residential structures. Staff changes in 2017 saw the retirement of Christine Byrd retired in July. Fortunately, Planning and Community Development filled this vacancy by promoting from within the department. This helped to provide a seamless transition thus allowing the City to continue the efficient delivery of community services. Community Development oversaw the rehabilitation of 22 single-family homes utilizing the labor of volunteer groups. These homes are owner occupied by elderly/low income and or handicapped individuals. Sixty-one substandard and vacant structures were demolished. The opening of the Big River Crossing.on the Harahan Bridge, a bicycle/pedestrian trail across the Mississippi River, connects Main Street West Memphis to Dain Street Memphis. The BRX attracted more than 275,000 visitors in its first year of operation. The first phase of development for the Delta Regional River Park was completed in the fall 2017. The improvements included more than 5 miles of trails. These trails provided the user a unique experience of traveling along the bank of the Mississippi River combined with dramatic views of the downtown Memphis skyline. Amanda Dicks was hired as the new City Engineer to oversee the Public Works Department. This department has completed the overlay of 13,600 linear feet of city streets and the construction of Southland Drive Phase 3 which connects Ingram Blvd. to North 7`'Street. This improves the traffic flow into and out of the city as well as access to the new Baptist Hospital Crittenden. The department also manages the recycling program, with more than 171,000 lbs collected in 2017. The a-waste program has continued to be successful with approximately one trailer load per month. The city disposed of over 3,000 illegally dumped tires. This department continues to support Code Enforcement on illegal dumping, tire disposal and mowing of vacant properties. The Department has received permission from the Arkansas Department of Transportation to accept bids on the Dino Load Bridge replacement over 15 bile Bayou. This is a joint project with Marion and West Memphis is responsible for the administrative work. The project is scheduled for spring 2018. The Public Works Department also selected a design engineering firm for the South Loop Extension project which will connect port Road with Waverly Road. This project is scheduled to start in late 2018. Finally, Phase 2 of the Southeast Area Drainage Project was completed in 2017. The areas included in the project were South 9P and South 11'" from Jackson to Jefferson. Public Works assisted Community Development with this project. The Police Department under the leadership of Chief Donald Oakes had a 16%reduction in firearms related violent crime with the implementation of the DETER(Data Enhanced- Target nhancedTarget Enforcement and Restoration)project in the South Avalon corridor and over a 30%reduction in homicides in 2017. The department received training and technical assistance provided by the Department of Justice and Bureau of Justice Assistance to enhance the Department's violent crime fighting ability. The WMPD launched and maintained a robust social media campaign that has been a great asset in solving several important cases and keeping the public better informed about incidents in the city. There has also been a heavy push to communicate better with the citizens through numerous community outreach meetings. Hundreds of kids showed up at the WMPD's first Halloween Trunk or Treat event. The rollout of the Sky Cop deployment program provided the installation of three units in 2017 and continued installations are planned in 2018. The WMPD also added two police officer positions through COPS grant with one being deployed in the West Memphis School District. A joint investigation conducted by WMPD,the DEA, and the ATF led to 50 arrests on drug and gun charges in Operation Money Don't Sleep on July 25, 2017. This investigation began in 2015. The Test Memphis Police Department conducted 2 Basic Police Academy classes in 2017. Six officers graduated on June 16 and four officers graduated on December 8. WMPD officers attended over 12,000 training hours which averaged more than 150 hours per officer. WMPD purchased a Use of Force Simulator and officers use this system monthly to improve their decision making and de-escalation skills on use of force incidents. Twenty participants graduated from the first Citizen's Academy in December 2017. This training introduced these citizens to the daily operations of the police department and gave them a better understanding of how each division operates. The department plans two more of these in 2018. WMPD established a West Memphis Police Foundation in 2017. This department also received a$455,000 technology grant that will enable mobile terminals to be put into each patrol vehicle. The officers will be able to complete reports, receive dispatched calls, and run ACIC information in the vehicle once these units are installed. According to Librarian Rebecca Johnson, the West Memphis Public Library issued 1,355 library cards this year. Public computers(desktops, laptops and v6reless)were used 12,579 times. Circulation of materials(books and audio books)totaled 14,268. The conference room, where library events are held and other community groups may use for free, was utilized 110 times. Most of these uses were outside groups ranging from Girl Scout meetings to free tax preparation provided by the United flay. The library held many well attended events. The Eclipse Party in August was a huge success, as well as the summer children events such as Tommy Terrifac's Magic Show and the Clement McCrea Puppet Show. A movie license was purchased with two popular children's movies shown with free popcorn and no admission charge. The bi-annual book sale was resumed with great success. Many improvements and rearrangements have been made to open up space and make the library more inviting for users. To top off the year, the 500 block of Broadway was purchased to build a new state-of- the-art library to designed by Allen.&Hoshall. Under the leadership of new General Manager Todd Pedersen, the Nest Memphis Utilities entered into a new 4-year wholesale power supply contract. This contract will end May 2021 and should allow residential electrical rates to remain the same. The building at Station S, located at the corner of Jefferson and Seventh Street,was rehabbed to improve safety when removing or installing pumps. The appearance'of the building was also improved. Rehab was also completed on the million-gallon tank located at Mid-America Park. This included point repairs around the tank and painting of both the inside and outside of the tank. Procedure changes reduced write-offs from$510,000 in 2016 to $374,000 in 2017. Contractors trimmed 30 miles of power lines in the southeastern part of the city. This will help improve reliability of electrical service and when outages occur, will improve access and visibility in order to identify the problem. s The utility coordinated the installation of a new phone system that networks all city buildings together. Chief Wayne Gately provides these statistics for the`Nest Memphis Fire Department: Fire Truck Runs: 1764 total 0 256 Fire Calls e 983 EMS/Rescue Calls e 87 Hazmat Calls m 114 Alarm Calls © 297 Other Type Calls including 2 cats in a tree, 1 drone in a tree, and 1 cat in a storm drain ® 1 Weather Related Calls Ambulance Runs: 2418 total Training Hours: 8004 hours.of Certification Classroom Training Training Fours: 22420 hours of On-Duty Daily Training Grants: ® Pipeline Grant for Rescue Equipment $9,860.00 o Private Grant for Fire Prevention $1,000.00 Chaplain Ron Kirkland retired this year and a promotional ceremony was held for 2 new Chaplains—Bro. Billy Beech and Dr. Bob Burnham. Lt. Stan Price also retired this year. Promotions included Lt. Pat Roberts, Lt. Brandon Gill, Driver Brian Bedinger, Driver Zack Bailey, and Paramedic Paul Tiebel. The WMFD hosted a two-week Statewide Hazmat Class, a regional Extrication Training Class, a Statewide Rescue Certification Class, a Statewide Rope Rescue Class, a Confined Space Rescue Class, and a Statewide Instructor 1 Class. Fire fighters attended an out-of-state Aircraft Firefighting School; participated in a hazmat drill with the 61St Army Hazmat Unit; and a training exercise with a gasoline tanker trailer donated by Flash Oil Co. The WMFD was active in the community judging a Chili Cooking Contest for ls` Presbyterian Church; beginning an in-school reading program for Faulk, L R Jackson, and Avondale Elementary Schools; assisting with Prom Promise at West Memphis high School; providing Fire Prevention classes at Avondale Elementary; starting a Stranger Danger program with the West Memphis Police Department and ASU nursing students; assisting CASA with their annual Rubber Duck Race at Tilden Rodgers Park; and hosting the West Memphis Chamber of Commerce Junior Leadership Class. The West Memphis Convention& Visitor's Bureau managed a $1.6 million budget this last year on behalf of the Advertising&Promotion Commission. CRIB Director Jim Jackson oversaw the renovation of the Civic Auditorium which will be completed by the end of January. Even though closed for half of the year,the auditorium still hosted 36 f I events with 12,971 visitors. This year 7 dance competitions were held with 4 of these being new to the facility with more new business expected. The Eugene Woods Community Center also had a successful year with 90 events and 10,765 visitors. The Community Center was also closed for portions of the year as each room was painted and new carpet was installed along with the installation of state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment. In December, bids were accepted to renovate the kitchen and restrooms in 2018. Welcome signs were placed on both the Interstate 40 and Interstate 55 eastern entrances to the city. Plans are being completed to place signs on the western and northern entrances to the city. Continuing the promotion of the city, a digital campaign was implemented using Trip Advisor, Facebook, and Google to make travelers more aware of the city. New Exploration Maps featuring West Memphis hotels and restaurants and the Big River Crossing were distributed at-local outlets. Channel 17, our local cable access channel, has been upgraded for livestreaming. Access to the channel is at livestream.com/ccl7. Additional features are expected to be added in 2018. The Big River Crossing continues to bring focus on West Memphis. Reports show an average daily use of 636 with an annual use of more than 275,000. West Memphis received the Natural State Award at the 2017 Governor's Conference on Tourism for the Grand Opening Ceremony. The Rig River Crossing also received the Excellence in Design Award from the Waterfront Center for the best long-term use of waterfront resources for maximum public benefit. Grant matching funds were provided through the CVB for the development of the Delta Regional River Park adjacent to the Dig River Crossing. These five miles of trails provide a rural exploration of the Arkansas side of the river for both visitors and residents. The additional parking, directional signage, limestone benches, and Fix It Stations provide a better experience for users. Although just completed in the fall, a half marathon has already taken advantage of the park and bridge combination. Also focusing on cycling, the 4d'Annual Arkansas Delta Flatlander, a 62-mile ride to Horseshoe bake and back and the 2nd Annual Gravel Grinder ride atop the Mississippi River levee brought in 117 participants. Working with the Vilest Memphis Police Department,the CVB purchased 4 Sky Cops to install along the tourism corridor to deter and identify crime. The CVB wants visitors to be confident in their safety. The CVD sponsored the Dill Dance Catfish Championship which brought in more than 500 anglers, selling out local hotels. Additional sponsorships included the International Blues Competition, the 38h Annual Blues Music Awards, the Big River Blues Show,the Mark Nizer 4D Theater, and the Southland Park Classic Softball Tournament. F Freedom Fest marked Independence Day with fireworks and music at Tilden Rodgers Park. More than 3,000 residents and regional visitors enjoyed the event. The CVB kicked off the holiday season with the arrival of Santa Maus for the tree lighting at Worthington Park. New features added this year were lighted snowflakes mounted along Missouri Street, new holiday banners on Ingram Boulevard, a stylized tree at the Park and Ride on the Service Road and a cycling Santa at the trailhead at Martin Luther King Boulevard. Look for more neve additions in 2018. The City has ended the year in a strong financial position. As Mayor, I want to express gratitude to the superb department heads and all the associates of the City for providing outstanding service to our citizens. I