May 16, 1968~~
MINUTES OF COUNCIL MEETING OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WEST MEMPHIS, ARKANSAS,
HAD AND HELD ON MAY 16, 1968.
The City Council of the City of Weat Memphis, Arkansas, met in regular session at its
regular meeting place in West Memphis, Arkansas, at 3:00 o'clock P.M. on the 16th day of
May, 1968. The following were present: Mayor Bob Eden, presiding, and Aldermen: F. C. Weis,
0. C. Haley, Pritchard Horton, Kirby Legett, Paul Matthews, C. T. Rodgers, and R. L. Smith;
and City Attorney R. E. Wallin.
Absent: Alderman 0. 1. Bollinger.
It being determined a quorum was present, the following proceedings were had to-wit:
Minutes of Council Meetings on May 2nd and 8th were approved as read.
;.
Mayor Eden informed.~he Council a petition is being prepared for annexation of property
from North Missouri Street east along the north right-of-way line of Interstate 40-55 to
Southland Greyhound Racing Corporation Property.
The Mayor announced Mr. Bill Patton of the firm of Smith, Williams, Friday & Bowen,
Bond Counsel for the City, will conduct the auction sale of $400,000 City of West Memphis
Public Utility Revenue Bonds as advertised ih the Evening Times on April 29th and May 9th.
Mr. Patton requested good faith check be deposited by the bidders; and after rules were
agreed upon for conducting the auction, oral bids were made by the following:
Powell & Satterfield
Wombledoff & Lindsey
Hi11, Crawford & Lanford
United Municipal Investment Corporation
A. S. Hart & Company
T. J. Raney & Sons.
At the conclusion of the sale, the bid was presented in writing as follows:
May 16, 1968
Mayor and City Council
City of West Memphis, Ark.
Gentlemen:
For your legally issued $400,000 of Public Utility Revenue Bonds as advertised for sale this
date, we will pay you par plus a premium of $ -0- plus accrued interest to date of delivery
for bonds bearing interest at the rate of 4.715%. This will result in an effective interest
cost of 4.715•
This bid is submitted in accordance with and subject to the conditions of your official
Notice of Sale, a copy of which is attached and made a part of this bid.
Attached is our good faith check in the amount of $8,000.00.
Respectfully submitted,
POWELL ~ SATTERFIELD, INC,
W, H, Satterfield & Co, Inc,
UNITED MUNICIPAL INVESTMENT CORP,
A, S, HART ~ CO,
By: /S/ W, IV, Satterfield
Accepted: May 16, 1968
By: /S/ ROB EDEN
Thereupon, the following Resolution was presented:
RESOLUTION NO, 324
A RESCH.,UTION A19ARDING TO PURCHASER THE CITY OF WEST MEMPHIS, ARKANSAS PUBLIC 1!TILITY REVENUE
BCNDS, DATED MAY 1, 1968 IN THE AfiIOUNT OF 8400,000
!'lHEREAS the City of West Memphis, Arkansas (called "City") duly advertised and now has
under consideration the sale of ?400,000 City of West Memphis, Arkansas Public Utility Revenue
Bonds, dated May 1, 1968 ("bonds"); and
t+7iEREAS the following bids were received:
and;
WHEREAS the City has received and considered the bids;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of West Memphis, Arkansas:
Section 1, That the bids of Powell & Satterfield, Inc,, t9, H, Satterfield Re Co „ Inc,,
United Munic pal Investment Corporation, and A, S; Hart Rc Company for the bonds is hereby
found and declared to be the best bid and the bid is hereby accented, sub3ect to the terms and
conditions of the Notice of Sale of the bonds,
~~
Motion was made by Alderman Rodgers, seconded by Alderman Leggett: That the Resolution as
ti presented be adopted, Upon vote, the voting was as follows:
~i
~;' Aye: Aldermen: Weis, Haley, Horton, Leggett, Matthews, Rodgers, and Smith.
u
~~, No: None,
i'.
City Attorney !Vallin presented the following Resolution of Commendation for !V, H, Dillahunty:
~~~, RESOLUTION NO, 330
WHEREAS, W, H, "Sonny" Dillahunty has served the West Memphis City Council, and the people of
the City of West Memphis, in the capacity as City Attorney; and
I
WHEREAS, W, H, "Sonny" Dillahunty has discharged his duties in the capacity with diligence
'' and has performed services and duties as city attorney, beyond the prescribed amount of requirements
imposed upon him; and
WHEREAS, during his tenure of office as city attorney, !V, l1, "Sonny" Dillahunty has faithfully
served the West Memphis City Council and the neople of West Memphis and has been attentive to his
duties; and
WHEREAS, the West Idemphis City Council and the people of the City of West Memphis have greatly
benefited •by the services of W, H, "Sonny" Dillahunty and the outstanding work which he has rendered
ou cil and to the Cit of West hlemnhis Arkansas•
to the West Memphis City C n y ,
~ THEREFORE, !VE, the members of the West Memphis City Council and the elected representatives of
the people of the City of !Vest Memphis, resolve and extend our sincere appreciation to tV, H. "Sonny"
Dillahunty, and further resolve that he be commended for his tireless work and effort in behalf of
~' the City of West Memphis, and order that this Resolution be made a Dart of the official minutes of
this meeting and that a certified copy thereof be delivered to W, H, "Sonny" Dillahunty, as a token
of appreciation for his services rendered,
*********
Motion was made by Alderman Haley, seconded by Alderman Horton: That the Resolution as presented
be adopted. Upon vote, the voting was as follows:
Aye: Aldermen: Weis, Haley, Horton, Leggett, Matthews, Rodgers, and Smith,
No: None,
Mayor Eden brought to the Council's attention the United States House of Representatives has
passed a bill repealing existing exemptions of state and local governments from the tax on air
travel by their officers and employees on official business which could become detrimental to the
City, After discussion, motion was made by Alderman Weis, seconded by Alderman Haley: That the
following Resolution be adopted:
RESOLUTION NC, 331
1VHEREAS, the City of Nest Memphis, Arkansas, has been informed that the Linited States
House of Representatives passed in H, R, 16241 a repealer of the existing exemptions of state
and local governments from the tax on air travel by their officers and employees on official
business; and,
WHEREAS, the City of West Memphis, Arkansas, has various projects under way as well as
planned, and other important city business, a good portion of which requires officials of the City
of !Vest M1temphis, Arkansas, to facilitate and utilize air travel in certain of these instances in
order to effectively carry out the business of the City of West 6lemphis, Arkansas; and,
WHEREAS, `various federal programs and projects with which the City of West Memphis is engaged
and expects to engage in, require the various city officials to travel. by aircraft to various
places beyond the city itself, in order to expedite and participate in these various aforementioned
programs; and,
WHEREAS, the exemptions of state and local governments from tax on air travel by officers and
their employees on official business is of tremendous financial and business importance; and,
WHEREAS, the loss of the aforementioned tax exemption would constitute a burden on the City
of West Memphis, Arkansas, as well as other cities similarly situated throughout the country; and,
WHEREAS, if allowed to stand, this tax could presage a federal tax on any and every activity
of state and local government and further that it would be hard to distinguish the excise tax on
gasoline purchases, telephone services, motor vehicles, etc; and,
!VHEREAS, the continued growth and business activities of the City of West Memphis may be
Beverly impaired or hampered if the aforementioned repealer is allowed to pass Congress,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of West Mem»his, Arkansas, that
we urgently request that our duly elected governmental representatives exert all their energies and
efforts toward seeing that the tax exemptions accorded to municipal governments as aforementioned
are not allowed to be repealed by Congress,
Upon vote, the voting was as follows: *********
Aye: Aldermen: Weis, Haley, Horton, i.eggett, Matthews, Rodgers, Smith,
~Re Co~Re~l ordered copy of Resolution be sent to the Senators of Arkansas, Arkansas Municipal League,
and Mayor Loeb of Memphis, Tennessee,
As instructed on May 2nd City Attorney tdallin presented Resolution for the employment of
Donald S, Manes ~ Associates, the Resolution read as follows:
RESO1_UTION NO, 332
IVHEREAS, the City of West Memphis, Arkansas, recognises the need to insure its
continued proper and orderly growth, and
WHEREAS, efficient urban planning is recognized as being of nrimary importance to the
further growth, development and welfare of the City of West Memphis, and
LVHEREAS, Donald S. Manes Rc Associates, is an agency highly qualified and efficient in
the field of urban planning, and said agency can provide necessary planning services and
assistance regarding federal urban programs to the City of 1Vest Memphis, Arkansas;
NOtV, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of West Memphis, Arkansas:
Section 1: That the Mayor of .the City of West Memphis, is hereby authorized to enter
into a contractual agreement with Donald S. Manes Rc Asseciates, Urban Planning Consuitants,
North Little Rock, Arkansas, the terms of said contract to be satisfactory to the Mayor of
the City of West Memphis, for the employment of said Donald S, Alanes r~ Associates to act as
urban planning consultants for the City of West Memphis, Arkansas.
Section 2: The fee authorized to he raid to said Donald S, Manes f4 Associates, hereinbefore
mentioned, shall be the sum of TWO THOllSAND AND NO/100 (<2000.00) DOLLARS, payable at the
instruction of the Mayor, for the services of said agency to be rendered to the City of
West Memphis for such professional services and consultations concerning urban planning.
After discussion, motion was made by Alderman Smith, seconded by Alderman Matthews: That the
ResoQti~ion be adopted as presented, Upon vote, the voting was as follows:
Aye: Aldermen: Weis, Haley, Horton, Leggett, Matthews, Rodgers, and Smith,
No: None,
City Attorney 1Vallin reported on research of the statutes as to fire and police pension
plans, and read the following letter:
play 13, 19bF
Mayor Bob Eden
City Hall
1Vest Memphis, Arkansas
Dear F1ayor Eden:
1Vith regard to discussions of the fire and police pension plans discussed in some detail
during recent meetings of the City Council of the City of west Memphis, and in view of the
directive to me from the City Council instructing me to prepare a proposed ordinance submitting
and referring a two mill taxation measure for purposes of funding the aforementioned pension
plans, to the electors of the City of West Memphis, I have compiled the following information
for consi~ration by the Council,
First of all, Constitutional Amendment No, 31 of the Constitution of the State of
Arkansas provides the nrimary authority for any city to levy a tax for the nurnoses as set
forth in the police and fireman retirement pension acts, respectively, At the outset, it
must be pointed out that regardless of what the particular acts themselves state, the
con$~itution is the primary authority for any leeislation, Thus, Amendment 31 as afore-
mentioned, provides for the levy of a tax for the above mentioned nurnoses, only after consent
of a majority of those electors voting on the question at any general or special election,
Therefore, even Lthough an election on this question can be held at the time of any election,
under the acts themselves, the primary authority as set out in the constitution will not allow
this, This means that a vote on this question can only be had at a sneciai election called
for this particular purpose, or at the next general election,
1Vith regard to referring the measure for a vote on the tax by an ordinance of this Council.,
I would like to point out that first of al.l, there is nn precedent in the City of 1Vest Memphis
for initiating a taxing measure in this manner, In addition, the ordinance, if referred,
would be too long to set out on the ballot, in that both acts concerning police and fire
pensions would have to appear,
The alternative method of presenting such a taxing measure for a vote by the citizens of
iVest Memphis, would be under the constitutional providisions for the initiation of measures in
municipalities as set forth in the Constitution of the State of Arkansas in Amendment No, 7.
Ark, Stat, 19-1821 and 19-2221 provide that twenty or more qualified electors can petition for
a vote for the police pension fund as well as for the fire pension fud. However, the taxes
and specifications of these particular acts were held unconstitutional in the case of
Adamsom v. Little Rock, and the court in that case noted that it would become a very uncertain
situation if any legislation provided that so small a number of electors could petition for a
vote on any tax subject, The court also added that if this type of Legislation were ailowed
to stand, great numebers of small groups could initiate such measures to be voted on in
unending repetition,
The original acts providing for the fire and police pensions, respectively, were adopted by
the Arkansas Legislature in 1939, and the compiler of the Arkansas Statutes notes that the
sections of these acts herein discussed are probably superseded by 1941 legislation ae
contained in Ark. Stat. 19-221l~ and 2215, which provides that a vote on the question of
these taxing measures must be voted on according to the rules for initiative and referendum
provided for in Amendment 7 of the Constitution. This means that in order for a vote to be
had on these taxing measures, and in order to avoid arty question as to the legality of a
vote on these particular measures, a petition would have to be signed by fifteen (15~)
per cent of the eligible voters in the City of West Memphis, as cast for mayor at the last
general election. Such a petition would have to be filed separately for both the fire
pension tax and the police pension tax. These petitions, according to our constitution,
would have to be filed not less than 60 nor more than 90 days before the vote is to be held
on the question.
In view of the foregoing, it would appear that the only unquestioned method in which this
taxing question could be presented for a vote by the people of West Memphis, would be as
heretofore specified, according to the law as plainly set forth in the Constitution of the
State of Arkansas.
Very truly yours,
/S/ R. E. Wallin
City Attorney
After discussion, it was consensus of opinion petitions be prepared for election on the fire
pension tax and the police pension tax, and the City pay the coat of conducting the elections.
Mayor Eden brought to the Council's attention a petition is to be presented to the County
Court for annexation of one lot in an area outside the City. After discussion, the City
Attorney was requested to investigate the possibility of annexing the area by placing on the
ballot of the General Election.
A resolution accepting and approving Part A, Offer and Acceptance, far~~theteatimated
$2,669,200.00 sewage works construction program, and authorizing the Mayor to sign said
Offer and execute necessary documents required to complete the project was presented. After
discussion, motion was made by Alderman Matthews, seconded by Alderman Leggett: That the
Resolution be adopted. Upon vote, the voting was as follows:
Aye: Aldermen: Weis, Haley, Horton, Leggett, Matth~rs, Rodgers, and Smith.
Nay: None.
The resolution read as follows:
RESOLUTION N0. 333
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of West Memphis, Arkansas, has authorized a program
of construction of sewerage works at an estimated cost of $2,669,200.00 as designated on Part A,
Offer and Acceptance, now under consideration by this body.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of West Memphis, Arkansas,
that said offer as submitted, together with the terms and conditions thereof, is hereby accepted
and approved; and that the Mayor of the City of West Memphis, Arkansas, Bob Eden, is hereby
authorized and directed to sign said Offer and Acceptance and to execute any other necessary
documents required to complete the project on behalf of the City of West Memphis, Arkansas.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Weat Memphis, Arkansas, has or will procure a
good and valid fee title or such other estate or interest in the site of the project, including
the necessary easements and rights of way, as to assure undisturbed use and possession for the
purposes of construction, operation and maintenance of the works for the estimated life of the
project; and that in the event such title, estate, or interest in such site, easements or
rights of way may in the future be contested, the City of West Memphis, Arkansas, will defend
and maintain its title in such site and hold the United States Government blameless in such
action; and that before any federal payment is requested pursuant to said grant, said city will
provide certifica,ion as to the sufficiency of such estate or interest.
The Mayor informed the Council the Airport Commission had received construction bids,
however, the bids are to be checked by the Federal Aviation Agency prior to being presented
to the Council.
Mayor Eden related to the Council problems of children following the mosquito fogging
machine and recommended the fogging be suspended in an area where the City does not have the
co-operation of the parents in preventing children Prom following the machine.
No further business being presented, the meeting was adjourned.
_ M~O~{
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APPROVED: JUNE 6, 1968