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03/18/2021 PLEASE TURN +')FF Al L CELL PHONES GEND. WEST MEMP-IIS CI'!Y COUNCIL MARCH 18,2121 PRAYER: PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: AMERICAN LEGION CALL TO ORDER: ROLL CALL: BID OPENINGS: MINUTES: APPROVE OR CORRECT MINUTES OF MARCH 4,2021 OLD BUSINESS: 3RD READING OF AN ORDINANCE WAIVING COMPETITIVE BIDDING FOR AERIAL SPRAYING, GROUND SPRAYING AND OTHER MOSQUITO CONTROL EFFORTS AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 3RD READING OF AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE SENIOR DEPUTY CLERK TO ATTEST THE MAYOR'S SIGNATURE WHEN HE/SHE HAS RECEIVED WRITTEN COMMUNICATION FROM THE ELECTED CITY CLERK, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES NEW BUSINESS: R-1 A RESOLUTION TO DISTRIBUTE SOUTHLAND CASINO RACING "CHARITY DAY" PROCEEDS BY ELECTED OFFICIALS OF THE CITY OF WEST MEMPHIS AS PROVIDED BY LAW AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 0-1 AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND SECTION 3: EMPLOYMENT, SUBTITLE: JURY DUTY OF THE EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK OF THE CITY OF WEST MEMPHIS, ARKANSAS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES PERMISSION REQUEST: COMMITTEE REPORTS: APPOINTMENTS: UTILITY COMMISSION -AL FELTON & ELBERT J. SMITH PRESENTATIONS: MAYOR MARCO MCCLENDON ANNOUNCEMENTS: 4 1 a- MINUTES WEST MEMPHIS CITY COUNCIL March 18, 2021 A regular meeting of the West Memphis City Council was held on Thursday, March 18, 2021, at 5:00 p.m. at the Eugene Woods Civic Center at 212 West Polk West Memphis, Arkansas. Invocation was given by Council Member Helen Harris, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Council Member Wayne Croom; Mayor Marco McClendon called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. City Clerk, James Pulliaum, called the roll. Those present were: Mayor Marco McClendon City Attorney Michael Stephenson, City Treasurer Charlie Suiter Jr., and Council Members: Wayne Croom, Helen Harris, James Holt, Lorraine Mohammed, Willis Mondy David Murray, and Charles Wheeless. Absent was Tracy Catt, and Melanie Hutchinson and Finance Director, Tori Perry. Also Present was Evening Times Reporter John Rech. Quorum being present Mayor McClendon proceeded with the meeting. BID OPENINGS: NONE MINUTES: APPROVE OR CORRECT MINUTES OF MARCH 4, 2021 Council Member Croom made the motion, seconded by Council Member Mondy to dispense with the reading of the minutes of March 4, 2021, Council meeting and to approve them with the correction recommended by Council Member Murray. The correction was as follows: Council Member Murray made the second motion to approve the Ordinance to amend section 38-48 of the West Memphis Municipal Code for the purpose of levying an additional one percent (1%) tax for a total of three percent (3%). upon the gross receipts or gross proceeds from the rental of certain accommodations and the sale of prepared foods and beverages as authorized by A.C. A Section 26-75-602 and for other purposes not Council Member Wheeless. The ordinance was adopted by voice vote on March 4, 2021 and assigned No 2571.Upon voice vote, voting was unanimous to approve the minutes with the correction. OLD BUSINESS: 3rd READING OF AN ORDINANCE WAIVING COMPETITIVE BIDDING FOR AEIRAL SPARAYING, GROUND SPRAYING AND OTHER MOSQUITO CONTROL EFFORTS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES City Attorney Stephenson read the ordinance by title only for the THIRD and FINAL time by title only. Council Member Croom made the motion, seconded by Council Member Holt to approve the ordinance. Upon voice vote, voting was unanimous to approve. The ordinance was adopted and assigned No. 2572. 3rd READING OF AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE SENIOR DEPUTY CITY CLERK TO ATTEST THE MAYOR'S SIGNATURE WHEN HE/SHE HAS RECEIVED WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE ELECTED CITY CLERK, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES City Attorney Stephenson read the ordinance by title only for the THIRD and FINAL time. Council Member Croom made the motion, seconded by Council Member Murray to approve the ordinance. Discussion followed: City Attorney Stephenson said that an amendment was made to the ordinance to read or incapacitated. There being no further discussion: Council Member Mohammed made the motion, seconded by Council Member Holt to add the amendment. Upon voice vote, voting was unanimous to add the amendment and approve the ordinance with the amendment. The ordinance was adopted and assigned No. 2573. NEW BUSINESS: Council Member Mohammed made the motion, seconded by Council Member Harris to read R-1 and 0-1 by title only. Upon voice vote, voting was unanimous. R-1 A RESOLUTION TO DISTRIBUTE SOUTHLAND CASINO RACING "CHARITY DAY" PROCEEDS BY ELECTED OFFICIALS OF THE CITY OF WEST MEMPHIS AS PROVIDED BY LAW AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES City Attorney Stephenson read the resolution by title only. Council Member Mohammed made the motion, seconded by Council Member Harris to approve. Discussion followed: Council Member Mohammed asked if this resolution was for the boys and girls club or of it was for everybody. Mayor McClendon said it was for the money that is usually divided between the Mayor and Council. They are asking that it be divided to include the City Attorney, City Treasurer and City Clerk. Council Member Mohammed asked when it would take effect, and would it include the current period or would it take effect the next time. Mayor McClendon said that he thought it would take effect the next time since some of the council members have already allocated some of their money for this period. Council Member Mondy said in his thirteen years on council it has never been done that way and that he has always given his money to two of the organizations in his ward and this will significantly affect the organizations. Council Member Mondy said he was opposed to doing it that way. City Attorney Stephenson said he does necessarily care if he is included in the division of the money and he would donate his portion back. There being no further discussion: Mayor McClendon asked for a roll call vote. The roll call vote was as follows: YES: Croom, Harris, Holt, Mohammed, Wheeless NO: Mondy, Murray ABSTENTION: None ABSENT: Catt, Hutchinson With 5 yes votes, 2 no votes, 0 Abstention votes and 2 absent votes. The motion FAILED. 0-1 AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND SECTION 3: EMPLOYMENT, SUBTITLE JURY DUTY OF THE EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK OF THE CITY OF WEST MEMPHIS, ARKANSAS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES City Attorney Stephenson read the ordinance by title only for the FIRST time. Council Member Holt made the motion, seconded by Council Member Mohammed to suspend the rules, and place the ordinance on the second reading. Upon voice vote, voting was unanimous. City Attorney Stephenson read the ordinance for the SECOND time by title only. The ordinance will be read for the third time at the Council meeting on April 1, 2021. PERMISSION REQUEST: NONE COMMITTEE REPORTS: FIRE COMMISSION: Council Member Harris presented the Fire Commission report. The Fire Commission Met on Tuesday March 16, 2021. Present was Council Members Harris, Catt, Croom, Murray, Fire Chief Barry Ealy and Chief Derrick Clay. Chief Clay reported that there were 2 new hires, 1 single-role paramedic and 6 fire fighter/paramedics hired. Currently there are 1 Fire Inspector position, 3 firefighters/paramedic positions and 2 single-role paramedic positions openings. There were 3 uniformed personnel that resigned effective March 9, 2021.All personal protective equipment has been ordered for 2021. The new engine 7 is here and is being housed at station 2 waiting to be placed into rotation. Station # 3 is complete, and they will be moving in by the end of the week. They are still waiting for the furniture to be delivered for station #2. The department had 1 firefighter to graduate on March 12, 2021. There are 3 firefighters attending school and 3 firefighters attending higher learning classes. There was no new business to report on the budget this period. Chief Ealy explained the operational change request regarding sick leave and eligible overtime guidelines and new rank structure. Chief Ealy said that the biggest problem that the department has is the amount of overtime that is paid. Chief Ealy presented his plan to the commission that he feels will help to address the problem Chief Ealy is wanting to hire 6 part time EMT staff that would be able to fill in on the ambulance service as needed this will free up the firefighters to remain on the firetruck. There would be no cost to the department to train them because they would already be certified, and they would not have to by turnout gear for them because they would not be fighting fires. Chief Ealey said he would also like to start a Junior Fire Fighter Program by partnering with the High School who currently have students attending EMT training classes through ASU-Mid South to ride along with the EMT staff on the ambulances. Chief Ealy said this would be a win-win situation for the City as well as the students and the City would be investing in our local youth with the possibility of them pursuing a career with the West Memphis Fire Department as EMT's upon graduation. PUBLIC WORKS: Council Member Croom presented the Public Works committee report. The Public Works Committee met on March 2, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. New business discussed was the condition of East Service road. Council Member Croom stated that the Service Road between Missouri and Mound City was extremely rough and asked City Engineer, Amanda Hicks if she could reach out to ARDOT to find out when they would be finishing the project. Ms. Hicks said that APAC was the contractor and according to ARDOT they would be back on the job on Wednesday. Fleet Report:There are 2 front end loaders that are operational and 1 down, all 5 rear end loaders are operational with 1 arm on loan. There are 5 grapple trucks operational and 1 down. City Engineer Report- South Loop- Right of way process has started. The contractor is gathering property owner information to proceed with proposals for obtaining right of ways. The request for Qualifications for Construction Engineering and inspection services have been published. The Ten Mile Bayou Project- submitted 60% to ARDOT and have received some feedback. They are seeking more CMAQ funding to complete the 3.8-mile project. Lehr Street Bridge-They have run into some right of way issues that are being worked on. Redding Street Bridge- It has been proposed to change this bridge from a vehicle type bridge to a pedestrian type of bridge this would require a community forum. Rich Road Bridge-MPO has allocated some infrastructure funding for its replacement. Code Enforcement has not had a lot of activity due to inclement weather. CHAMBER COMMERCE Council Member Croom presented the Chamber of Commerce report. The Chamber of Commerce met on March 10, 2021. The chamber established the West Memphis Chamber Foundation to seek grant funding for community development projects. Their first event of the year will be an outdoor crawfish boil on April 17, 2021 at the Meadowbrook Country Club. Tickets are available at the Chamber office now. The Chamber will also be helping with several ribbon cutting scheduled for Thursday and Friday. UTILITY COMMISSION: Council member Croom presented the Utility Commission report. The West Memphis Utility Commission met in regular session on March 11, 2021 at 8:30 am. Safety Director, Brett Sims reported that there was 121 days since last recordable injury and 505 days since last lost time injury. There were no new hires or resignations for the month of February. Utilities currently has 12 open positions out of 83 budgeted position openings. The financial update for year ending 2020 showed an operational revenue of$26,434,832.49 and an operational expense of$26,351,421.34. General Manager, Todd Pedersen updated the commissioners on the fuel adjustment for March. Commissioners agreed to only pass along $60,000.00 of the $750,000.00 in February to help customers with the higher bills. They also requested an insert be put in the March billing. The commission discussed a potential power purchase agreement. James Pulliaum brought two items to the commission that they agreed to review. The last item on the agenda was the Wastewater projects that were incurred in 2020 and 2021. APPOINTMENTS: Mayor McClendon said originally when he met with General Manager Todd Pedersen, they thought they had two Utility Commissioner positions open but at this time they only have one since one of the commissioners has not officially resigned. Mayor McClendon is asking that the Council accept the appointment of Mr. Elbert Smith. Council Member Mohammed made the motion, seconded by Council Member Murray to accept Mr. Elder J. Smith to the Utility commission. Mayor McClendon asked for a roll call vote. City Clerk James Pulliaum called the roll call vote. The vote was as follows: YES: Croom, Harris, Holt, Mohammed, Mondy, Murray, Wheeless NO: None ABSTENTION: None ABSENT: Catt, Hutchinson With 7 yes vote, 0 No votes, 0 abstention votes, and 2 absent votes the motion to accept Elbert J. Smith to the Utility Commission PASSED PRESENTATIONS: Emergency Management Director, Dewayne Rose said the Challenge coin is handed out as sign of appreciation for a job well done. Mr. Rose said it is believed that this tradition began in ancient Roman times where if a soldier performed well in battle, he was awarded a day's pay and a single coin as a bonus. It is believed that the coin was minted with the mark of the legends in which they served. Mr. Rose said for the Mayors foresight in creating the office of Emergency Management and understanding the emergency preparedness needs of the City of West Memphis he would like to present to Mayor Marco McClendon the first City of West Memphis office of Emergency Management challenge coin and asked that Mayor McClendon carry the coin with him and know that he is making a difference in the safety and well being of every citizen of the City of West Memphis. Mayor McClendon thanked Mr. Rose and commended him for the job he has done in helping to deal with the increment weather and the challenges with Covid-19 as the Emergency Management Director. Mayor McClendon recognized the Academy of West Memphis Lady Blue Devils basketball team who will be competing in the 5A Arkansas State Championship on Saturday March 20, 2021 in Hot springs, Arkansas to continue the West Memphis Winning Streak. Mayor McClendon recognized the Lady Blue Devils and their coach Ms. Erica Leaks and Coach Brown not only for their achievement in basketball but academics as well. ANNOUNCEMENTS: Mayor McClendon asked everyone to be in prayer for City Purchasing Manager, Kenneth Johnson, and his family in the loss of his mother who was a pillar of our community Ms. Katie Johnson. Mayor McClendon asked everyone to be in prayer for Police Chaplin, Brother Beech who lost his wife Mrs. Marty Beech. • Mayor McClendon announced that the City approved a 21,433, 406.00-dollar budget. The city spent 20,763,951.00 dollars of the budget. The city generated 24,155,855.00 dollars. Mayor McClendon said during the pandemic that means the General Fund generated 2,722,412.00 dollars in profit. After they repay the debit for capital improvements that was approved by council, they will have a profit of 1.1 million dollars. Mayor McClendon said he is excited about continuing to move forward and working with the council in the upcoming year. Mayor McClendon announced the ribbon cutting at the West Memphis library and thanked Council Member Mohammed and Council Member Helen Harris for their words of encouragement and support and expressed his sincere gratitude. CITIZENS REQUEST: NONE Having no further business to come before the City Council, Council Member Croom made the motion, seconded by Council Member Wheeless to adjourn. Upon voice vote, the voting was unanimous. The meeting adjourned at 6:00 p.m. PASSED and APPROVED this 1st-day April 2021. COGEC te—C.) 7 e ePL1 MCCLENDON, MAYOR ATTEST: J S PULLIAUM, CITY CLERK Minutes prepared by, Patricia Lane, Sr. Deputy City Clerk d 1