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08/19/2021 PLEASE TURN OFF ALL CELL PHONES AGENDA WEST MEMPHIS CITY COUNCIL AUGUST 19,2021 PRAYER: PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: AMERICAN LEGION CALL TO ORDER: ROLL CALL: BID OPENINGS: MINUTES: APPROVE OR CORRECT MINUTES OF AUGUST 5,2021 OLD BUSINESS: 3RD READING OF AN ORDINANCE GRANTING A SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 1400 INGRAM,PERMITTING A 150 FT. TALL COMMUNICATIONS TOWER IN A C-2 OPEN DISPLAY COMMERCIAL DISTRICT NEW BUSINESS: R-1 A RESOLUTION RENAMING l0TH STREET MINI PARK TO "SONNY"WEEMS BASETBALL PARK PERMISSION REQUEST: PERMISSION FOR MAYOR MCCLENDON TO A SIGN SALES CONTRACT WITH CSA SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS FOR MULTI-USER(9) CENTERPOINT FUND ACCOUNTING PERMISSION FOR MAYOR MCCLENDON TO USE$109,000 DOLLARS OF MAINSTREET MONEY TO COVER THE MAINSTREET DEMOLITION PROJECTS LOCATED AT 501 EAST BROADWAY(OLD RAILROAD BUILDING) AND THE BUILDING LOCATED AT 801 EAST BROADWAY (DEMOLITION APPROVAL FOR 801 EAST BROADWAY) COMMITTEE REPORTS: MINUTES WEST MEMPHIS CITY COUNCIL AUGUST 19, 2021 A regular meeting of the West Memphis City Council was held on Thursday,August 19, 2021, at 5:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at City Hall 205 S. Redding,West Memphis, Arkansas. Invocation was given by Councilor Harris, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Councilor Croom. Mayor McClendon called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. City Clerk,James Pulliaum called L the roll. Those presents were: Mayor Marco McClendon, City Attorney Michael Stephenson, City Treasurer Charlie Suiter Jr., City Clerk, James Pulliaum and Councilors: Gheric Bruce, Tracy Catt, Wayne Croom, Helen Harris, James Holt, Lorraine Mohammed, David Murray Melanie Hutchinson Willis Mondy,and. Charles Wheeless. Quorum being present Mayor McClendon proceeded with the meeting. BID OPENING: NONE MUNUTES: APPROVE OR CORRECT MINUTES OF AUGUST 5, 2021 Councilor Catt made the motion, seconded by Councilor Mondy to dispense with the reading of the minutes of August 5,2021, City Council meeting and to approve them as submitted.Upon voice vote, voting was unanimous to approve. OLD BUSINESS: 3"' READING OF AN ORDINANCE GRANTING A SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 1400 INGRAM, PERMITTING A 150 FT. TALL COMMUNICATIONS TOWER IN A C-2 OPEN DISPLAY COMMERCIAL DISTRICT City Attorney Stephenson read the ordinance for the THIRD and FINAL time by title only. Councilor Catt made the motion,seconded by Councilor Murray to approve the ordinance. Discussion followed: Councilor Mohammed said that she was not opposed to cell towers but that she has been contacted by several of her constituents that have expressed opposition to so many towers.Tracy Gill and Mike Shannon representatives for Vertical Bridge addressed council. Mr. Gill said the reason for additional L cell towers is because there is so many more usages for wireless devices and the more users the greater need for additional antennas.This tower is called a mono poll that is designed for four carriers. The tower can be fully utilized and will have space for four users and will minimize the need for additional towers. The coverage will cover radio usage from I-40 to the River from Memphis and all the radio traffic to the South and even Southland. Councilor Mohammed asked how they capture data to determine where the towers should go. Mr. Gill said they work with all the different companies and the radio engineers the information from phone carriers The Federal Government requires them to have good phone coverage and they track the information. Councilor Croom asked who would be responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the tower. Mr. Gill said Vertical Bridge would be responsible for the maintenance and site upkeep. Council Croom asked what is the average revenue that the community gets off a tower. The community has the infrastructure that they need. City Attorney Stephenson said that the property is private property, City Treasurer Suiter Jr., asked how long their lease was for. City Attorney Stephenson said it is a 10-year lease with two 10-year lease with the option to renew for up to 30 years. City Clerk Pulliaum said previously two promises had been made for the upkeep of a tower by the VFW. And one on East Broadway to keep them dressed in a flag and currently there is no flag at eighter location and efforts to contact someone has gone on answered. Councilor Croom asked how many towers they have built in West Memphis. Mr. Gill said there are two.The being no further discussion. Mayor McClendon asked for a roll call vote.City Clerk Pulliaum called roll. The vote was as follows: YES: Bruce, Catt, Croom, Mondy L NO: Murray, Holt,Wheeless ABSTENTION: Hams, Hutcheson, Mohammed ABSENT: None With 4 yes votes, 3 No votes, 3 Abstentions and 0 absent votes the ordinance failed. Attorney Mike Shannon came before council to ask them to give them the opportunity to present any of the substantial evidence that they would have to deny it on the record. Councilor Mohammed said that she was representing her constituent's objections to any more additional towers. Mr. Shannon said that he was wanting to warn council against voting against the tower because they felt it was to many towers would not fly under Federal law as a valid reason. Councilor Croom asked if this was not the same situation that they previously had with another tower. City Attorney Stephenson said this was not same exact situation. Attorney Stephenson said the objection to the previous statue was because a councilor read a statement from the community stating their objection was because they believed it was harmful to the community and the Federal Statue states that you cannot deny a tower for the reasons previously stated in the past and if a lawsuit was filed and they were deposed they would have to state their reason for denying the tower. Attorney Shannon said the city does not have a preference collocation, it does not have spacing in its code and they are not in violation of any of that. Attorney Stephenson said they have gone before the Planning Commission; they have had a public hearing and there was no objection. There was a letter of objection sent in from a competitor that had a perpetual easement, but they were not present to object. City Attorney Stephenson said Vertical Bridge has done what they needed to do, the property owners are not trying to sale the property they are just trying to lease it and there should not be any concern about it being in a residential area because it is not by a residential area. City Attorney Stephenson said by being by Southland there is probably a need for the data. There being no further discussion the mayor asked for a motion. Council Croom made the motion, seconded by Councilor Bruce. The mayor asked for a roll call vote. City Clerk Pulliaum call roll. The roll call vote was a follow: Yes: Bruce, Catt, Croom, Harris, Holt, Mohammed, Mondy No: Murray,Wheeless Abstention: Hutchinson Absent:None With 7 Yes votes, 2 No votes, 1 Abstention vote and 0 absent votes the ordinance Passed the ordinance was adopted and assigned No.2584. Councilor Hutchinson asked if the City Attorney could draw up an ordinance regarding towers. City Attorney Stephenson said we can not present an ordinance that is in direct conflict with Federal Law. City Attorney Stephenson said this is something that would need to go through the Planning and Zoning Department since usually this is an application for a special use permit for an area that is not zoned for a particular use. Councilor Mohammed asked about a moratorium. City Attorney Stephenson said you can not create an ordinance that is in direct conflict with State or Federal Law. Councilor Mohammed made the motion, seconded by Councilor Mondy to read R-1 in its entirety. Upon voice vote,voting was unanimous. NEW BUSINESS: R-1 A RESOLUTION RENAMING 10TH STREET MINI PARK TO"SONNY WEEMS BASEBALL PARK City Attorney Stephenson read the resolution in its entirety. Mayor McClendon asked for roll call vote. City Clerk Pulliaum called the roll call vote. The vote was as follow: Yes: Bruce,Catt,Croom,Harris,Holt,Hutchinson,Mohammed,Mondy,Murray,Wheeless No: None Abstention: None Absent: None With 10 Yes votes, 0 No votes, 0 Abstention votes, 0 Absent votes the resolution was adopted and assigned No.2258 PERMISSION REQUEST: PERMISSION FOR MAYOR MCCLENDON TO SIGN SALES CONTRACT WITH CSA SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS FOR MULTI-USER CONTRACT FUND ACCPOUNTING Councilor Croom made the motion, seconded by Councilor Mondy to table the permission request. Upon voice vote, voting was unanimous to table until (September 2, 2021) PERMISSION FOR MAYOR MCCLENDON TO USE $109,000 OF MAINSTREET MONEY TO COVER THE MAINSTREET DEMOLITION PROJECTS LOCATED AT 501 EAST BROADWAY, (OLD RAMROD BUILDING) AND 801 EAST BROADWAY STREET Councilor Mohammed made the motion, seconded by Councilor Harris to approve the permission request to use $109,000 of Mainstreet money to cover the Mainstreet demolition projects located at 501 East Broadway (Old Railroad Building) and 801 East Broadway Street. Upon voice vote, voting was unanimous to approve. L COMMITTEE REPORTS: FIRE COMMISSION: Councilor Harris presented the Fire Commission report. The Fire Commission met on Tuesday, August 17, 2021, at 12:00 pm. The fire department hired 1 one single role paramedic and 5 fire fighters and there are currently 2 vacancies for single role paramedics. There were 2 fire fighters to resign in the last two months. Twelve sets of new turn out gear were ordered at the beginning of the year and is expected to arrive at the end of the month. Fire Station #3 needs some repairs due to water leaks with the roof, water heater and over head door entry. Unit 15 has been in the shop over at MHC Ford and is expected to be back in service at the end of the month. There are three fire fighters in their last week of EMT school and will be testing next week. There have been 2840 EMS calls to date. The year-to-date EMS collections is $267,45.22. 38 % of the budget has been spent as of May 31s. The commission discussed overtime and the new sick leave policy and how it effects the abuse of sick leave and overtime. Chief Clay provided an update too Councilor Harris report. Chief Clay said the three students in EMT school completed their training on August 19, 2021, and he is happy to report that they have all passed the EMT course. Chief Ealy gave an update on the over time. Since taking on the leadership roll of the Fire Department they have been able to substantially reduce the overtime. Chief Ealy said in January they paid out $45,000 dollars and in February they paid out $40,000 dollars in over time. Chief Ealy said over a six-month period they trended around $200,000 dollars in over 11 time. Chief Ealy said that in the last month they reduced the amount spent for over L time. Chief Ealy said in the last month they only spent$6,600 dollars in over time which is a $44.000 dollar savings. PERSONNEL COMMITTEE: Councilor Hutchinson presented the Personnel Committee report. The Personnel Committee met on August 11, 2021. Human Resource Director, Janice Coleman gave a Covid-19 update. Ms. Coleman said that the mayor was looking into implementing mandatory mask for all city buildings. She also said that Baptist Crittenden County hospital has reached capacity and is urging all city employees to use local health care providers for assistance with testing and or covid vaccinations. If they need assistance, they can contact the Human resource Department at 870 702-5121. They are also coordinating with department heads for additional PPE equipment since supplies are limited. The committee also discussed the criteria for nominating an employee. Finance Director, Tori Perry gave the committee information on tuition reimbursement, and they will provide an update once they get more information and see about implementing a policy in the personnel manual. Councilor Catt said they will be looking into insurance bids for the city sometime in September or October. CHAMBER COMMITTEE: Councilor Croom presented the Chamber report. The Chamber is in the process of updating directories and the website. The Chamber banquet has been changed to virtual and will be Monday August 23, 2021, all ticket holders will receive a program, video link to log into and a meal will be delivered to them It on Monday starting at 3:00 p.m. If those that have tickets have any questions, they can contact the Chamber staff at 870 735-1134. UTILITY COMMISSION: Councilor Croom presented the Utility Commission report. The Utility Commission met on August 12, 2021, at 8:30 a.m. Safety director, Brett Sims reported that there was 17 days since last recordable injury, 659 days since last lost time injury. Assistant General Manager Ward Wimbish present the Personnel update. There were no new hires and three voluntary resignations for the month of July. Utility • currently has 16 open positions of 83 budgeted positions. Shop Mechanic, Shawn Rhyne presented a request to the commission for their approval to purchase a vehicle to replace Unit 29 from the State bid list. He is asking to purchase a 2022 Chevrolet Extended '/2 ton vehicle to replace Unit 29 from Smart Chevrolet in the amount of$ 21,070.00. The motion passed unanimously. Mr. Rhyne also asked for the commission's approval to put four vehicles on Gov Deals to bid and remove from inventory. The motion passed unanimously. The last item discussed was presented by Engineer, Peyton Smith to approve the amendments to the Net Metering Regulations. Mr. Smith said that West Memphis Utilities is changing the net metering policy for commercial users from one bid directional meter to two individual meters. The commission voted to approve the amendments. AIRPORT COMMISSION: Councilor Wheeless presented the Airport Commission report. The grant application paperwork has been submitted to the FAA for the Beacon North Apron redesign project and they have been told they will receive it they are waiting for it to be issued. City Attorney Stephenson said due to a resolution that was passed by the Council in 2019 they have decided to postpone refinancing the airport bond. PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION: Councilor Mohammed presented the Parks Commission report. The Parks Commission met on August 10, 2021. Mr. Billy Joe Hayes was recommended to serve as a Board Member for the Parks Commission. The commission voted on and approved to require a $250.00 deposit to rent fields for tournaments. Director, Lorenzo Parker will research to see if there is a clause in the current contract and will get with the City Attorney Stephenson for legal advice. Councilor Mohammed will draft a resolution to change the name from the 10th Street Mini Park to the "Sonny" Weems Basketball Park and refer it to Council for their approval. Director, Parker said they have scheduled a work session for Thursday, August 23, 2021, at 12:00 noon at the West Memphis Utility office lunch will be served. PRESENTATIONS: NONE ANNOUNCEMENTS: Councilor Mohammed thanked Police Chief Pope for keeping them informed about the shootings on McAuley Street. Chief Pope and the West Memphis Police Department have apprehended all three shooters involved in the McAuley shooting. Councilor Mohammed said the young girl that was injured is doing well. Mayor McClendon announced that with Council's approval the Community Development Department has demolished 101 dilapidated homes and 11 commercial properties. This is the largest number of demolitions accomplished than any other Administration. Mayor McClendon said that they will continue their efforts to clean up the city. Councilor Holt made a request that they receive information regarding the budget so that they could see where they are at with spending. Mayor McClendon said he would look at getting it done. Councilor Mondy said he has been approached by several teachers at LR Jackson Elementary School. They are requesting that the parking lot where the old tennis court was torn down and where parents do drop off that a walkway be poured to avoid them having to walk through the grass and water. Mayor McClendon said he would get with Councilor Mondy on it. Mayor McClendon asked everyone to be in prayer for our City Family Members and their families. Councilor Helen Harris who loss her brother, Data Processing Director, Lola Adaway whose son who is seriously ill in the hospital and Sr. Deputy City Clerk Patricia Lane who recently loss her mother-in-law family. Councilor Mohammed also asked us to be in prayer for the Franklin Family that recently unexpectedly loss their daughter that was only 11 years old. Her funeral is scheduled for Saturday, August 28, 2021. Mayor McClendon said the on July 9, 2021, Crittenden County had 24 reported cases as of today August 18, 2021, we now have 421 reported positive Covid cases. Mayor McClendon said those are only number of reported cases but believes that they could be higher due to people not getting tested or are A symptomatic or managing the systems themselves. Mayor McClendon is encouraging everyone to get vaccinated and to protect themselves and their family members. Mayor McClendon provided some statistics of more people of died from Covid than cancer this past year, 600,000 have died from covid and there are 2 million people dealing with lingering effects from covid. The mayor said that just because you get the vaccination does not mean that you are 100% protected from getting the virus but you will have an extra level of protection and having less severe problems and not having to be hospitalized and being on a ventilator and possibly dying. Mayor McClendon said he is looking into presenting some type of incentive to employees and council and will be bringing it back before council for their approval later to show our apprehension to our employees. They are also working on a date to try and administer the booster. Steve Jones said the booster will roll out around September 20, 2021.Those with pre-existing conditions can get it now. They are currently negotiating with the Lehr arena to schedule a mass clinic again. Mayor McClendon said our Census number was down by 1700. The mayor believes that the reason for the numbers not being accurate was due to the timing of Covid because the city is steadily growing. The mayor said they are looking into some ways to see about correcting those numbers CITIZENS REQUEST: NONE Having no further business to come before the City Council, Councilor Mohammed made the motion, seconded by Councilor Harris to adjourn. Upon voice vote, voting was unanimous to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 5:45 p.m. PASSED and APPROVED this 2nd day of SEPTEMBER 2021. �UtGC7 ('��c� MA CO MCC ENDON, MAYOR ATTEST PUL IA M ' TY CLERK Minutes prepared by, Patricia Lane, Sr. Deputy City Clerk