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02/03/2022 • MINUTES WEST MEMPHIS CITY COUNCIL February 3,2022 A regular meeting of the West Memphis City Council was held on Thursday, February 3,2022, at 1:00 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 Marco McClendon called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. City Clerk, James Pulliaum called the roll. Those present were Mayor Marco McClendon, City Clerk, James Pulliaum Councilors: Tracy Catt, i III Wayne Croom, and James Holt. Present by zoom was Helen Harris, Melanie Hutchinson, Lorraine Mohammed, and Charles Wheelless. Absent were City Attorney Michael Stephenson, City Treasurer Charlie Suiter Jr. Councilors Willis Mondy and David Murray. Quorum being present Mayor, Marco McClendon proceeded with the meeting. Councilor Murray came into the council meeting at 1:05 p.m. City Attorney, Michael Stephenson joined the council meeting by zoom at 1:05 p.m. Council Member Gheric Bruce joined the council meeting at 1:20 p.m. City Treasurer, Charlie Suiter Jr joined the council meeting by zoom at 1:25 p.m. ' BID OPENING: CIVIC COMPLEX — (1) NEW DOUBLE FACE ELECTRONIC DISPLAY — (2) NEW STORAGE BUILDING-JIM JACKSON/KENNETH JOHNSON FIRE DEPARTMENT — NEW FIRE & RESCUE TRAINING FACILITY- CHIEF BARRY, EALY/KENNETH JOHNSON Councilor Croom made the motion, seconded by Councilor Catt to remove the Civic Complex Bid for the Storage Building from the bid list and to approve the New Double Face Electronic Display and the New Fire &Rescue Training Facility Bids as presented and to refer them back to administration for distribution. Upon voice vote,voting was unanimous. MUNUTES: APPROVE OR CORRECT MINUTES OF JANUARY 20, 2022 Councilor Catt made the motion, seconded by Councilor Croom to dispense with the reading of the minutes of the January 20,2022 council meeting and to approve them as submitted. Upon voice vote, voting was unanimous to approve the minutes. OLD BUSINESS: NONE , NEW BUSINESS: Councilor Croom made the motion, seconded by Councilor Catt to add R-1 to the agenda. Upon voice vote,voting was unanimous. Councilor Catt made the motion, seconded by Councilor Holt to read R-1, 0-1 by title only. Upon voice vote,voting was unanimous. R-1 A RESOLUTION CERTIFYING THE CONDEMNATION AND REMOVAL OF HOUSES, BUILDINGS AND/OR RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURES CONSTITUTING A NUISANCE WITHIN THE CITY OF WEST MEMPHIS CORPORATION LIMITS City Attorney Stephenson read the resolution by title only. Councilor Croom made the motion seconded by Councilor Wheeless to approve the resolution. Mayor McClendon said that they will be condemning twenty-eight properties.Sixteen in Ward 5, Five in Ward 4, Six in Ward 2, and One in Ward 3. Mayor McClendon said the properties that were being torn down were identified as being uninhabitable, but there are some homes that they have determined could be repaired and or refurbished those homes will be boarded up to keep people from going into them.There being no further discussion. Upon voice vote,voting was unanimous to approve the resolution.The resolution was adopted and assigned No. 2267. • 0-2 AN ORDINANCE WAIVING COMPETITIVE BIDDING FOR AERIAL SPRAYING, GROUND SPRAYING AND OTHER MOSQUITO CONTROL EFFORTS,AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES City Attorney Stephenson read the ordinance by title only for the FIRST time. Councilor Croom made the motion, seconded by Councilor Holt to suspend the rules, and place the ordinance on the second reading. Upon voice vote, voting was unanimous. City Attorney Stephenson read the ordinance by title only for the SECOND time. Councilor Catt made the motion, seconded by Councilor Wheeless to further suspend the rules and to place the ordinance on the third reading. Upon voice vote, voting was unanimous. City Attorney Stephenson read the ordinance by title only for the THIRD and FINAL time. Councilor Catt made the motion, seconded by Councilor Holt to approve the ordinance. There being no discussion. Upon voice vote, voting was unanimous to approve the ordinance. The ordinance was adopted and assigned No. 2597 PERMISSION REQUEST: PERMISSION TO SHRED 2016 DOCUMENTS AND TO ELECT A CITY COUNCIL MEMBER TO WITNESS-TORI PERRY Councilor Catt made the motion, seconded by Councilor Croom to approve adding the permission request to shred 2016 Documents to the agenda. Upon voice vote,voting was unanimous. Councilor Croom made the motion, seconded by Councilor Mohammed to approve the permission request to shred 2016 Documents and to nominate Councilor Murray to oversee the shredding of the 2016 Documents. Upon voice vote,voting was unanimous. COMMITTEE REPORTS: PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE: Councilor Wheeless presented the Public Works report. Public Works Director, Michael Bonner discussed the need for new dumpsters and a rate increase of approximately 25%. West Memphis is underpriced compared to Waste Management and Republic by a large amount. There are a few dumpsters that are worn out and need to be replaced. Mr. Bonner is asking that his request be presented to council for their consideration. Fleet Report: Currently all three front End loaders are operational, all four Rear-End loaders are operational, there is one"One Arm Bandit," and it is operational, and all five Grapple trucks are operational. Paulina Hensley reported that th'e department picked up 600 tires. City Engineer, Amanda Hicks reported that RJN is proposing to perform.a Consultive Engineering Service Condition Assessment Technical Memorandum for OK Street and Auburn Street and the Ditch 12 Water Sheds. Pickering will be conducting a survey and will provide legal documents needed for the right of way , permanent easements, and temporary construction easement for the 10 Mile Bayou Trail Phase 1. ARDOT said that the Rich Road Bridge will need to be rebuilt. Code Enforcement Officer George Phillips wrote up 56 infractions in the month of January, nineteen were for disabled vehicles and fifteen to be towed away. BUDGET COMMITTEE: Councilor Croom presented the Budget Committee report. The Budget Committee met on January 27, 2022. Councilor Wayne Croom was appointed as the Budget Chair. Councilor Lorraine Mohammed was nominated as the secretary for the Budget Committee. The committee reviewed the current financials for Southland Casino Tax Collections, City of West Memphis . Sales Tax Report, A & P 3% Tourism Tax, and the Out Standing Debt Service for the year 2021 and discussed what was practical and obtainable for the monthly financial reporting. The committee reviewed several financial templates for follow up for the City Treasurer and City Clerk to submit their financial reports. Councilor Catt was retained to serve as a Transitional Training Liaison for the Budget committee. PARKS COMMISSION: Councilor Mohammed said that a survey was placed in the council packet at the request of the. Parks and Recreation Director, Lorenzo Parker. Mr. Parker is asking that the council members complete the form and list any suggestions for things they would like to see done in the city parks. CITY TREASURER/CITY CLERK REPORT: City Clerk, James Pulliaum said that a copy of the monthly financial report was passed out to all council members for them to review they will discuss the report at the February 17, 2022, council meeting. APPOINTMENTS: Mayor McClendon said that currently they have one open position for the Utility Commission and asked council if they had anyone to recommend to please submit their resume for consideration. Mayor McClendon said that a resume recommending Mr. Brian Reece to serve on the Airport Commission had been given to him over a month ago by Councilor Catt for consideration to serve on the Airport Commission, but due to an oversight they forgot to act on it at the next scheduled council meeting. Mayor McClendon said that he had since received another recommendation from Airport Director, Candra Suiter recommending Mr. Bill Morris for consideration to serve on the Airport Commission. Councilor Catt made a motion, seconded by Councilor Holt to approve the appointment of Mr. Brian Reece to serve on the Airport Commission. Discussion followed. Councilor Mohammed said she felt that since they had failed to follow protocol that they should wait to decide on the appointment of Mr. Brian Reece and review both resumes and decide at the February 17, 2022, council meeting. Mayor McClendon asked for a roll call vote. City Clerk, James Pulliaum called the roll. The roll call vote was as follows: YES: Bruce, Catt, Holt. Hutchinson, Croom NO: Mohammed,Wheeless ABSTENTION: Murry ABSENT:_ Harris, Mondy With five yes votes, two no votes, one abstention vote, and two absent votes the motion to appoint Brian Reece to the Airport Commission FAILED. City Clerk,James Pulliaum said that all items to be discussed at council and added to the council agenda should be submitted and stamped into the Clerk's office before the cut off time to prevent this from happening. PRESENTATIONS: NONE ANNOUNCEMENTS: City Clerk, James Pulliam announced that the clerk's office would be developing a form for each committee chair to pick up with a voice recorder prior to their committee meeting each time . The form and recorder will need to be returned to the clerk's office immediately following the committee meeting so that the clerks can download the recording.The clerk's will forward a copy of the audio to the secretary, so that they can type their minutes. The minutes will also need to be sent to the clerk's office after they are approved. Mayor McClendon said that due to Inclement weather there could be some interruption to the sanitation pick up schedule. Mayor McClendon said that they must consider the safety of the sanitation workers with the hazardous road conditions and asked everyone to be understanding and patient. Mayor McClendon thanked the Utility Department, City Street Department, Police Officers, EMT and Fire Department for braving the Inclement weather to continue to provide services to the citizens of West Memphis as well as Purchasing Agent, Kenneth Johnson, Communications Director, Nick Coulter, Steve Jones, Tourism Director, Jim Jackson, EMO Director, Dewayne Rose, and Senior Deputy Clerk, Patricia Lane and council for coming in to make sure that city business could continue as normal as possible. Mayor McClendon said that is why he came in , because as the leader of the city of West Memphis it is his responsibility to set a precedence for his staff. Mayor McClendon asked for permission to add his Charity Day distribution of$750.00 to the agenda. Councilor Catt made the motion, seconded Councilor Croom to add it to the agenda. Upon voice vote, voting was unanimous. Councilor Catt made the motion, seconded by Councilor Croom to approve the distribution of Mayor McClendon's Charity Day money in the amount of$750 .00 to Jim Ministry's. Mayor McClendon announced that on Tuesday February 8, 2022, at 2:00 p.m.at the Eugene Woods civic Center they would be having the swearing in ceremony for the newly appointed Police Chief, Robbin Campbell Jr. Mayor McClendon asked everyone to take precautions and to be safe during the Inclement weather. CITIZENS REQUEST: Mr. Roderick Brown a resident of 7840 Pyramid Place Memphis, TN 38132 came before Council to request an Application of Public Convenience to operate a non-emergency medical transportation business in the City of West Memphis. Due to Inclement Weather Mr. Brown was not present at the January 20, 2022, council meeting to get councils decision. He will be added to the February 17,2022, agenda 1's Having no further business to come before the City Council, Councilor Wheeless made the motion, seconded by Councilor Murray to adjourn. Upon voice vote, voting was unanimous to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 1:40 p.m. PASSED and APPROVED this 17th day of FEBRUARY 2022. —,(11.4w etatea-e....) MARCO MCCLENDON, MAYOR ATTEST: —, AM LLIAUM CITY C RK Minutes prepared by, Patricia Lane, Sr. Deputy City Clerk •