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08/15/24 i • MINUTES WEST MEMPHIS CITY COUNCIL August 15,2024 A regular City Council meeting of the West Memphis City Council was held on Thursday August 15, 2024,at 5:00 p.m. in the City Council Chamber at City Hall,205 S. Redding,West Memphis, Arkansas. Invocation was given by Pastor Jennifer Thom of Christ Community Outreach Church of the Nazarene followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Councilor Wayne Croom. Mayor Marco McClendon called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. City Clerk, Patricia Joplin called the roll.Those present were. Mayor Marco McClendon,City Attorney Michael Stephenson,City Treasurer,Charlie Suiter Jr., Councilors Gheric Bruce Tracy Catt,Wayne Croom, Helen Harris,James Holt, Melanie Hutchinson, Lorraine Mohammed,Willis Mondy, David Murray,and Charles Wheeless.Also present was Evening Times Reporter Don Wilburn.Quorum, being present Mayor McClendon, proceeded with the meeting. BID OPENINGS: None MINUTES:APPROVE OR CORRECT MINUTES OF THE AUGUST 8,2024,SPECIAL CALLED MEETING Councilor Catt made the motion, seconded by Councilor Croom to dispense with the reading of August 8,2024,Special Called Meeting minutes and to approve them as submitted. Upon voice vote,voting was unanimous to approve. OLD BUSINESS: None 3RD READING OF AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE LEVY OF A ONE-FOURTH OF ONE PERCENT(0.25%)SALES AND USE TAX WITHIN THE CITY OF WEST MEMPHIS,ARKANSAS;AND PRESCRIBING OTHER MATTERS PERTAINING THERETO. City Attorney Stephenson read the ordinance by title only for the THIRD and FINAL time.Councilor Bruce made the motion,seconded by Councilor Mondy to approve.There being no discussion. Mayor McClendon asked for a roll call vote. City Clerk, Patricia Joplin called the roll.The roll call vote was as follows: YES: Bruce, Harris, Holt, Hutchinson, Mohammed, Mondy, Murray,Wheeless NO: Catt,Croom ABSTENTION: None ABSENT: None With 8 yes votes,2 no votes,0 abstention votes,0 absent the motion passed.The ordinance was adopted and assigned No.2677. 3RD READING OF AN ORDINANCE CALLING A SPECIAL ELECTION IN THE CITY OF WEST MEMPHIS,ARKANSAS ON THE QUESTION OF LEVYING A CITY-WIDE ONE-FOURTH OF ONE PERCENT(0.25%),SALES AND USE TAX;AND PRESCRIBING OTHER MATTERS PERTAINING THERETO. City Attorney Stephenson read the ordinance by title only for the THIRD and FINAL time.Councilor Harris made the motion,seconded by Councilor Mohammed to approve.There being no discussion.Mayor McClendon asked for a roll call vote. City Clerk, Patricia Joplin called the roll.The roll call vote was as follows: YES: Bruce, Harris, Holt, Hutchinson, Mohammed, Mondy, Murray,Wheeless NO: Catt,Croom ABSTENTION: None ABSENT: None With 8 yes votes,2 no votes,0 abstention votes,0 absent the motion passed.The ordinance was adopted and assigned No.2678. H �.. 3RD READING OF AN ORDINANCE CALLING A SPECIAL ELECTION IN THE CITY OF WEST MEMPHIS,ARKANSAS ON THE QUESTION OF ISSUING BONDS UNDER AMENDMENT NO.62 TO f`' THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS FOR THE PURPOSE OF FINANCING ALL OR A C, i'- PORTION OF THE COSTS OF CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS:LEVYING A NEW THREE-FORTHS OF ONE PERCENT(0.75%)SALES AND USE TAX FOR THE PURPOSE OF RETIRING SUCH BONDS; AND PRESCRIBING OTHER MATTERS PERTAINING THERETO. �<. City Attorney Stephenson read the ordinance by title only for the THIRD and FINAL time.Councilor is Mohammed made the motion,seconded by Councilor Hutchinson to approve.There being no discussion. Mayor McClendon asked for a roll call vote. City Clerk, Patricia Joplin called the roll.The roll call vote was as follows: YES: Bruce, Harris, Holt, Hutchinson, Mohammed, Mondy, Murray,Wheeless NO: Catt,Croom ABSTENTION: None ABSENT: None With 8 yes votes,2 no votes,0 abstention votes, 0 absent the motion passed.The ordinance was adopted and assigned No.2679. Discussion followed Councilor Mohammed wanted the citizens to understand that the vote by the council on these ordinances was not to impose the tax but to have it placed on the November ballot for the citizens to have the right to vote for it or against it. Attorney Bowman of Friday Firm gave the public an explanation of the ordinances.Attorney Bowman said the exact ballot language on the November 5, ballot is contained in the ordinances that council just adopted. In ordinance 2678 in Section 2 that is the ballot language for the 0.25% permanent Sales&Use Tax.This tax can be used to pay and secure the repayment of bonds.This can be used for Parks and Recreation, Public Safety Purposes,and drainage.He said this will be the first question they see when they go to the polls on November 5,2024.The other 4 questions are contained in Section 3 of ordinance 2679.Those are the 4 questions of issuance of bonds and levy of a temporary%of 1%tax.This would be temporary in the since collection of that tax can only be used to pay debt service on the bonds approved by the voters, so when those bonds are paid off, that tax will automatically by virtue of State Statute terminate and the city will not have the option of continuing that 3 %tax after those bonds are paid off unless they went back to the voters.Attorney Bowman said there are 4 questions in Section 3.The voter would have the option to vote to approve all or part of the bond questions. If the voter wanted to vote yes on the Parks and Recreation but did not want to vote in favor of the other 3,they would have the option to vote no,if they wanted to vote !':' yes on 2 and no on 2 they could,if they wanted to vote yes on all 4 and they would still only levy a 3/a%sales tax,keeping in mind that is in addition to the 0.25%in question 1.There are 5 total questions on the ballot. If all 5 questions are approved the total increase in the Sales Tax rate in the ,:. City of West Memphis would be 1%. Mr. Bowman said the voters could vote yes for the 0.25%and vote no for all the bond questions and in that case the tax rate would go up by 0.25%. Likewise,they could vote no on the 0.25%and they could vote yes on 1,2,3 or 4 of the bond question and there would be a 3 tax increase. If his is approved by the voters just as you have presented it,then it would be a 1%tax increase in the city assuming all 5 questions are approved by the voters. Councilor Croom asked what the total amount of the bond would be. Mr. Bowman said that Constitutional Law requires that you put a maximum principal amount of bonds to be issued for each of the purposes.The State Constitution also requires that separate purposes be voted on separately,so they could not combine parks and police,fire, and drainage in one question and you must put a separate maximum principal amount on each purpose.The voters would be authorizing a maximum principal amount of$28,630,000.00 for parks,$8,595,000.00 for police,$2,295000.00 for fire and$10,310,000.00 for drainage. It will be up to the city as to how much that total maximum ('S. principal amount is actually issued by the city for those purposes and that will be the ceiling of what the city can issue they cannot go over that amount, however the city can issue less if there was not a need for that amount of proceeds for that bond amount. Councilor Mohammed asked Attorney Bowman why it was that council could not have just voted to impose the taxes so that the citizens would understand that they are being given the opportunity to vote for or against it.Attorney Bowman said that Councilor Mohammed is correct in her understanding that council has voted today to place it on the November ballot to give the citizens the right to vote on all 5 of the questions and under State Law the city has no right to vote on levying Sales&Use Tax it must be approved by the voters. Councilor Croom asked about A&P Taxes.Attorney Bowman said in the past the council had the authority to levy A&P taxes, but there has been a recent change to that law.Mayor McClendon added that.75%of the taxes will sunset once the bond is settled just like the hospital tax. Councilor Mohammed asked for Attorney Bowman to explain to the citizens what sunset meant.Attorney Bowman said the tax would terminate once the bond pays off.Councilor Harris �'` said this initiative is needed to improve the city. Mayor McClendon said there is a definite need for an aquatic center, a new police station and improvement to the city's infrastructure, but it will be up to the citizens to vote to pass it or not pass it to move the city forward. NEW BUSINESS: NONE PERMISSION REQUEST: PERMISSION TO DISTRIBUT SOUTHLAND RACING CHARITY CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOUTH CHARITY ORGANIZATIONS Councilor Catt made the motion, seconded by Councilor Hutchinson to distribute the Southland Racing Charity Contributions in the amount of$35,233.51 equally between the West Memphis Boys &Girls Club,JW Rich Girls Club,Wonder City Boys and Girls Club,and LR Jackson Girls Club each club will receive$8,808.03. Upon voice vote,voting was unanimous to approve. COMMITTEE REPORTS: MAINSTREET REPORT: Executive Director, Raymond Whiteside presented the Main Street report. Taste of the Town-Mr. Whiteside said that the Taste of the Town event held on August 13,2024,was a tremendous success.They had 36 sponsors, 12 vendors and over 350 guests attended the event.They raised $13,287.00. Old Court House/Bollinger Building-Mr.Whiteside provided an update on the Bollinger Building.June of 2023.Thanks to State Representative Furguson who contacted ADEQ about available Brownfield money for inspections and abatement of lead and asbestos in the old courthouse for free.On June 19,2024,staff from Clement Architecture in Little Rock came to field measure the old courthouse building. On August 7,2024,they met with Gary Clement,ASU Mid- South KWEM,and WM Chamber to see field measurements and discussed the vision for the museum, including meeting spaces,offices, and a café.They are expecting renderings and price estimates in the coming weeks. On August 8,2024,they walked the building with Ensafe and Snyder. On August 19,2024,Abatement of Lead and asbestos will begin.The total project cost is $197, 621 dollars with no expense to the city. Water Tower Painting-The Water Tower Painting will be done by Viking Industrial Painting for approximately$50,000.The city will pay$25,000 and • Advertising&Promotion will pay$25,000.The work is expected to begin in late fall/early winter when the weather is cooler and there is less humidity. POLICE DEPARTMENT: Councilor Daid Murray presented the Police Commission Report-School Resource-Councilor Murray reported that 11 riffles have been issued to School Resource Officers. The schools will purchase safes to secure the rifles as well as additional equipment.Southland Casino-Currently there are 10 Police Officers assigned to Southland Casino.Sky-Cop Cameras: Currently there are 54 Sky-Cops.The Sky-Cops were taken down for repair but have since been reinstalled with the assistance of the West Memphis Utility Department.They are also looking into purchasing 15 additional cameras with the estimated cost of$65,000 to 75,000 dollars.They are also looking into grant funding to help with the cost.The department will be installing license plate readers coming into the city and leaving the city.The police department is continuing to research grant funding.Dispatch Department:The West Memphis Dispatch Department will be relocating to the County on October 1, 2024. Grant Personnel-The Grant Personnel has updated the paperwork to be in compliance and to ensure that they are being reimbursed for all active grants and are continuing to look for all grant opportunities. Police Personnel-There is currently 95 police officers assigned to the West Memphis Police Department this number is up from 71 police officers in 2022,their goal is to have 100 police officers.They recently hosted a hiring expo to recruit more officers, and they have had a high number of police officers return to the West Memphis Police Department. Citizen Request: Mr. Sam Jordan has requested that he be reimbursed for tire damage to his car. The issue is under review AIRPORT COMMITTEE: Susanna with Garver reported that the North Apron Rehab project's completion date has been pushed out until November due to rain delays at the start of the project. They will be receiving 2 loads of jet fuel today to put into the new jet fuel tank to begin the 7-day soak test for the jet fuel rehab project. The contract and notice to proceed for the spall repair project are prepared and ready to be signed. t. a i) � HUMAN RESOURCE COMMITTEE: Councilor Tracy Catt presented the Personnel Report.The t; Personnel Committee met on August 14,2024.There was a lot of General Discussion regarding some issues that needed to be addressed before next year. Human Resource Director,Yvonne Carr, made some suggested changes to the Personnel Handbook and once finalized,they will bring it back to the council for consideration in September. APPOINTMENTS:None PRESENTATION BY THE MAYOR: NONE ANNOUNCEMENTS: Mayor McClendon made the following announcements: Hightower Park The Hightower Park is near completion and the Grand Opening is scheduled for September 6,2024.4:00 P.M. Animal Shelter-Advertisement for bids were published on August 14,2024,and will be published ', again on August 21,2024,the bids will be opened on September 4,2024, and will be presented to the council at the September 5,2024,Council Meeting for approval. If everything goes according to schedule dirt will begin to be moved on October 25,2024. Eugene Woods Civic Center-The advertisement for bids will go out for the Eugene Woods Civic Center renovation will be August 14,2024,and will be published again on Wednesday August 21, 2024.The bids will be presented to the council for approval on September 5,2024. .. partsubmitting Rich Road Bridge-The mayor said the city has fulfilled their in all documents to ARDOT so that they can move forward with no issues.The mayor reiterated that the issues and delays for repairing the Rich Road Bridge have never been due to the City of West Memphis or the administration.There was some delay due to a gas line having to be moved that the city has agreed to cover the cost of moving the gas line to move the project along.City Attorney Michael Stephenson said the city submitted all the paperwork and they are just waiting. Lehr Street Bridge-The Lehr Street Bridge is scheduled to reopen September 3,2024. Redding Street Bridge-Mayor McClendon said City Engineers have gotten with Mike Foster of t;: Pickering,and they have come up with an agreed concept for the Redding Street Bridge.The Redding Street Bridge will be the 100%responsibility of the City of West Memphis,and it will be up to the Council to decide if this is something they want to do because the cost will be up to$600,000 dollars for a pedestrian bridge.They are currently looking at another design to try and get a cheaper bridge. Tilden Rogers Park-The advertisement for bids was published for Tilden Rogers Park on August 14, 2024. Mayor McClendon said that they were unable to move forward with the repairs previously due to the Covid Pandemic and it was not financially responsible to spend money and move forward with the project during that time. He said there have been some recurring issues with Covid and is '' asking that everyone take precautions to protect themselves and to stay safe. Fire Department-Mayor McClendon said with the new concept for the Fire Station on 7th Street h that the council voted for will be ready in two weeks and he will bring it back to council for review at the September 5,2024 council meeting. 1.. New Police Department-The Police Department staff and Mr. Ladd Gary toured similar police buildings in Memphis to get an idea of some of the things that they would like to incorporate in the new police station. Mr.Jim Smith of Smith Engineering has also done a survey for that building.The mayor said in mid-September the dispatch department will be moving to the county on AFC()Road, fv so that will be technology cost that they will not need to include in the cost of the new police - station. City Hall Building-The mayor said that the work on the City Hall Building has begun they will be getting a face lift.The building has already been pressure washed and they will be caulking the building to address any cracks.They will be painting the building a light gray color and putting in new landscaping and RJK will be installing a new City Hall lettering and seal on the building. , Museum of West Memphis-The Old Court House that was built in 1939 and is on the Historical Preservation List will be turned into a museum.They met with the engineers on August 7,2024, on the plans and when the plans are completed, he will bring them back before the council for their approval. He said currently the Brownfields are removing asbestos and mold.The Police Department and Court Clerks are looking through some old files that were left in the building. Overlay Program-Crisp Contractor was awarded the bid and they will begin overlaying the streets that council approved the work will start September 15,2024.The city will be posting a list of the streets that will be overlayed on the City of West Memphis website. He said if they approve the infrastructure where they close the open ditches in Shady Grove,Ward 3,and the Bayous and other areas that need improvement it will be beneficial to the citizens. Mayor McClendon said the trees did not grow in 5 years during his administration.This should have been taken care of before his administration, but he is committed to improving it. Special Called Council Meeting-There will be a Special Called Council Meeting on August 22, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber. He said they will be discussing a potential Pilot Program and CDA and he is hoping to make a big announcement,they will also be opening the bids for the relocation of Utilities for the roundabout for ARDOT. Mayor McClendon spoke on the ordinances regarding taxes that will be on the ballot in November. He said he could understand the skepticism if they could not see or put their hands on where the money was being spent. He said when he thinks about the benefits of providing an Aquatic center that is much needed for our Senior Citizens health, a swimming poolfor our youth and babies to swim and a recreational facility with endless possibilities of programing to keep our youth out of trouble and to have a safe place to go, a police station that is safe for our police officers to adequately do their jobs to serve and protect and a building where the citizens can enter to get assistance he cannot help but be excited. He said getting it on the ballot was the first hurdle.The next hurdle will be getting the people out to vote who normally would not vote. He is asking those people to get registered to vote and to cast their vote for this initiative. ADD TO AGENDA: Councilor Bruce made a motion,seconded by Councilor Croom to add Ms.Welch to the August 15, 2024, agenda under citizen request to discuss damage to her vehicle caused by a pothole CITIZENS REQUEST: Ms.Welch, a citizen of West Memphis, came before the council to ask for their consideration in paying for damage to her vehicle caused by a pothole on a city street at Avalon and Broadway on August 7,2024. Ms.Welch said she had spoken with the Purchasing Agent, Kenneth Johnson,and he informed her that she would need to first present her case to the Public Works Committee and once they investigated her claim,they would present it to council for councils' decision. Ms.Welch provided pictures to the council of the damage to her vehicle.The estimate came in at$3,300 dollars. Ms.Welch is only asking for$2,100 dollars because her vehicle was still under warranty through Ford of West Memphis. Ms.Welch was instructed to present her case to the Public Works Committee per procedures so that they could research it and present their findings to the council for a decision.Councilor Croom said the Public Works committee meets again on September 3, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. Ms.Welch became emotional and said she needed her car to take her children back and forth to school at Faulk Elementary.Councilor Mohammed felt that council could forego presenting it to the Public Works committee and the mayor agreed. Councilor Hutchinson made the motion, seconded by Councilor Mondy to approve Ms.Welch's request to be reimbursed$2,100 dollars for repair of her vehicle. Upon voice vote,voting was unanimous to approve. Having no further business to come before the City Council, Councilor Mondy made the motion, seconded by Councilor Hutchinson,to adjourn. Upon voice vote,voting was unanimous.The meeting was adjourned at 5:40 p.m. PASSED and APPROVED this 5th day of September 2024. MA``��.rr.�c7 e �Cc,w�✓ IkCO MCCL DON, MAYOR e . \ \ � \ ATTEST: • , \ . PATRICIA JO PL N,CI C ERK • Minutes prepared by Patricia La ne Sr, Deputy City Clerk • • . � \ . \ . � r • \ \ • • - � • .