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01/22/2026 PLEASE TURN OFF ALL CELL PHONES AGENDA WEST MEMPHIS CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 22,2026 PRAYER: REVEREND DANTE BATTLES NORTHSIDE CHURCH OF CHRIST PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: MR.WAYNE CROOM-CITY COUNCIL MEMBER-WARD 3-2 CALL TO ORDER: ROLL CALL: CITY CLERK-MS. PATRICIA JOPLIN BID OPENING: - MINUTES: APPROVE OR CORRECT MINUTES OF JANUARY 8,2026 OLD BUSINESS: 2ND READING OF AN ORDINANCE TO ADOPT AND ESTABLISH CLEAR STANDARDS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS IN COMPLIANCE WITH ACT 313 OF 2025,WHICH MANDATES THAT ALL MUNICIPALITIES ALLOW AT LEAST ONE ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT (ADU) ON SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL LOTS, SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCING HOUSING FLEXIBILITY IN THE CITY OF WEST MEMPHIS ARKANSAS; TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES NEW BUSINESS: PERMISSION REQUEST: COMMITTEE REPORTS: APPOINTMENTS: PERSENTATION BY THE MAYOR: ANNOUNCEMENTS: CITIZEN REQUEST: 1.MR. PERCY SANDERS- SPEAKING ON: HELPING SENIOR CITIZENS 318 SOUTH 19 STREET WITH HOME REPAIRS 2. MR. WILLIAM JONES 3. MR. WILLIE WILLIAMS 2610 JACKSON AVE. 215 SOUTH 15 STREET 4. QUEEN FRASIER JOHNSON 5. MR. TOMMY&VIRGIL BROWN 3304 EAST POLK STREET 207 SOUTH 14 STREET ADJOURNMENT: • MINUTES WEST MEMPHIS CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 22,2026 A regular City Council Meeting of the West Memphis City Council was held on Thursday January 22, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. in the City Council Chamber at City Hall,205 S. Redding. Mayor Marco McClendon called the meeting to order.The invocation was given by Reverend Dante Battles, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance by Councilor Wayne Croom. City Clerk, Patricia Joplin called the roll.Those present were Mayor Marco McClendon, City Attorney Michael Stephenson (Zoom), City Treasurer Charlie SuiterJr, Councilors Tammi Bell, Gheric Bruce,Tracy Catt,Wayne Croom, Helen Harris,James Holt, Melanie Hutuchinson, Lorraine Mohammed,Willis Mondy, and David Murray.Absent was Finance Director,Tori Perry, and Evening Times reporter Don Wilburn. Quorum, being present Mayor Marco McClendon, proceeded with the meeting. BID OPENING: NONE MINUTES: APPROVE OR CORRECT MINUTES OF JANUARY 8,2026, COUNCIL MEETING Councilor Catt made the motion, seconded by Councilor Bruce to approve the January 8,2026, City Council Minutes as submitted. Upon voice vote,voting was unanimous to approve. OLD BUSINESS: 2ND READING OF AN ORDINANCE TO ADOPT AND ESTABLISH CLEAR STANDARDS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS IN COMPLIANCE WITH ACT 311 OF 2025, WHICH MANDATES THAT ALL MUNICIPALITIES ALLOW AT LEAST ONE ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT(ADU)ON SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL LOTS,SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCING HOUSING FLEXIBILITY IN THE CITY OF WEST MEMPHIS ARKANSAS;TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY;AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES City Attorney Stephenson read the ordinance for the SECOND time by title only.The ordinance will be placed back on the February 5,2026, agenda for it third and final reading.(Agenda 2/5/2026). Planning Manager, Marilyn Phelix gave council a brief summary of the ADU accessory unit requirements. Ms. Phelix said that the Bill allows for accessory units on primary residential lots that can be built in the rear of the residence and rented by a non-family member or occupied by a family member. Ms. Phelix said in the past they could only be used for storage. Ms. Phelix believes that they have finalized the bill and added electrical language standards that has been reviewed and accepted by the utility department. Councilor Catt said for clarity that this will not be applicable in all areas of town if there is a bill of assurance or deed of restrictions or a Homeowner Association that has been filed,which will dictate if they will be allowed the law does not override private agreements. Ms. Phelix said they will be required to meet all building standards codes. NEW BUSINESS: NONE PERMISSION: NONE COMMITTEE REPORTS: APPOINTMENTS: NONE PRESENTATION: Mayor McClendon said in an effort to be transparent with council and to keep them abreast of what is happening within the city he has asked several of his Departments to give council an update of what initiatives their departments have going on. CODE ENFORCEMENT:Officer Ford gave council an update on Code Enforcement initiatives. Officer Ford said primarily they are working on the major corridors in the city such as Broadway, Missouri and Ingram and focusing on car dealerships and garage mechanics to ensure that they are licensed with the city and that their Arkansas Car Dealership Licenses are up to date and are in compliance with zoning and code enforcement requirements as agreed upon when they opened the business. Officer Ford said he was also recently contacted by Councilor Croom and Councilor Bell in regard to the 200 North Bond area. Officer Ford handed out a print out to council with several address identified as being a problem and he and Ms. Phelix will be mailing out violation letters to several property owners to try and bring them into compliance as prescribed in the ordinances.The issues that they will be addressing is litter and debris, inoperable vehicles, squatters, and unsightly dwellings. Once the letters are sent out certified, if the property owner does not respond they will take further action. Officer Ford feels that the lack of follow-up in the past has caused the ongoing issues and this is something that they intend to improve upon. Officer Ford said once the allotted time is up to bring the property into compliance is reached if the property owner is still in violation, he will issue a citation and or fines to appear in court. He said this will be a step by step process. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: Economic Development Director,Ward Wimbish provided an update on Economic Development and potential development interest in West Memphis. Mr.Wimbish said that they have continued to hold weekly meeting with Google and it has been great to work with them. He also said that West Memphis has been experiencing a lot of interest in the Mega site that is off of Hwy 147 by 1-40 at Lehi. Currently they have 4 companies looking at the site and have even been short listed by several of them. One of the companies interested in the site have made 2 visits and will be coming back in 3 weeks.The other company is doing their own due diligence and is even paying for the soil testing themselves. Mr.Wimbish said all4 companies are manufacturing companies that will offer good jobs. Mr.Wimbish said that there is also still space available at the Industrial Park. Mr.Wimbish will be traveling to Atlanta next week to meet with a German company that has expressed some interest. Mr.Wimbish said he thinks that we can expect to see good things in 2026 for West Memphis and hopes to bring back good news to the council in the future. UTILTIES: Utility Manager, Bob Atkins presented an up date on Utilities. Mr.Atkins said in reference to Economic Development one thing to drive economic development to the city is the ability to service utilities to those facilities. He said when you have an organization with a large enough volume of jobs there is going to be support organizations that come with it.They will be buying food in the city,gas, etc..,so it is significant for the city to ensure that they have adequate power,water resources, and sanitary service resources. He said we are really good on the water and waste water side and there are no capacity issues. Mr.Atkins said that they recently talked about creating a grid in the city to be able to feed some of these additional businesses.The utility issues right now is that the ability to have speed to power is critical to these sites.They submitted a submission to the Department of Energy on speed to power with a micro group concept where they would have a grid that would serve several entities in West Memphis in an effort to entice some of these businesses to West Memphis. Mr.Atkins said when you think of industry you are looking at up to 140 million dollars in revenue . GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS:APEX Consultant.Steven Jones presented an update on Governmental Affairs. Mr.Jones said in 2024 Mayor McClendon said he wanted to be intentional in bringing State or Federal Dollars back to the city. Mr.Jones said that they have had some success in doing so with the 1 million dollar Port Project that has been vital for Economic Development.They received funding for 3 years to operate the Summer Youth Program in West Memphis and Governor Sara Huckabee-Sanders Office was essential in helping them to secure money towards the Google project. Mr.Jones said recently they were in Washington in mid-December seeking assistance from their Federal Partners who surprisingly were not fully aware of everything that was going on in West Memphis.They met with Senator Cotton, Senator Boozman Office and Congressperson Crawford Office who were all receptive and left behind detailed information that was Economic Development related. Mr.Jones said that a lot of the growth of West Memphis is on the Northside such as Southland expansions and the Water Park and will require water and power sources. Mr.Jones said that he was pleased to announce that just this week Congressperson Crawfords office announced that they included a million dollars in the 2026 appropriation bill to help out with some of the projects.They are also trying to find Federal dollars to help with public transportation. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Director Dewayne Rose gave council an update on the inclement weather. Director Rose said we will be in a winter weather warning starting January 23,2026, Friday at 6:00 p.m. until Sunday January 25,2026, at 6:00 p.m. Director Rose said we are right on the line of a snow and ice mixture Governor Sanders has declared a State of Emergency and has allocated $250, 000 dollars to the State Department of Emergency Management.The City of West Memphis implemented the state of Emergency Plan at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday January 22,2026,and is currently at a level 1 activation which is just meeting with city leadership daily and monitoring the situation.They are also having called meetings with Crittenden County Public Safety,State, County and Local Government to review the situation daily. Director Rose said that they are prepared as they can be. He said many of the meteorologist are classifying this storm as historic and he would like to emphasize that the last time they heard those words was back in April when they were talking about the historic flooding. Director Rose said that he is confident that this is going to be a bad storm as echoed by the meteorologist, he is wanting the public to be prepared and to make sure that they have a substantial amount of food and water and supplies on hand to get them through the storm while they remain safe in their homes.There is a warming shelter at the Roberta Jackson Center that is very well stocked with food,water, blankets, cots, and pillows and they are in a good position to house our vulnerable population. Director Rose said they can house up to 50 individuals,and they are always looking for volunteers. He said anyone interested in volunteering can sign up through the sign up genius app. He said that law enforcement will be on sight. Mayor McClendon said that they can text West Memphis 91896 app to stay informed about what is happening and to let people know if they are in need. ANNOUNCEMENTS: NONE CITIZENS REQUEST: NONE Mr. Percy Sanders a resident of 318 S. 19th Street,West Memphis,Arkansas, came before council to speak on help for Senior Citizens with home repair and the process to sign up.Mr.Sanders said that he has attempted to sign up in the past only to be told to call back during the application period and when he calls back they are no longer taking any more applications. Mayor McClendon addressed Mr.Sanders concerns and apologized that Mr.Sander had not been able to get assistance in the past but explained that he could not use the tax payers money to fix up Mr. Sanders house.The mayor said that the money that is allocated for home repairs is given under the CDBG program and in the past years the money has substantially decreased limiting the type of work that be done. Mayor McClendon said the grant money is approximately$250,000 and the Community Development Department holds Public Forums to get input from the citizens on how to best use the money for the different initiatives in the community, but no one shows up. He said approximately$30,000 to$35,000 is allocated for repairing roofs because that is the best use of the money because they do not have enough funds to do other repairs like they did in the past and there is more demand than there is money even to fix roofs, so the inspectors have to go out and identify which dwellings are in the most need of repair. Mayor McClendon asked Mr.Sanders what would he like to see be done with$35,000 dollars. Mr.Sanders said he would like to see it evenly distributed among the people that need help.The mayor said everyone that is selected must meet certain requirements to be considered for assistance and there still is not enough money to meet all the demands. Mayor McClendon said that he has some ideas to see if he can work with some local business to see if he can get them to donate funds to the city toward helping the elderly with home repair but there will still need to be eligibility criteria's and a cap on the amount that they can pay to do the repairs. Planning Manager, Marilyn Phelix, and Danielle Glenn are also working with HUD on possible grants to help with home repairs. Mr.William Jones a resident of 2610 Jackson Avenue West Memphis,Arkansas. Ms. Queen Frasier Johnson a resident of 3304 E. Polk Street West Memphis,Arkansas, and Mr.Tommy&Virgil Brown a resident of 207 S. 14th Street decided not to speak before council regarding home repairs.They were satisfied with the explanation that Mayor McClendon gave. Ms. Glenn did get all of their information so that she could inform them of the next public meeting. Mr.Willie Williams a resident of 215 S. 15 Street came before council to request assistance with having his roof repaired. Mayor McClendon referred him to Planning Manager, Marilyn Phelix,for assistance. ADJOURNMENT: Having no further business to come before the City Council, Councilor Mohammed made the motion, seconded by Councilor Bruce,to adjourn. Upon voice vote,voting was unanimous.The meeting adjourned at 6:05 p.m. PASSED AND APPROVED on the 5thday of February 2026. c M RCO MCCLENDON, MAYOR ATTEST: CAg ;t-ij- PATRICIA JOPLIN,CITY CLERK Minutes prepared by Sr. Deputy City Clerk, Patricia Lane