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September 6, 2012 �� ---� Page 1 of 3 MINUTES WEST MEMPHIS CITY COUNCIL September 6, 2012 A regular meeting of the West Memphis City Council was held on Thursday, September 6 at 1:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at City Hall, 205 S. Redding,West Memphis,Arkansas. Invocation was given by John Beaumont. Mayor Johnson called the meeting to order at 1:30 p.m. Phillip Para, LC|�y(�|mN� ooUmdthe nnU. Those present xveme: A��mr�0&�n7ffJ�n�ammC%�' Daw��Peeples, C�fy �as/������d��� �z7�� L����� ��C� �� �� �� .Coleman, Marco McClendon, and James Holt. Those absent were:James Pulliaum, Phillip Carter, and Willis Mondy. Quorum being present, Mayor Johnson proceeded with the meeting. BID OPENINGS Bids for West Memphis Utilities—painting of a 500,000 gallon ground storage potable water tank were opened at 1:00 pm and copies of the tally sheets were given to the council. Councilwoman Robinson made a motion, seconded by Councilman McClendon to accept the bids and refer them to the Utility Commission for disposition. Upon voice vote,the voting was unanimous. (See copy attached) Bids for Main Street—Streetscape Phase III were opened at 1:00 pm and copies of the tally sheets were given to the council. Councilwoman Taylor made a motion, seconded by Councilman McClendon to accept the bids and refer them to Planning and Development for disposition. Upon voice vote,the voting was unanimous. (See attached) MINUTES Councilwoman Robinson moved, seconded by Councilman Catt to dispense with the reading of the minutes of August 16, 2012 City Council meeting, and approve them as submitted. Upon voice vote,the voting was unanimous. Mayor Johnson stated at this time, he was going to allow the citizens that signed up to speak regarding the next item of business on the agenda, to speak. This is in regards to the third reading of an Ordinance to rezone. LK8i|tonYarbrough—415VV. Ba�onpresent to represent mmn 'ordyofhonme owners that live around or near the proposed rezoning of417VV. Bmdon. He said they were mUopposed 1omUmming the ppopodVowner 10 build three houses on this lot. He presented a petition to the City Clerk,for the record, strongly opposing the rezoning. (Copy of petition filed in the City Clerk's Office.) Mike Ford—property owner of the proposed rezoning site. He said he purchased the property in 2005 and planned to sub-divide the lot and build three residential single family dwellings. He said the Planning Commission and the City Council approved the lot split and the rezoning to R-1. Then the economy and housing market fell drastically and he decided to hold off on building. Due to the fact he did not file the plat within two years;the property was rezoned to R-E. He showed the City Council a drawing of the surrounding lots and said his plan was to build three homes on lots each being around 14,350 sq.ft. He said the average lot in that area is around 13,325 sq. ft.to 16,400 sq. ft. He asked the City Council to make a tough decision today and remove the emotion from the decision and allow the lot to be zoned R-1. OLD BUSINESS 3rd Reading AN ORDINANCE TO REZONE PROPERTY IN THE CITY OF WEST MEMPHIS, ARKANSAS, LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY 417 WEST BARTON, FROM F-E, SINGLE FAMILY RESDENTIAL ESTATE, TO R-1, SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL City Attorney Peeples read the Ordinance for the third and final time. The Ordinance failed from lack of a motion and a second. NEW BUSINESS Councilwoman Robinson made a motion, seconded by Councilwoman Taylor to suspend the rules and read the title only of Ordinance 0-1. Upon voice vote the voting was unanimous to approve. 0-1 AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND SECTION 5.60.040 OF THE WEST MEMPHIS MUNICIPAL CODE REGARDING CHARGES FOR AMBULANCE SERVICE OPERATED BY THE WEST MEMPHIS FIRE DEPARTMENT AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES City Attorney Peeples read the Ordinance for the FIRST time. Next, Mayor Johnson stated he had a request sent by e-mail requesting permission to address the City Council from Fred Free with Community Development, Inc. regarding their efforts to renovate the Mayfair Apartments. He gave the floor to Mr. Free. Mr. Free explained he is returning to the City Council again to request a letter of support from Mayor Johnson for applications to Arkansas Development Finance Authority for funding to redevelop Page 2 of 3 the Mayfair Apartments. Since CDI's last request failed at the City Council Meeting of February 3, 2012, he said CDI has met with the council members from Ward 4 and held a neighborhood meeting to obtain input on the design of the proposal and support for moving ahead with applications for funding. Due to the input from the community, CDI is working with the architects to enlarge the units as much as possible, provide more three bedroom units and some four bedroom apartments as part of the mix. He said instead of 110 units as originally planned there will now be approximately 98 units. Lengthy discussion was held and questions were answered. Mr. Free said the next application for funding is due in February, 2013. If approved,the approximate date of completion would be the end of 2014 or beginning of 2015. After further discussion, Councilwoman Robinson made a motion, seconded by Councilman McClendon to grant Mayor Johnson the approval to write a letter of support. Mayor Johnson said he would write a letter of support if the City Council members who vote for it also sign the letter. Upon roll call vote,the voting was: AYES: Tyrone, Robinson, Catt,Taylor, Coleman, McClendon and Holt. NAYS: None The motion carried. PERMISSION REQUESTS Councilwoman Taylor made a motion, seconded by Councilwoman Robinson to approve payment of$159,306.17 to Power Equipment Company. Upon voice vote,the motion was approved by a unanimous vote. Councilman McClendon made a motion, seconded by Councilwoman Taylor to divide the Charity Day Disaster Relief funds from Southland Gaming and Racing in the amount of$3,821.42 50/50 between the Good Neighbor Center and Delta Neighborhood Action Committee. Upon voice vote,the voting was unanimous. Frank Martin, City Treasurer said the Charity Day funds that are usually divided eleven ways between the mayor and city council was$10,384.01 which will be 10 c$944.00 and 1 $944.01. Councilman Coleman said he would like his charity money to go$744.00 to Wonder City Boys Club and $200.00 to LR Jackson Girls Club. Councilman Catt wants his$944.00 to go to Families in Transition. Councilwoman Taylor made a motion, seconded by Councilman McClendon to approve the charities of choice designations as presented. Upon voice vote,the voting was unanimous. COMMITTEE REPORTS insurance Committee -Councilman Coleman reported bids were taken and after the Insurance Committee talked to several insurance companies,they recommend the City Council approve a fifteen month contract with CIGNA for the cities health insurance. Councilman Coleman said all out of pocket expenses and deductibles paid out will carry over. He thanked the Insurance Committee members for all of their hard work. Councilman Coleman made a motion, seconded by Councilwoman Taylor to accept the bid from CIGNA as the new healthcare provider with Mathew Glass as our agent of record for all full time city employees and dependents. Upon voice vote,the voting was unanimous. Budget Committee-Councilman Catt reported there will be a Resolution on the next council agenda regarding the budget change for the Roberta Jackson Community Center. He also reported sales tax reports are above what was budgeted. Police Commission—Councilman Tyrone reported they met August 23`d and discussed the following: Neighborhood watch and National Night Out. The Night Out is scheduled for Tuesday night, October 9th; rain date is Tuesday night, October 16th. Internal Affairs Investigator was acquitted on all counts. Fugitive, Eddie Tribble was caught at an apartment in Marion,AR. Police Department is interviewing for dispatchers at this time. There are no open police officer's positions at this time. Code Enforcement Officers position was discussed at length. Public Works Committee-Councilwoman Taylor reported they discussed the Code Enforcement Officer and decided to wait and include the funding in the 2013 budget. City Engineer, Phillip Sorrell, Paul Luker and Christine Byrd of the Code Enforcement Office have been meeting with police officers going through training to make them aware of our problem areas and making sure they have the proper paperwork and information to help us enforce code violations. They reviewed a claim for damages and after a thorough investigation, chose not to act on this matter. Mr. Sorrell reported we are beginning to work on recycling with East Arkansas Regional Solid Waste District. The signalization project is on schedule. Southland Drive Phase II proposals are due Thursday the 6th. As soon as the proposals are in an engineering firm will be selected. A ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for October 30th at the Tourist Information Center. The Street Overlay Program maps for the selected streets for 2012 were passed around to all the members. The project has been scaled back to leave funds or use in a drainage project. ANNOUNCEMENTS Councilman Coleman announced there would be free HIV testing tomorrow from 10—2 at the Arkansas Department of Health. He also encouraged people to take control of their neighborhoods by adopting a lot if they live next to an absentee landowner that is not cutting their lot. Councilman McClendon gave his condolences to city employees that have lost loved ones. He recognized Daniel Hatchet and Shabaka Africa who were in the audience. He announced the NAACP annual banquet will be held October 13th. Page 3 of 3 CITIZENS REQUESTS Tia Handy—304 W. Jefferson —reported there is an odor coming from the ditch at 7th and Jackson Street and asked the city to clean it up. She said there was a group of concerned citizens watching the elected officials and their personal conduct and neglect of responsibilities. Jacob Young-202 Anna Lane- He said he worked at West Memphis Utilities Electric Department. He asked if their guidelines interfered with the City Personnel Manual. He said the guidelines for the electrical department were given to the Utility Commission at the August 9th meeting, but he said the guidelines were given to the employees on July 17th. He also said they never mentioned his name at the Utility Commission meeting but he knows they were making fun of him on public television. City Attorney Peeples advised Mr. Young that the proper place for him to voice his employment issues was with the Utility Commission. When asked why he approved the guidelines at the Utility Commission meeting, City Attorney Peeples said his job included to render legal advice to the Mayor and City Council and all Commissions and Committees. He again referred Mr.Young to the Utility Commission. Councilman Coleman asked that the Insurance Committee stay for a brief meeting. Having no further business to come before the City Council, Councilwoman Taylor moved, second by Councilman Catt to adjourn. Upon voice vote, the voting was unanimous. The meeting adjourned at 2:35 p.m. PASSED and APPROVED this k 0 day of September, 2012. WILLIAM H. JOHNSON, AYOR ATTEST: PH' - 'ARA, CITY CLERK Minutes prepared by: Cindy Greenwood, Sr. Deputy City Clerk a a 01 71 70 a,.. ,... G (, ,S, -- -• 1,..,,,.._ .., til .L. 7 GP ri co ci.s CI CA CCI '0 --I N N a a. 9ar 5 - - w. ar 4 -47 °' n' o Q Q NJ NJ \Q V't 0 w a m n 0 a to o c— 0---- 3 cn r� a 7 0� ? 7 3 < A.: 2 _ :Ifs 7 M. xi V N W O IA O ■C14 R \,.. x 3 S w -- co PI- a) m N O_ N yy West Memphis Utility Commission P.O. Box 1868 • 604 East Cooper A (870) 735-3355 • Fax (870) 732-7623 AA West Memphis, Arkansas 72303 Company Bid Price Eagle Sand Blast Inc Ch6, 2-frj - 5� t)oQ bO Pleasant Plains AR 613,Ibo.c Classic Protective Coatings Inc SC.)IE.du.k . 1 -, `�r - � no.o3 Menomonie, WI e:MCILI 16 1 JS Maguire Iron Inc i L `Cr?c Sioux Falls, SD -S i1 i - 864 aDad. TMI Coating Inc .S ch p4 00015 St. Paul, MN .SckcktEE L i5ca,cx Itf Leher Painting Enterprises Inc U , L� T (,�,, a _ . g/ o Mayflower,AR Utility Services Inc s 1, coos Perry, GA sGh6ckL16 i1 - 7c1,00..c0 Kimery Painting r Sapulpa, OK Landmark.Construction Memphis, TN An Equal Opportunity Employer ?age 1 ot 1 '+e Dorothy Wallace From: Fred Free[fredf@cdinet.us] Sent: Friday,August 31, 2012 4:14 PM To: Dorothy Wallace • Cc: Vincent Spagnolo; Fred Cornforth Subject: Request to appear on City Council Agenda for September 6, 2012 Attachments: Request for letters of support-Sept 6 2012.doc Dear Ms.Wallace: Please accept this request to appear before the City Council on September 6 to report on progress in our company's efforts to renovate the Mayfair Apartments and to request letters of support for our applications to Arkansas Development Finance Authority. Mayfair Apartments is a vacant 180 unit complex located off of East Barton in Ward 4. I have attached a short narrative that provides some background to the proposed project, a brief history of our efforts,and an explanation of what we are requesting from the City Council. Thank you for your help in getting this item on the Agenda for next Thursday's meeting. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions regarding this request. Sincerely, (Frei Tree Community Development, Inc. 4110 Eaton Avenue,Suite A Caldwell, Idaho 83687 208-649-1580 (direct) 208-649-1581 (direct fax) 208-459-8522 (office) 208-459-9692 (office fax) fredf@cdinet.us Leader for Sustainability Isfiember of --,---=-, !I. -..,-, , I' ta At4124 72.4, 'E t '' T—rT;i* I .. Mr,fri5: ;1 11 F: ilia; ' 4,.. ° illfOr C . N,NeC trstaina 8/31/2012 Community Development Incorporated Toll: 800.617.2498 ,;. Q 4110 Eaton Ave, Suite A Phone:208.459.8522 l Caldwell, ID 83607 Fax: 208.459.9692 Date: August 31, 2012 To: Mayor and City Council of the City of West Memphis From: Frederick D. Free, Chief Development Officer, CDI Subject: Redevelopment of Mayfair Apartments for City Council Agenda September 6,2012 Community Development, Inc. (CDI) is returning to the City Council with its request for letters of support for applications to Arkansas Development Finance Authority for funding to redevelop the Mayfair Apartments. Since CDI's last request failed at the City Council meeting of February 3, 2012, CDI has met with the council members from Ward 4 and held a neighborhood meeting to obtain input on the design of the proposal and support for moving ahead with applications for funding. BACKGROUND The Mayfair Apartments are located on adjacent lots at 947 W. McCauley Drive and 900-01 East Barton in Ward 4. The 180 units were built in two phases around 1970 and have been vacant since 2005. They were purchased in a foreclosure sale in September 2005 by the current owner who has been unable to obtain financing to renovate the property. At the end of January, 2012, CDI entered into purchase and sale agreements to purchase the properties for the purpose of redeveloping them with financing obtained through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program administered by the Arkansas Finance Development Authority(AFDA). Because of limitations on the size of funding awards, CDI must apply for two separate funding awards and develop the properties as if they were independently operated properties. The renovated properties would consist of approximately 55 units each, or a total of 110 units. CDI is being assisted in its development efforts by the Arkansas Land and Farm Development, Corporation, an Arkansas nonprofit corporation located in Brinkly, and the architectural firm of HudspethiGarey Architects located in West Memphis. Partially due to the short period of time between obtaining site control and having to submit an application to AFDA by February 4, 2012, CDI was unable to obtain the requisite support letters from the City of West Memphis needed to apply for funding in 2012. PROGRESS SINCE THEN CDI and its development partners met with the two council members from Ward 4 and the City's Planning Director in May 2012 to discuss the initial project plans. At that meeting,the development team members received considerable feedback on their plans regarding unit sizes and configurations, desirable site amenities and health and safety issues. As a follow up to that meeting, a neighborhood meeting was scheduled to present the project proposal to interested members of the neighborhood. Community Development Incorporated Toll: 800.617.2498 4110 Eaton Ave, Suite A Phone:208.459.8522 At Caldwell, ID 83607 Fax: 208.459.9692 Approximately on 20 representatives from the neighborhood attended the meeting on June 11, 2012. Valuable input was provided by the attendees regarding the populations served by the redeveloped property and the size and configuration of the units. Some concerns that were expressed included the timing of the redevelopment and wishing that the project would proceed as quickly as possible, the quality of the property management and that residents be properly screened, and the likelihood that the project would proceed if CDI received the City's support. At the end of the meeting, everyone in attendance expressed their support to see the project proceed and the property redeveloped. REQUESTED ACTION Due to input from the community, CDI will work with the architects to enlarge the units as much as possible, provide more three bedroom units and possibly provide some four bedroom units as part of the mix. Because of this,the original plan for 110 total units might be reduced to a number closer to 100 total units. CDI, on behalf of all of the development partners, requests the City Council's approval for the Mayor to provide letters of support for each of the two phases of redevelopment of the Mayfair Apartments.