Board of Directors

REGULAR CALLED MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS Boardroom June 18, 2024 5:30 p.m. AGENDA 1. Call to Order Mayor Scott Byrd 2. Invocation 3. Approval of Board Minutes from June 4, 2024 – Mayor Byrd 4. Recommendation to Waive Sidewalk Requirements Clinton/S 18th St – DeAnna Graves 5. Update on Water/Sewer Projects – David Green 6. City Manager’s Report – Gary Brinkley 7. Routine Business – Mayor Byrd 8. Adjournment – Mayor Byrd Regular Meeting: Citizens speaking to the Board of Directors shall have a speaking time limit of 10 minutes. The Board of Directors may ask follow up questions which may extend the time limit. Open Session Forum: Speaking time limit is 5 minutes a speaker may not yield his or her time to another speaker City Board of Directors Meeting June 4, 2024 Page 1 of 4 REGULAR CALLED MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS Board Room June 4, 2024 5:30 P.M. MEMBERS: OTHERS: Taylor Chaney, Ward 1Director Gary Brinkley, City Manager Chris Porter, Ward 2 Director Chama Williams, City Clerk Keith Crews, Ward 3 Director Reo Cummings, Ward 4 Director Jason Jones, Ward 5 Director Roland Gosey, Assistant Mayor Scott Byrd, Mayor CALL TO ORDER The Mayor called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. The Mayor announced a quorum was present. INVOCATION Director Cummings. APPROVAL OF BOARD MINUTES FROM MAY 21, 2024 A motion was made by Director Chaney, seconded by Director Porter to approve the minutes from the May 21, 2024 Board Meeting. The motion passed on a roll call vote and the vote was as follows: Taylor Chaney “Aye” Roland Gosey “Aye” Chris Porter “Aye” Jason Jones “Aye” Reo Cummings “Aye” Mayor Byrd “Aye” Keith Crews “Aye” PRESENTATION OF AWARDS Fire Chief Neel presented Fireman Justin Kirksey a Commendation of Bravery for displaying exceptional courage in pulling an accident victim from a burning vehicle with no equipment or personal protection and rendering first aid to keep the victim alive until the victim could be transported to the hospital. Police Chief Jackson and Officer Randy Lau, who was a recent recipient of a liver transplant, presented City Manager Brinkley an award for service above and beyond for his help in getting our insurance carrier to accept Officer Lau’s insurance claim for the transplant. APPROVAL OF RESOLUTION TO OPEN AIRPORT CONSTRUCTION ACCOUNT Mr. Brinkley stated that the Board of Directors accepted the bid from Citizens Bank for the revolving construction account. Citizens Bank requested a resolution along with approved minutes to execute opening the account. The loan will provide cash flow for reimbursement grants for five capital improvement projects. 1 City Board of Directors Meeting June 4, 2024 Page 2 of 4 Staff request that the Board of Directors approve resolution. A motion was made by Director Chaney seconded by Director Porter to approve the resolution for accepted bid from Citizens Bank. The motion passed on a roll call vote and the vote was as follows: Taylor Chaney “Aye” Roland Gosey “Aye” Chris Porter “Aye” Jason Jones “Aye” Reo Cummings “Aye” Mayor Byrd “Aye” Keith Crews “Aye” EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS CITY MANAGERS ANNUAL REVIEW Mayor Byrd adjourned the meeting to enter into Executive Session at 5:45 p.m. The Mayor called the regular meeting back into order at 6:25 p.m. ACTION REGARDING EXECUTIVE SESSION ON CITY MANAGERS ANNUAL REVIEW A motion was made by Director Jones and seconded by Asst. Mayor Gosey to award the City Manager a 5% pay increase. The motion passed on a roll call vote, and the vote was as follows: Taylor Chaney “Aye” Roland Gosey “Aye” Chris Porter “Aye” Jason Jones “Aye” Reo Cummings “Aye” Mayor Byrd “Aye” Keith Crews “Aye” CITY MANAGER’S REPORT June 4, 2024 ¥ Carry the Load was in town on Wednesday, May 22nd . My thanks to the community who showed up to support the walkers and the school kids at Peak School who cheered them on as they walked down Caddo. This is a great way to honor our veterans who lost their lives protecting our country. ¥ On June 3rd we opened bids on the proposed new hanger at the airport. Our engineers are evaluating the bids and should they fall in-line with the grant opportunity, we will present the package to you at a forthcoming Board meeting. 2 City Board of Directors Meeting June 4, 2024 Page 3 of 4 ¥ We are down to 16 easements, with 2 of those whose terms are approved, just out for corporate signatures, for water/sewer Bypass & Pine St. We started with nearly 300 easements required. ¥ The 15th Bridge replacement is underway. They have been doing a lot of concrete work on the southside footer. Mr. Temple reports he will be done by June 21st provided there are no major holdups. ¥ The Aquatic Park opens on Saturday, May 25th went well and we are having great days at the pool. ¥ Good news - Residents will have a new way to contact us starting in July. We've contracted with Utah-based "Text My Gov" to roll out a two-way texting notification system to communicate with residents. Residents can report issues/concerns they see around town, get automatic responses related to billing and coding, and receive notifications from us, too. The City of Fort Smith, Tontitown, and West Memphis recently acquired Text My Gov's services and have seen great success with the program. We're confident this service will be mutually beneficial for residents and staff alike. We're excited to get started. ¥ Reminder, we are still working on potholes from the hard freeze this winter and the abundant rains that torment asphalt streets. Mr. Myers said it would take until end of summer for all the problem areas to fully show themselves and he appears to be correct. ¥ Update. You had asked me for an ordinance for naming facilities. I have gotten that completed and sent to Ed for review. We will work shop in the near future once the I have Ed’s comments incorporated. Dates to Remember: ¥ The Farmer’s Market has opened. They are open Saturday and Wednesday mornings at Central Park pavilion. ¥ The Main Street Farmers Market will be downtown in our Town Square Saturday, June 8th opening at 7 a.m. ROUTINE BUSINESS Taylor Chaney, Ward 1 – He stated it was proud to be from Arkadelphia due to the heroic efforts of Volunteer Firemen Justin Kirksey. 3 City Board of Directors Meeting June 4, 2024 Page 4 of 4 Chris Porter, Ward 2 – He gave thanks and recognition to Volunteer Firemen Justin Kirksey. Keith Crews, Ward 3 – He offered Congrats to Mayor Byrd for becoming a grandfather. Reo Cummings, Ward 4 – He stated we should look into purchasing tarps for the ball fields because of the excessive rain causing so many games to be cancelled. Jason Jones, Ward 5 – He stated it was good to see Officer Lau. Roland Gosey, Assistant Mayor – Nothing. Scott Byrd, Mayor – he asked about the 3 on 3 ball tournaments. He also revealed the new grandbaby’s name. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss, Director Chaney made the motion, seconded by Director Porter to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously, and the meeting adjourned at 6:35 p.m. ______________________ Scott Byrd. Mayor Chama Williams City Clerk ADDITIONAL ATTENDEES Jason Jackson Roger Wingfield Randy Lau Nikki Lau Shelley Short Lewis A. Shepherd Jr. Christopher Sparks Janie Jones Gwendolyn Henderson Andy Neel 4