Board of Mayor & Aldermen

City of Dyersburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen Monday, March 21, 2022 1. Call to Order: The Board of Mayor and Aldermen met for their regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, March 21, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. in the Dyersburg Municipal Court Room. Mayor John Holden called the meeting to order. All members were present with the exception of Meghan Gilbert. The meeting opened with a prayer by Alderman Willie Cole. 2. Approval of Minutes: Mayor John Holden called for a motion to approve the minutes from the March 7, 2022 meeting. Alderwoman Vanedda Webb made the motion to approve the minutes and Alderman Willie Cole seconded the motion. All were in favor. 3. Unfinished Business: None 4. New Business: A. Resolution 03212022 – The City of Dyersburg acting by and through its Board of Aldermen Proposes to apply for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for the purpose of performing eligible community development activities that will benefit the majority of the residents in Dyersburg. In Further discussion, “They’ve allowed gymnasiums now to be included as a part of grant opportunities,” said Mayor Holden. “Victor McLin, Future City Recreation Center Director and Andy Baker, Parks and Recreation Director, along with other folks from the Future City community were at the March 3, 2022 Public Hearing discussing the CDBG requirements. We’ve talked for many years about a gym at Future City, so that is the desire of us to do that – to apply for a grant for a gym at Future City.” Edward Burks asked how much of the grant would the City have to match. Mayor Holden said it would be between 10-15 percent. Alderman Baltimore motioned to approve the resolution with a second from Ricky Hammond. All were in favor and the resolution passed. B. Attorney Invoice The February attorney invoice, in the amount of $4,768.75, was also approved. Alderwoman Hopper made a motion to approve the invoice and Alderman Baltimore seconded the motion. All were in favor. C. Bids – Greg Williams A bid sheet, prepared by City Purchasing Agent Greg Williams, was presented with 3 bids. All bids listed were in need of board approval as one for the Recreation Department would use American Rescue Plan Act funds while the other two for the water plant would be over the budgeted amount. The bids presented were as follows:  Recreation: Safety surfaces for two playgrounds at Okeena Park The new surface would replace the 25-plus-year-old existing deteriorated surface. The item was not budgeted; however, 100 percent of the cost would be funded with ARPA funding. Notification was not given with the City utilizing the Buyboard Cooperative Purchasing Contract (#592-19). The recommended bid was for Hanover Specialties Inc. of Bohemia, NY in the amount of $131,762.50. Following a motion to approve the bid by Alderman Ricky Hammond and second by Alderman Willie Cole, Hammond asked Parks and Recreation Director Andy Baker about the vandalism occurring at Okeena Park within the previous week. “Okeena Park is a showcase for our City, obviously. Have you talked to the Dyersburg Police Chief Steve Isbell about trying to get some police presence out there?” Hammond asked. Andy Baker said he and Chief Isbell have emailed back and forth but have not sat down to talk. Mayor John Holden said the damage Hammond was referring to occurred in the morning hours. “Our folks were there at 7:30 a.m. Thursday to clean the bathrooms, and we got a call at 11:30 a.m. or so saying they were damaged. So, between us being there to clean up and 11:30 that damage was done during the day. There is video surveillance equipment out there. We have talked to Capt. Billy Williams about that and some other folks. We’ve had some patrol out there and obviously trying everything we can do to take care of that situation.” Hammond also asked, “Are they shooting those splat guns out there? Are those legal? That’s probably something we need to get with the chief on.” Baker said he hopes there could be a meeting this week to discuss the splat guns, which shoot rubber or plastic pellets, at Okeena Park and the community centers. “If you remember, there was an incident that occurred not too long ago at one of our local restaurants. A couple of teenagers ran in, and I can’t remember all of the exact details, but I believe we arrested those young folks. At that time, the chief put out a press release about these guns and the dangers of them. We’ve had folks doing that all over town. We’ve had, unfortunately, teenagers riding around and shooting at cars and at each other. Some of them are painting the splat guns flat black, so it’s hard to distinguish what they are. We just want the kids to be safe. We know kids get into stuff, and we were kids at one time, but these things are dangerous. In today’s environment and today’s world you have to make a snap decision if you’re a police officer and it puts them at a great disadvantage. I would urge the parents of these kids that have these – and some don’t know they have them – to try to monitor that. The chief and I talked about that last week, and we will get together again.”  Referring to the project, Mayor Holden asked the board to think about whether or not to leave the fences around the playgrounds. Alderwoman Vanedda Webb said having the fences up allows children to stay in the playground area and acts as a layer of safety. Mayor Holden added a decision did not need to be made Monday night. All were in favor of the motion for new safety surfaces at Okeena Park.  Water Plant: Replacement of Well # 11 A total of $750,000 was placed in the current budget for the well replacement, however, with the bids received coming in over the amount, the excess would come from the Water & Sewer Fund. Notification was given through the State Gazette and various plan rooms. It was recommended the bid be awarded to National Weather Services of Lawrenceburg, TN for $1,147,904.63. Alderman Burks asked why the bids received were over the budgeted amount. “I think at the time we got the bids; prices were not as high as they are now,” replied Mayor Holden. “Unfortunately, we’re experiencing that right now as well with everything.” A motion to approve the bid was made by Alderman Dennis Moody and seconded by Alderman James Baltimore. The motion passed. All were in favor.  Water Plant: Upgrade pump station at Fort Hudson water tank The upgrade would help meet needed demand. A total of $450,000 was budgeted for the upgrade, however, the bids received came in over the budgeted amount. Excess funds would come from the Water & Sewer Fund. Notification was given through the State Gazette and to various plan rooms. The recommended bid was listed as Tybe Company of Newbern in the amount of $590,149. The bid was approved behind a motion from Alderman Dennis Moody and seconded by Alderman Willie Cole. All were in favor. REPORT FROM THE ALDERMEN AND ALDERWOMEN: James Baltimore: Alderman Baltimore asked Andy Baker if the pools would open on time this year. “We certainly hope so,” replied Baker. “With pools there are unforeseen problems you might run into.” Baker added a post for lifeguards has been posted to the City’s Facebook page, and lifeguard classes will be offered in Dyersburg this year. Baltimore also thanked the street department for taking care of the potholes. Edward Burks: Alderman Burks asked about the status of the City’s audit report. Mayor Holden said he had contacted the auditor and said he believed there was a delay with the education portion of the audit. Willie Cole: Alderman Cole shared a resident letter from an individual in Ward One. The letter shared concerns of gang activity and gun violence and suggestions of how to help. Mayor Holden said the police department is working to alleviate the issues and noted the City’s recreation centers have afterschool programs for young people, in addition to the DPD’s Community Changer Program, continued training of officers, court approved gang injunction judgements and various other law enforcement strategies. “The major point is we are concerned,” said Cole. “Absolutely, so are we,” replied Holden. “It takes a collaborative effort from everybody to address those situations.” Meghan Gilbert: Not present Ricky Hammond: Alderman Hammond said he had spoken with an individual who asked the board to talk to local state representatives concerning the closure of the hospital’s Cath Lab. Mayor Holden said the local Cath Lab closure announcement was made in April 2020 by West Tennessee Healthcare. “They had reportedly performed over 1,400 procedures in the Cath Lab in 2019,” said Mayor Holden. “If you look back at the State Gazette article, the CEO and President stated at that time their full intention was to reopen the Cath Lab. It’s been two years. I have brought this point up a month ago at a trustee board meeting at the hospital. We continue to ask about it.” Webb suggested the board adopt a resolution requesting West Tennessee Healthcare reopen the Cath Lab. “I don’t have a problem with this board having a resolution expressing our concern over that, and I think some of our local state representatives have done that a couple years ago,” replied Holden. “I don’t mind revisiting that at all.” Baltimore then motioned to adopt a resolution with a second from Cole. The motion passed. The mayor said he would send the board members a copy of the resolution prior to it being sent to West Tennessee Healthcare. Mary Claire Hopper: Alderwoman Hopper said Sanitation Department Supervisor Greg Wilson requested a Street and Sanitation Committee meeting to occur as soon as possible. Dennis Moody: Alderman Moody asked if the mayor had a chance to talk to someone in Nashville about the current state of the bypass. Mayor Holden said he did and he expressed the bypass is in terrible shape. Vanedda Webb: Alderwoman Webb thanked all community volunteers and encouraged all citizens to volunteer in any or all local organizations. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE MAYOR: In closing, Mayor Holden said the City will be conducting their spring cleanup on Saturdays in April from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. (April 2 – Okeena Park, April 9 – Dyersburg Activity Center, April 16 – Bruce Community Center, April 23 – Future City Recreation Center, April 30 – Dyer County Fairgrounds; household hazardous waste day). With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m. _______________________________________ John Holden, Mayor __________________________________ Scott Ball, City Recorder