Board of Directors

MINUTES BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING FEBRUARY 2, 2004, AT 7:00 P.M. The regular meeting of the Board of Directors was held on Monday, February 2, 2004, at 7:00 p.m., Hot Springs Civic and Convention Center, Wheeler Room, with Mayor Mike Bush presiding. The invocation was given by Mr. Jeff Park, and Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag was led by Mayor Bush. Mayor Bush called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 1. Roll Call Roll call was as follows: Present: Directors Peggy Brunner-Maruthur, Elaine Jones, Burt Newell, Carroll Weatherford, Bill Edwards, Bob Wheeler, and Mike Bush, total 7. 2. Approval of Agenda A motion was made by Director Wheeler, duly seconded by Director Brunner-Maruthur, that the agenda be approved; and upon voice vote, the motion unanimously carried. 3. Approval of Minutes of January 20, 2004 Board Meeting A motion was made by Director Jones, duly seconded by Director Edwards, that the minutes of the January 20, 2004 Board Meeting be approved; and upon voice vote, the motion unanimously carried. 4. Recognition of Guests Mayor Bush recognized Boy Scout Troop No. 1 and Scoutmaster Ken Armstrong, who stated that the troop, which is the oldest troop in Arkansas, was chartered by the Humphrey=s through Westminster Presbyterian Church in 1923. Mayor Bush then asked that the members of Troop 1 introduce themselves. Director Edwards recognized Mr. Harvey Oxner, general manager of Resort Television Cable Company, who was in attendance. City Manager Kent Myers recognized three students from National Park Community College, State and Local Government class: Crystal Horton, Kim Harder, and April Etheridge. Director Jones recognized Ms. Cheryl Batts, who stated this is the Seventh Annual Black History Month cel- ebration and invited the Board and the citizens. She said they will honor the Page Family, tracing their his- tory back to 1880 and will have pictures of the family. This will be held on Saturday, February 14, at the Hot Springs Civic and Convention Center, Rooms 207 to 209, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., and is free to the public. At 6:00 p.m., they will start “Fresh Fire - The History of Gospel in Song,” featuring Monique Whittington, psalmist and praise and worship leader from South Holland, Illinois. After the concert, they will be going to Jernigan’s Restaurant and will be provided with musical entertainment during dinner. 5. Acknowledgment of Financial Statements for December 2003 Mayor Bush announced that the Financial Statements for December 2003 are on file in the City Treasurer’s Office for review by the Board and the public.  CONSENT AGENDA The Consent Agenda consisted of the following: 6. Public Safety Report (January 22, 2004). 7. Proposed Resolution No. R-04-24 Approving Certain Bid Awards (a) Title Search - Code Compliance [annual supply contract awarded to Garland County Title Company]; (b) Compact Pickup - Code Compliance [awarded to Little Rock Dodge in the amount of $12,910]; (c) 4-WD Utility Vehicle - Transit Field Supervisor [awarded to Smart Chevrolet in the amount of $18,387]; (d) Two Minibuses - Transit ADA Paratransit [awarded to Ward Transportation in the amount of $97,594]. 8. Proposed Resolution No. R-04-25 Approving a Sample Lease/Use Agreement for Short-Term Storage Use of Hangars at the Hot Springs Memorial Field Airport. 9. Proposed Resolution No. R-04-26 Authorizing the Mayor to Execute Lease Addendum No. 1 with Hot Springs Aviation (Sublet a Portion of Hangar A-12 Office Space to Physicians Air Transport, LLC). 10. Proposed Resolution No. R-04-27 Authorizing the Mayor to Execute a Lease Agreement Between the City of Hot Springs, Arkansas, and Enterprise Leasing Company Southwest, d.b.a. Enterprise Rent-A-Car Company. 11. Proposed Resolution No. R-04-28 Repealing Resolution No. 3481 (CAPS Disposal Site Policy). 12. Proposed Resolution No. R-04-29 Approving Contract Addendum No. 1 with Optima Bus Corp (Formerly Chance Coach, Inc.) for the Purchase of One Additional Transit Bus. 13. Proposed Resolution No. R-04-30 Revising the 2004 Budget by Appropriating Funds for Certain Prior Year Expenditures. 14. Proposed Resolution No. R-04-31 Amending the City of Hot Springs Comprehensive Future Land Use Plan by Adopting the Future Land Use Plan Portion of the Gateway Community Master Plan; and for Other Purposes. 15. Proposed Resolution No. R-04-32 Adopting a Revised Fare Schedule for Hot Springs Intracity Transit. A motion was made by Director Wheeler, duly seconded by Director Edwards, that the Consent Agenda be approved; and upon roll call, the following voted “aye”: Directors Brunner-Maruthur, Jones, Newell, Weatherford, Edwards, Wheeler, and Bush, total 7; motion unanimously carried. NEW BUSINESS 16. Proposed Ordinance No. O-04-7 An ordinance entitled, “AN ORDINANCE TO REZONE SEVERAL PARCELS OF REAL PROPERTY LOCATED IN SECTION 4, TOWNSHIP 3 SOUTH, RANGE 19 WEST AND SECTION 33, TOWNSHIP 2 SOUTH, RANGE 19 WEST (PLEASANT STREET/CIVIC CENTER NEIGHBORHOOD),” was taken from the agenda for consideration. A motion was made by Director Wheeler, duly seconded by Director Edwards, that the rules be suspend - ed and the ordinance be read for the first time by title only; and upon voice vote, the motion unanimously carried. The ordinance was then read for the first time by title only; and upon the question “Shall the ordi - nance be passed as read?” and upon motion of Director Wheeler, duly seconded by Director Jones, that the ordinance be passed as read. Upon discussion, Mr. Jerry Raetz, Planning and Development Director, advised this rezoning is a culmina- tion of an effort as part of a neighborhood plan that was written and adopted a year ago. It is a two-part pro- posal where the center part of this neighborhood is proposed to be rezoned from R-4 to R-3, which is a less density, single-family dwelling type zoning district; and another portion is to be rezoned from R-4, which is  high density residential to commercial transitional area. This area is along Pleasant and Church Street area, which allows for the development of single-family dwellings but also encourages the entrepreneurial spirit that could cooperate with the commercial development in the Convention Boulevard and Malvern Avenue areas and allows for some transitional type of commercial development in that area. Director Jones commented that the Civic Center Neighborhood has been meeting with Mr. Raetz and Mr. Bart Jones, Housing Administrator, who informed the group on how to proceed. She expressed apprecia - tion to Mr. Raetz and Mr. Jones for their efforts. Mayor Bush then called for a vote on the motion to adopt; and upon roll call, the following voted “aye”: Directors Brunner-Maruthur, Jones, Newell, Weatherford, Edwards, Wheeler, and Bush, total 7; motion unanimously carried. Whereupon the ordinance was declared passed. 17. Proposed Ordinance No. O-04-8 Rezoning to R-4, Medium/High Density Residential, with a Manufactured Home Overlay, to Include a Parcel of Real Property, Located at 2126 Spring Street, Zoned M - 1, Light Manufacturing. (Withdrawn from Agenda at the Request of the Proponent) Director Brunner-Maruthur stated there are residents from the Bates Community who are present for this item and wish to ask questions even though this item has been removed from the agenda. Mr. Mickey Bates questioned if at a later date the applicant wishes to proceed with the mobile home park, is there a process by which they can do that without getting it rezoned and would the residents be notified. Mr. Jerry Raetz explained that M - 1 zoning is one of the zoning districts in which a manufactured home park can be constructed. It is a conditional use in an M - 1 zone. He stated there will be a public hearing held by the Planning Commission, and all the adjacent property owners will be notified. He added that the definition of adjacent in terms of right-of-way is he assumes the property line goes to the center of the right- of-way. Therefore, the properties on the other side of a right-of-way are also notified when adjacent prop - erties are notified. Mr. Bates asked if the property owners would have the opportunity to oppose it should the issue be con - sidered in the future, and Mayor Bush advised that they would. Director Edwards stated he received three telephone calls from residents in this area today, as well as Mr. Childs, who owns the property questioning how the residents want him to utilize the property. Director Edwards suggested that he meet with the neighbors, along with Mr. Raetz, and work out a plan that is suit- able to everyone. There being no action taken, Mayor Bush called for the next order of business. 8. Public Hearing on Cable Television Services City Manager Kent Myers advised that according to the City’s franchise agreement with Resort Television Cable Company, an annual hearing is required to hear from the customers of Resort regarding the service level provided by this company. He stressed by federal regulations, the City does not have any authority in setting rates; and the primary focus is on services. Mr. Lance Albaugh questioned the company’s capability as far as high-definition television; and Mr. Harvey Oxner, general manager of Resort Television Cable Company, advised that at the present time, the com - pany does not have any high-definition channels on the system. He stated there is a project scheduled for this year which will encompass the local networks, plus some services off the satellite that will be added as a high-definition programming. He mentioned there are several services being considered, but no services are definite since the company is looking at the technology in order for the consumers to be able to receive it on the equipment they have. He added there are several options, such as putting the high-definition data stream on the system; and those who have televisions with tuners will be able to pick up those high-defini- tion signals on their televisions, also incorporating it in the digital products they now have where they add the data stream within the customers who would use the digital convertor to provide that signal to their tel- evision. He commented that many of the high-definition television sets being sold are monitors which do not have the tuning capability. He stated that either the subscriber will have to have a piece of equipment to receive those channels; or if it is incorporated into the digital convertor, then they would use that to receive it. Mr. Sam Hocutt commended Resort Television Cable Company on the service and quality it provides. He stated that according to the service he has, in order to have digital capability, he has to have the box. He questioned if there is a possibility of providing digital cable service while trying to reduce expenses. He said that he was advised that if he only has the super basic and drops his premium channels, he would save only $20 a month, or it will cost him about $60 a month just to have minimal of digital cable. He asked if Resort can provide digital service to those who want that service but do not want to spend $60 a month. Mr. Oxner advised that Resort has several packages of digital service, and the customer does not have to have one of the premium services to get the digital basic. Mr. Hocutt said he was told the only way he could reduce his cost and still keep digital would be to drop his premium channels, which would save him $20 a month. Mr. Oxner advised that he could reduce it because those services are priced individually, but he does not see how he can reduce his premium and not drop a service since each one of those services is priced individually. Mr. Oxner reported that Resort has completed an upgrade where it has added some channels to the stan- dard service (Court TV and Hallmark). Also, seven new channels were added to the digital basic, which makes that 41 channels and just added the Stars Encore. He said the only issue he gets on a regular basis is regarding the phone system; and Resort has invested a large amount of money in the phone system this year, such as installing a call center and changed out the equipment in the office. He stated that pricing changes usually generate an excessive amount of calls; and when customers cannot get through, that is when they receive the most complaints. However, they are trying to improve on that. City Manager Kent Myers advised that Mr. Ben Clifton, 201 Pritchard, called today stating that he is satis- fied with Resort’s service and asked that it be a matter of record. Also, a letter was received last Friday from Ms. Shirley Greathouse, 335 Grove Street, stating that service fees for established customers should be considered and modified. She stated that the mail-outs and advertising give new customers the oppor- tunity to enjoy a full program of upgrades or digital service at a low rate while offering this same service to established customers at an increased rate. Mr. Oxner responded there are ongoing specials where Resort offers discounts to new subscribers. He added only if those customers have a change in service or disconnect and reconnect, then they are put back on the new rate. However, Resort has specials just like any other business when it is trying to attract new customers where it offers special rates for a certain amount of time. He explained after those specials are over, those customers go to the new rate, not at the old rate that was grandfathered in at the time of the rate increase. Director Wheeler questioned what type of installation will they have so the youth will not be able to view some of the movies. Mr. Oxner explained that particular DCT has a parental control in it that the parents can set where they can only view by content, rating, and channel; and the parents set that up on their own. He mentioned if there are any objections to the standard channels, Resort does individual traps. He added if people do not want those services coming into their home, they will trap a particular channel. He said that all of the pay services, except HBO, have parental control in the DCT’s. There being no further comments, the hearing was closed.  OTHER BUSINESS 19. Board of Directors Items Director Edwards commended Sergeant Johnny Mann and his officers for the job they are doing at the race track controlling the traffic. Director Jones stated that on Friday, February 13, 7:00 p.m., at the Malco Theater, the following films will be shown: ABoogie Woogie Blues,” “Broken Earth,” “Mighty Times,” and the “Legacy of Rosa Parks.” After the films, there will be a discussion panel. In conjunction with the film institute, the Volunteer Center of Hot Springs and Garland County, N.A.A.C.P., R.E.G.A.R.D., Webb Community Center, and P.H.O.E.B.E. Uzuri Project will be participating. Director Brunner-Maruthur announced there will be a general membership meeting for the Park Avenue Community Association, at 7:00 p.m, the Tower of Strength Ministries on Park Avenue. Also, there will be a presentation regarding the nuisance abatement program. Residents may call 321-9495 or 321-2604 for fur- ther information. She expressed appreciation to the citizens of the Bates Community for attending tonight; and if they have further questions on the issue, they may contact her. 20. City Manager’s Report City Manager Kent Myers gave the following report: 1. There will be a press conference tomorrow at 9:30 a.m., at the Fordyce Bathhouse, involving Fran Mainella, director of the National Park Service, along with Ernie Quintana, regional director for the National Park Service. 2. On Tuesday, February 10, at 6:30 p.m., the Annual Advisory Boards/Commissions Appreciation Banquet will be held at the Hot Springs Civic and Convention Center. 3. He asked for the Board’s assistance in recruiting applicants for the advisory boards and commissions. Wednesday, 5:00 p.m., is the deadline to submit the applications. There are vacancies on the following boards and commissions: (1) Board of Zoning Adjustment - one vacant position; and no applications have been received; (2) Civil Service Commission - one vacant position, and one application has been received from District 6; (3) Occupation Tax Board of Review - one vacant position, and no applications have been received; (4) Planning Commission - two vacant positions, and Sam Hocutt is reapplying; but Dana Priddy is not planning to reapply. Two applications have been received from District 6 and one application from District 3; (5) Construction Trades Advisory Committee - one vacant position, and no applications have been received. If anyone is interested in serving, they may call Margaret Parris in his office as soon as possible. 4. Immediately following the meeting, the State of the City Report will be shown. It has been prerecorded on video and will be shown on Channel 15 throughout the coming week. The format was changed, involv- ing the Mayor and each Director to report on citywide accomplishments, as well as the accomplishments in each of the six districts. He asked for input from the Board and the citizens after viewing the video. If this is well received, then he will stay with the format in the future. He complimented the Public Information staff, Terry Payne and Lois Baker, as well as Dan Bugg and Harvey Oxner for their assis - tance. He stated that printed copies of the report are available in his office and is also available on the City’s website, www.cityhs.net. Director Edwards questioned when this will be shown, and City Manager Kent Myers advised that it will be shown immediately following this meeting and throughout the week. Videos are also available. Ms. Lois Baker, Public Information Assistant, advised that it will be shown tomorrow at 9:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m., and 6:30 p.m. 21. ADJOURNMENT  There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting adjourned at 7:40 p.m., to meet again on Monday, February 16, 2004, at 7:00 p.m. ATTEST: _____________________ APPROVED:__________________ Lance Hudnell, City Clerk Mike Bush, Mayor