Board of Directors

MINUTES BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING DECEMBER 20, 2004, AT 7:00 P.M. The regular meeting of the Board of Directors was held on M onday, December 20, 2004, at 7:00 p.m., Board Chambers, City Hall, with M ayor M ike Bush presiding. M ayor Bush called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 1 Roll Call Roll call was as follows: Present: Directors Peggy Brunner-M aruthur, Elaine Jones, Burt Newell, Carroll Weatherford, Bill Edwards, and M ike Bush, total 6. Absent: Director Bob Wheeler. 2 Approval of Agenda A motion was made by Director Edwards, duly seconded by Director Brunner-M aruthur, that the agenda be approved; and upon voice vote, the motion unanimously carried. 3 Approval of Minutes of December 6, 2004 Board Meeting A motion was made by Director Jones, duly seconded by Director Edwards, that the minutes of the December 6, 2004 Board M eeting be approved; and upon voice vote, the motion unanimously carried. 4 Recognition of Guests M ayor Bush presented a Distinguished Service Award to Director Burt Newell, District 3, havingserved from January 1, 1997, through December 31, 2004, and chose not to run for reelection to the Board of Directors. M ayor Bush also presented a Distinguished Service Award to Director Bob Wheeler, District 6, having served from June 17, 1986, through December 31, 1992; and January 1, 1997, through December 31, 2004, who chose not to run for reelection to the Board of Directors. He asked that due to Director Wheeler’s health, he is unable to be present and asked that everyone remember him and his family in their prayers. M s. Kelly Crary, Director Wheeler’s daughter, accepted the award on his behalf. City M anager Kent M yers presented a retirement plaque to M s. Julie Dickson, Executive Director of the Hot Springs/Garland County Beautification Commission, who served in that position for 13 years. Dr. Paul Thomas, professor at National Park Community College, presented a flag from A ndré Williams, former student and basketball player at the college, who is now a principal in Crossett, Arkansas. He was called into active duty last year and sent to Afghanistan. He recently received a flag from M r. Williams, which included a Certificate from the 33rd Area Support Group Base Operations Task Force certifying that the flag flew over Kandahar Air Field Afghanistan in s up port of operation enduring freedom on November 11, 2004, and was presented to Dr. Paul Thomas. The flag was flown in remembrance of the Americans who died in the terrorists attack on September 11, 2001. Dr. Thomas asked that the City consider flying this flag at City Hall on one day and to pass a proclamation remembering the people from 911 and those who died in harm’s way in the last several years. CONS ENT AGENDA The Consent Agenda consisted of the following: 5 Public S afety Report (December 8, 2004). 6 Budget Transfer - Sister City Program ($4,000). 7 Board Meeting S chedule (January - June 2005). 8 Proposed Resolution No. R-04-306 Approving Certain Bid Awards [a] Tree Service - P ublic Works Department (annual supply contract awarded to West Tree Service); [b] Asbestos Service - Code Department (annual supply contract awarded to ACES, Inc.); [c] Truck - Utilities (awarded to North Point Ford in the amount of $12,596). 9 Proposed Resolution No. R-04-307 Approving the Extension of Hot Springs M unicipal Water and Wastewater Service to Stewart Circle. 2 10 Proposed Resolution No. R-04-308 Approving the Extension of Hot Springs M unicipal Wastewater Service to Golden Oak Place Subdivision. 11 Proposed Resolution No. R-04-309 Approving the Extension of Hot Springs M unicipal Water and Wastewater Service to Lakeside Valley Subdivision. 12 ProposedResolution No. R-04-310 Awarding a Contract to Camp, Dresser and M cKee for Engineering Services Related to Improvements for the Ouachita Water Treatment Plant Chlorination and Pumping Station. 13 Propos e d Resolution No. R-04-311 Awarding a Contract to Crist Engineering for Engineering Services Related to Improvements for the Hogan Creek Lift Station and the Beverly Hills Lift Station. 14 ProposedResolution No. R-04-312 Authorizing the M ayor to Execute a Permanent Utility Easement and Temporary Construction Easement for the City of M ountain Pine, Arkansas, to Construct a Water Utility Line. 15 Proposed Resolution No. R-04-313 Authorizing the M ayor to Execute Lease Addendum No. 2 with Weyerhaeuser, Inc. for Certain Leasehold Improvements at the Airport. 16 Proposed Resolution No. R-04-314 Authorizing the M ayor to Execute Lease Addendum No. 1 with Reebaire Aircraft, Inc. for Certain Leasehold Improvements at the Airport. 17 Proposed Resolution No. R-04-315 Authorizing the City M anager to Execute a Change Order with Carter Burgess to Develop Construction Documents for Parking Lot and Park Amenities (Eastside Linkage - Rotary Centennial Trailhead). 18 Proposed Resolution No. R-04-316 Adopting the City of Hot Springs Consolidated Plan for 2004 (Community Development Program). Board of Directors M eeting 3 December 20, 2004 at 7:00 P.M . 19 Proposed Resolution No. R-04-317 Approving the Purchase of Certain Art Work and Installation from Cornermark Fine Art. 20 Proposed Resolution No. R-04-318 Authorizing the Finance Director to M ake Budget Adjustments to the 2004 Budget. 21 ProposedResolution No. R-04-319 Authorizing the Filing of a Grant Application with the Federal Transit Administration, United States Department of Transportation, for Federal Transportation Assistance Authorized by 49 U.S.C., Chapter 53, Title 23 United States Code, and Other Federal Statutes Administered by the Federal Transit Administration. 22 Proposed Resolution No. R-04-320 Accepting a Grant from the Federal Transit Administration, United States Department of Transportation, for Federal Transportation OperatingAssistance as Authorized by U.S.C., Chapter 53, Title 23, United States Code, and Other Federal Statutes Administered by the Federal Transit Administration. 23 Proposed Resolution No. R-04-321 Approving a Certain Street Name (Aprilgrace Court). 24 Proposed Resolution No. R-04-322 Approving a Certain Street Name (Red Ridge Drive). 25 Proposed Resolution No. R-04-323 Extending an Agreement with Choicepoint Services, Inc. for the Provision of Drug and Alcohol Testing Services. A motion was made by Director Edwards, duly seconded by Director Brunner-M aruthur, that the Consent Agenda be approved; and upon roll call, the following voted “aye”: Directors Brunner- M aruthur, Jones, Newell, Weatherford, Edwards, and Bush, total 6. Absent and not voting: Director Wheeler; motion unanimously carried. Board of Directors M eeting 4 December 20, 2004 at 7:00 P.M .  NEW BUS INES S 26 Proposed Ordinance No. O-04-69 An ordinance entitled, “AN ORDINANCE WAIVING THE REQUIREM ENTS OF COMPETITIVE BIDDING AND AUTHORIZING AN AGREEM ENT WITH WELLCORP, LLC, F O R WELLNESS AND DISEASE AND M ANAGEM ENT SERVICES; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES,” was taken from the agenda for consideration. A motion was made by Director Jones, duly seconded by Director Brunner-M aruthur, that the rules be suspended 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 ordinance be passed as read?” and upon motion of Director Edwards, duly seconded by Director Brunner-M aruthur, that the ordinance be passed as read. Upon discussion, M s. M innie Lenox, Human Resources Director, stated that Dr. Cathy Womack, who is with Wellcorp of Ft. Smith, will handle the disease management for the City and is associated with the Employee’s Health Coalition. Dr. Womack stated that Wellcorp is a company she formed to help improve the lives of people with chronic diseases. She explained she resides in Ft. Smith, but her practice is in internal medicine and has been employed for the last seven years to form a company to focus on disease management, which means the straight focus on improving the lives of people with chronic diseases. She commented there are certain medical guidelines that are published that she wants to make sure the physicians in the community are following, which will lead to an improved quality of life. She pointed out it has been shown in several studies to also decrease costs. She said she will be coming from Ft. Smith once a week to do intense, on-site education for the City employees. She will meet with the various departments and sit down, one-on-one, with the employees to counsel them on their illnesses, their medications, and show why they should stay on their medications and how it will improve their health and save the City money. M ayor Bush then called for a vote on the motion to adopt; and upon roll call, the following voted “aye”: Directors Brunner-M aruthur, Jones, Newell, Weatherford, Edwards, and Bush, total 6. Absent and not voting: Director Wheeler; motion unanimously carried. Whereupon the ordinance was declared passed. 27 Proposed Ordinance No. O-04-70 Board of Directors M eeting 5 December 20, 2004 at 7:00 P.M .  An ordinance entitled, “AN ORDINANCE ACCEPTING A CERTAIN STREET AS A P U BLIC STREET (COM M UNICATIONS COURT); NAM ING SAID STREET; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES,” was taken from the agenda for consideration. A motion was made by Director Brunner-M aruthur, duly seconded by Director Edwards, that the rules be suspended 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 ordinance be passed as read?” and upon motion of Director Jones, duly seconded by Director Edwards, that the ordinance be passed as read. Upon discussion, M r. Steve M allet, Public Works Director, explained that the City is taking this street into the City’s maintenance program; and it meets all of the City’s specifications and criteria. M ayor Bush then called for a vote on the motion to adopt; and upon roll call, the following voted “aye”: Directors Brunner-M aruthur, Jones, Newell, Weatherford, Edwards, and Bush, total 6. Absent and not voting: Director Wheeler; motion unanimously carried. Whereupon the ordinance was declared passed. 28 Proposed Ordinance No. O-04-71 An ordinance entitled, “AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING A BUDGET FOR THE CITY OF HOT SPRINGS, ARKANSAS, FOR THE YEAR 2005; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES,” was taken from the agenda for consideration. A motion was made by Director Edwards, duly seconded by Director Brunner-M aruthur, that the rules be suspended 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 ordinance be passed as read?” and upon motion of Director Jones, duly seconded by Director Edwards, that the ordinance be passed as read. U p on discussion, City M anager Kent M yers advised that the total 2005 budget is $80,368,516. He added that the Board had previously identified its priorities at a work session. Staff took those priorities and developed a budget to meet those priorities. Each department then put together its budget and went through a number of budget meetings. Another budget work session w as held with the Board, and changes were made to the proposed budget, which have been incorporated into the budget ordinance before the Board tonight. He explained that the budget has increased this year primarily due to the new Wastewater Construction Fund set up for the $8 million Board of Directors M eeting 6 December 20, 2004 at 7:00 P.M . project that will start in 2005 (construction of the new wastewater treatment plant and new wastewater lines). The changes made since the last meeting at the direction of the Board are (1) s alary increases for the Court Judges and the Court Clerk; (2) added funding for the Nuisance Abatement Program; (3) increased funding for public art acquisition; and (4) added funds for merit bonuses for nonuniformed employees. M ayor Bush then called for a vote on the motion to adopt; and upon roll call, the following voted “aye”: Directors Brunner-M aruthur, Jones, Newell, Weatherford, Edwards, and Bush, total 6. Absent and not voting: Director Wheeler; motion unanimously carried. Whereupon the ordinance was declared passed. OTHER BUS INES S 29 Board of Directors Items Director Edwards expressed appreciation to the Ladies of Prayer for their letters and prayers. Director Brunner-M aruthur stated if a citizen has a street light out, they may call 1-800- ENTERGY or 1-800-368-3749. For prompt repair, citizens should give the street ID No. and the street name. There is a metal tag on each light utility pole with SL and four numbers. Director Jones extended Seasons Greetings to all of the residents of the City and wished them a Happy Holiday. She asked for prayers for the family of the young people who died in a wreck on the highway this past week M ayor Bush announced that for the period January 1, 2005, through June 30, 2005, Director Peggy M aruthur will serve as the Assistant M ayor. 30 City Manager’s Report City M anager Kent M yers gave the following report: Board of Directors M eeting 7 December 20, 2004 at 7:00 P.M .  1. On behalf of the City staff members, he expressed appreciation to Director Newell and Director Wheeler for their cooperation with City staff during their tenure as Directors and their service to the community. 2. The Board approved several items on the Consent Agenda: (1) engineering work on several lift stations and starting improvement program to make major improvements to the Hogan Creek Lift Station and the Beverly Hills Lift Station; (2) final action was taken on an easement related to extending water services to the city of M ountain Pine; (3) there was a major art acquisition for the Convention Center (Summit Arena). The Arts Advisory Committee has worked on this for the last six months, and it will be mobile art that will be hanging from the ceiling. There will be two pieces of art in the entry of the Summit Arena and an art piece in the main concourse area. 3. A Board Retreat will be held in January, and the Board will be notified of a date. 4. Bids were opened today on the improvements to the Exchange Street Parking Plaza (downtown parking deck). This is for the addition of a restroom facility and an unmanned police substation. Those bids are within budget, and the contract will be presented to the Board on January 3. 5. Regarding CBID No. 3, the bids were initially opened about a month ago, and the bids were over budget. There was a meeting with the architects (David French and Rico Harris) for the project and made some changes to the bid specifications and recently rebid the project. However, the bids are still several hundred thousand dollars over budget. Last week, City staff met with the architects and M r. Ray Owen, Jr., Assessor for CBID No. 3 District, and made a determination that the project will not be within budget through the normal bidding process. Staff is proposing that the City will basically do the project but needs concurrence from the Board. Staff believes it can take advantage of some better bid prices through some City vendors; and by using City crews, the project can come within budget. He stated if the City undertakes this project, the first step would be for the City to bid out the materials and some of the subcontract work during the month of January. Then staff would bring back all of the prices to the Board at the end of January and determine if the Board still wants to do the project. If the Board is favorable of this approach, City staff would proceed with the bidding and bring those cost items back to the Board for consideration in about 30 days. If the City takes on this project, it means that a good portion of the Street Department and Traffic Services Department will be dedicated to this project for the next four or five months. However, they will have to delay some of the projects going on in other areas of the City. He pointed out this is not a decision for the Board to make tonight; but before bidding this out, staff would like to make sure the Board is willing to consider this as an option. Board of Directors M eeting 8 December 20, 2004 at 7:00 P.M .  M r. Steve M allett, Public Works Director, introduced M r. Denny M cPhate, Engineering Supervisor, who has been with the City for about four months. M r. M allett stated they can use City crews for some of the work; however, they may not be willing to do a portion of the electrical and concrete finish work and would be more preferable to use a subcontractor. By bidding the materials, they may be able to bring it in under cost. However, this will not be known until 30 days. He added t hat it does place a burden on City crews noting this means lower priority work in the Street Department would be moved back three or four months. However, all of the high priority items would be taken care of. M ayor Bush asked if other projects would go by the wayside should the City take on this project, and Mr. Mallett advised that it will not; but they will be postponed for three or four months until they can be worked in. He commented that the City has already committed to spend some city crew time on the project already. Director Brunner-M aruthur stated this is the first time she has heard of this, and the Board just voted on the City budget. City M anager Kent M yers explained there is no additional cost, but there is manpower involved. He added that bids were opened on Thursday, and it was not known until there was a meeting with the engineer today. He stressed if the Board does not want to take this avenue, then the City will back out of it, and the project will not happen. Director Brunner-M aruthur said what she expressed at the work session was a concern for some help in the Street Department; and that at mid-year, the Board consider hiring a secretary. However, there is now discussion regarding asking the Street Department to take on more work w ithout a secretary. She stated if she had known this, she would have made an effort to get a secretary included in the budget. She also expressed concern with additional burden in the Code Department. City M anager Kent M yers replied that the primary workload on this project will be Street and Traffic Departments. He added there will be some work that Sanitation will be responsible for, primarily related to welding the tree grates and possibly the trash receptacles. Also, there will be some minor work that the Parks Department will do in terms of planting the trees. He noted it will not have any impact on Code Enforcement, Police Department or any other departments. Director Brunner-Maruthur pointed out that is not known because in some projects, there has to be auxiliary help. She added that one of the issues she was going to bring up was the newsletter, which is $48,000 but decided against it. She said if she had known about this, then possibly the City could have allocated more funds to help streets, parks and any departments that might be Board of Directors M eeting 9 December 20, 2004 at 7:00 P.M . asked to assist. In the future, she would like to know in order to provide the departments with extra help. She noted there might be some overtime, and there are unknowns when doing a project such as this. City M anager Kent M yers explained that because funds are in the budget does not mean they have to be spent. He said if the Board wants to revisit the newsletter, then it needs to let staff know, and the City will not do a newsletter at the present time until it sees how this project proceeds. Public Works Director Steve M allett added at this time, they have not obligated for anything more than what the Board has already approved. Director Jones pointed out in District 2, there have been some streets that have been delayed since 2003 because of the gas lines, and they were to be done in 2004; but now it will be in 2005. Public Works Director Steve M allett replied that he is aware of the streets she is referring to, and they have been rolled over to 2005, and the money was carried with them. He explained that project is done by Martin M arietta, which is an outside contractor; and the City does not use the city crews to do that. Director Weatherford said that he attended the CBID No. 3 meeting today, and he wants to see CBID No. 3 happen. He pointed out that staff is just asking the Board to consider this tonight to let them send this out for bid. He stressed this will require about 18 people out of the Street Department for five to six months and the majority of their equipment, but it requires all of Traffic Services Department. He commented it is either leaving the City alone and going downtown or leaving downtown alone and coming back to the City. Director Jones questioned if he is suggesting that the City not do the work, and Director Weatherford responded that he does not know if the City can do it. He pointed out that the City previously used City crews on projects, and his phone rings consistently because paving, gutters, drainage, and bushhogging does not happen. He said that he is favor of letting the City bid it and see if it can be done. He pointed out the CBID No. 3 is going to reimburse the City, but there is a certain amount of dollars they are going to have to spend; and if the City cannot do it for that, then it cannot be done. P ublic Works Director Steve M allett advised that he is proposing to hire an electrical subcontractor so that the Traffic Services Department does not have to be used since it is such a small department and would require every employee. City M anager Kent M yer pointed out there was a similar situation to this over a year ago, and Director Weatherford was vocal on this. He explained the City was involved in the Civic Center Board of Directors M eeting 10 December 20, 2004 at 7:00 P.M . parking lots, which turned into a large job preparing and grading them and actually doing the curb work for the parking lots and occupied a majority of the Street Department. City staff was told that on any major project to bring it to the Board before any decisions are made so the Board can have some input on the front end. He pointed out that the City is not at fault for the CBID No. 3 project being over budget. The project was designed by their engineer, and they bid it out. He stated that the City is trying to help them out if that is the desire of the Board and make this project happen. D irector Brunner-M aruthur stressed she would like to have known about this prior to coming to the meeting so she could have made a few phone calls. M r. Ray Owen, Jr. advised that CBID No. 3 bid its work privately the first and second times. There were conversations with a local bidder who did not bid it the first time but bid it the second time, and the bids were still too high. He stated this new proposal is not inconsistent with what the City did the last time on CBID No. 2. The City crews did the demolition of removing the old sidewalks and served as a general contractor for the rest of it. The costs were paid by the property owners in the CBID No. 2 area, and they are asking for that same treatment now for CBID No. 3. He said the City was already going to use its equipment and men to dig out the old sidewalks that were bad. He noted that the City can get some of the light poles, which is the largest, single item of hardware cost, cheaper than the private contractor. The funding will essentially come from the property owners in that area. He noted it will be a month from now before they have all of the information and the cost information for the Board to be able to make a decision. City Manager Kent M yers questioned if the Board wants staff to proceed and bid this out and bring the bid numbers back in 30 days. It was the unanimous decision of the Board to proceed with bidding this out and bringing the numbers back. Regarding Hogan Creek pump station, Director Weatherford commented there has been a problem with it breaking down in the last 30 days, and it was completely rebuilt today. M r. Don Cochran, Utilities Director, said that as of 5 p.m., they were still in the process of rebuilding the pump. It was put on bypass pumping today and totally cleaned out the wet well. He explained there was a large amount of grit built up in the wet well, which is the concrete structure that holds the wastewater before it is pumped out. They completely cleaned that out and believe it is part of the obstruction they were having. They rebuilt the pumps, and it should be back in operation tonight. He explained that should last until January, and then have the engineers designing the new pump station and getting it out for bid after January 1. EXECUTIVE S ES S ION Board of Directors M eeting 11 December 20, 2004 at 7:00 P.M . 31 Consider Annual Evaluation of the City Attorney, Deputy City Attorney and City Manager. A motion was made by Director Edwards, duly seconded by Director Brunner-M aruthur, that the Board adjourn into executive session to consider the annual evaluation of City M anager Kent M yers, City Attorney David White, and Deputy City Attorney Brian Albright; and upon voice vote, the motion unanimously carried. The Board adjourned into executive session at 7:55 p.m. RECONVENE TO OPEN S ES S ION 32 Consider Any Action Required as a Result of the Executive S ession The Board reconvened into open session at 8:30 p.m. A motion was made by Director Newell, duly seconded by Director Edwards, that City M anager Kent M yers, City Attorney David White, and Deputy City Attorney Brian Albright each be given a five percent raise, effective January 1, 2005; and upon voice vote, the motion unanimously carried. 33 ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting adjourned at 8:35 p.m., to meet again on M onday, January 3, 2005, at 7:00 p.m. ATTEST: _____________________ APPROVED:__________________ Lance Hudnell, City Clerk M ike Bush, M ayor Board of Directors M eeting 12 December 20, 2004 at 7:00 P.M .