City Council

CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING SEPTEMBER 5, 2019 6:00 P.M. – 6:53 P.M. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING - CITY HALL - #1 MUNICIPAL DRIVE The City Council of the City of Jacksonville, Arkansas met in regular session on September 5, 2019 at the regular meeting place of the City Council. Councilman Ray delivered the invocation and Mayor Johnson led a standing audience in the “Pledge of Allegiance” to the flag. ROLL CALL: City Councilman: Elliott, Bolden, Sipes, Sansing, Ray, Mashburn, Traylor, Twitty, and Collins answered ROLL CALL. Mayor Johnson also answered ROLL CALL declaring a quorum. PRESENT NINE (9) ABSENT (1). Councilman Smith was absent due to a medical procedure. Others present for the meeting were: City Attorney Stephanie Friedman, Public Works Director Jim Oakley, IT Director Scott Roethlisberger, CDBG Director Theresa Watson, Fire Chief Laughy, Parks and Recreation Director Kevin House, Human Resource Director Charlette Nelson, Planning Commission Chairman Jim Moore, Finance Director Cheryl Erkel, Addie Gibson, Police Captain Kim Lett, Police Captain Smiley, Lida Feller, Director of Downtown Planning and Development Bob Price, Dejuana Sipes, Beverly Elliott, Jeff Twitty, Jay Whisker, interested citizens, and members of the press. PRESENTATION OF MINUTES: Mayor Johnson presented the minutes of the regular City Council meeting of August 15, 2019 for approval and/or correction at the next regularly scheduled City Council meeting. APPROVAL AND/OR CORRECTION OF MINUTES: Councilman Elliott moved, seconded by Councilman Traylor that the minutes of the regularly scheduled City Council meeting of 18 July 2019 be APPROVED. MOTION CARRIED. CONSENT AGENDA: CODE ENFORCEMENT Councilman Ray moved, seconded by Councilman Bolden to approve the regular monthly report as presented for July 2019. Assigned Calls 160 Self-Initiated Calls 458 Follow ups 355 Structures Inspected 6 Meetings/Court Hearings 24 Rentals Inspected 3 Warnings Issued 83 Properties Red Tagged 6 Tickets Issued 4 Search Warrants Served 1 Notice/Letters written 135 Structures Rehabbed 0 Vehicles Tagged 7 Structures Condemned 0 Vehicles Towed 0 Houses Demolished by City 0 Lots posted 2 Houses Demolished by Owner 0 Signs removed 128 Parking Violations 37 Trash cans tagged 0 Grass Letters 99 Basketball Goals 11 Grass Mowed 23 1  CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING SEPTEMBER 5, 2019 6:00 P.M. – 6:53 P.M. REGULAR MONTHLY REPORT/ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT Councilman Ray moved, seconded by Councilman Bolden to approve the regular monthly report for July 2019. PERMITS/LICENSE ISSUED INSPECTIONS PERFORMED Building Permits 16 Building Inspections 19 Business Licenses 0 Electrical 29 Plumbing 24 HVACR 13 MOTION CARRIED. ROLL CALL: Councilmen: Elliott, Bolden, Sipes, Sansing, Ray, Mashburn, Traylor, Twitty, and Collins voted AYE. MOTION CARRIED. WATER DEPARTMENT: WASTEWATER DEPARTMENTS: FIRE DEPARTMENT: ORDINANCE 1612 (#19-2019) AN ORDINANCE WAIVING COMPETITIVE BIDDING FOR THE PURCHASE OF SPECIFIC TURNOUT GEAR FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT OF JACKSONVILLE; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY; AND, FOR OTHER PURPOSES. Councilman Ray moved, seconded by Councilman Elliott to place Ordinance 1612 on FIRST READING. ROLL CALL: Councilman Elliott, Bolden, Sipes, Sansing, Ray, Mashburn, Traylor, Twitty, and Collins voted AYE. MOTION CARRIED. Whereupon City Attorney Friedman read the heading of Ordinance 1612. Chief Laughy reminded the City Council that last year he requested $42,000.00 to purchase expired turnout gear for approximately 20 firefighters, explaining that following some research, he learned that there are 7 different major brands with various material aspects. He related that after some consideration regarding needs and costs, he is proposing a vendor in Jacksonville that can offer a better deal than originally thought. He noted that previously they had purchased from Casco and now are recommending the comparable David’s Fire, adding that in some ways they feel the turnout gear from David’s Fire is superior. He noted that the Bravo Thermal Liner is the highest temp before breakdown. He stated that all costs included it comes out to about $33,516.20 tax included and they have inventory in stock, reiterating that it is a local company. He then added that this would be a savings of approximately $9,484.00 from the original budgeted expense. He went on to say that the emergency clause is recommended because it is required by NFPA 1971 to replace turnout gear when they expire, adding that turnout gear expires after 10 years. He noted reasons for the delayed research and the reason they are requesting the replacements so late in the year. He then noted that the turnout gear expired in June. He then stated that if some tragic event were to occur, NIOSAE (National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health) would investigate their two major objects, the safety gear and training records. He stated that he is trying to avoid such an investigation. He added that if approved, he can get the gear in two to three business days as opposed to waiting for a bid process and getting the same results. 2  CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING SEPTEMBER 5, 2019 6:00 P.M. – 6:53 P.M. In response to a question from Councilman Mashburn, Chief Laughy replied that this would purchase 20 sets of turnout gear, adding next year he would replace 15 to 20 expired sets again. He then answered that he has $42,000.00 in the budget for this purchase. Councilman Sipes moved, seconded by Councilman Elliott to approve Ordinance 1612 on FIRST READING and SUSPEND THE RULES to place Ordinance 1612 on SECOND READING. ROLL CALL: Councilman Elliott, Bolden, Sipes, Sansing, Ray, Mashburn, Traylor, Twitty, and Collins voted AYE. MOTION CARRIED. Councilman Ray moved, seconded by Councilman Sipes to further SUSPEND THE RULES and place Ordinance 1612 on THIRD AND FINAL READING. Chief Laughy then answered Councilman Traylor that he has presented written quotes that were obtain by the researching Fire Captain. ROLL CALL: Councilman Elliott, Bolden, Sipes, Sansing, Ray, Mashburn, Traylor, Twitty, and Collins voted AYE. MOTION CARRIED. Councilman Ray moved, seconded by Councilman Elliott to APPROVE AND ADOPT Ordinance 1612. ROLL CALL: Councilman Elliott, Bolden, Sipes, Sansing, Ray, Mashburn, Traylor, Twitty, and Collins voted AYE. MOTION CARRIED. Councilman Ray moved, seconded by Councilman Sipes that the EMERGENCY CLAUSE be approved and adopted. ROLL CALL: Councilman Elliott, Bolden, Sipes, Sansing, Ray, Mashburn, Traylor, Twitty, and Collins voted AYE. MOTION CARRIED. ORDINANCE 1612 (#19-2019) APPROVED AND ADOPTED THIS 5th DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 2019. POLICE DEPARTMENT: STREET DEPARTMENT: SANITATION DEPARTMENT: PARKS & RECREATION: PLANNING COMMISSION: COMMITTEE(S): Fireworks: Recycling: GENERAL: a. ORDINANCE 1613 (#20-2019) AN ORDINANCE WAIVING COMPETITIVE BIDDING FOR PURCHASE OF A NEW PHONE SYSTEM FOR CITY HALL, JACKSONVILLE COMMUNITY CENTER AND CDBG BUILDING; FOR APPROPRIATE IMPLEMENTATION AND ACCESS FOR DEPARTMENT AND IT REPRESENTATIVES; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY; AND, FOR OTHER PURPOSES. Councilman Ray moved, seconded by Councilman Bolden to place Ordinance 1613 (#20-2019) on FIRST READING. ROLL CALL: Councilman Elliott, Bolden, Sipes, 3  CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING SEPTEMBER 5, 2019 6:00 P.M. – 6:53 P.M. Sansing, Ray, Mashburn, Traylor, Twitty, and Collins voted AYE. (0) NAY. MOTION CARRIED. Whereupon City Attorney Friedman read the heading of Ordinance 1613. IT Director Scott Rothlisberger explained that the reason for the emergency is because the City has three phone systems at three different locations; City Hall, Community Center, and one at CDBG. He explained that the current system is dropping calls over and over to the point where Kevin House had to open the Community Center for inclement weather and could not place a call to the facility. He stated that they had researched other options regarding repair; explaining that repair has become extremely difficult. He explained that they contacted CenturyLink which is the carrier operator of the circuits and they have stated that there is nothing wrong, that the circuits are clean. He added that they also contacted HCI, the vendor of the current phone system and they have not fixed it ever, which is why we are looking at a brand new phone system. He related that they obtained one quote from KNS located in Fort Smith at $64,000.00; he added that after negotiating with them, with IT doing most of the implementation, we got that number down to $37,000.00. He added that he still feels that is too much, so now he is looking at TeleComp, a State of Arkansas contract, and we will not be installing a traditional phone system but they would install handsets. He went on to explain that the phone system lives in their data center in Little Rock and it would communicate through encrypted lines out to their data center. He related that the costs for the install of this phone system is $2,600.00 and the monthly fee for the Community Center, CDBG, and City Hall would be $1,989.66 monthly. He stated that just for the lines we are currently paying on, the Centrex lines from CenturyLink, we are currently paying $1,587.45 for all three facilities, so our monthly charge will go up $402.51 and this would be on a five-year contract. He added that the main reason for this is, if we have any problems with any of phones due to user damage, they will cover it. He reiterated that there is no central phone system to have to worry about, it’s in their data center, we will not have to trouble shoot any of that. Councilman Sansing stated that as a general rule, he is not in favor of waiving competitive bidding. He asked Director Rothlisberger to explain why in the Ordinance under Section One it states that competitive bidding would be costly and nonproductive. Director Rothlisberger answered it is the essence of time, if we put out competitive bidding, he is worried that the lowest bidder would get the bid and we would not get the quality that we could. Councilman Sansing explained that is part of what competitive bidding does, if the lowest bidder can meet the qualifications but that is determined by looking at all of the aspects of the bid. He pointed out that Director Rothlisberger is already saying that this proposal will be more expensive than what we are currently doing, which could potentially be an issue. 4  CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING SEPTEMBER 5, 2019 6:00 P.M. – 6:53 P.M. Director Rothlisberger stated that if we put it out for competitive bid, we would get an in-house phone system, he added that he does not particularly want an in-house phone system, adding that if he was going to plan a phone system it would be at the Police Department because of the survivability, the ground-ability, it has a lightening hail there and can survive an F-4 tornado; it would not be housed in any of these locations, which could be costly. He stated that the one thing he thought was attractive with this proposal, it wouldn’t be any City facilities and it would be encrypted. He reiterated that is the one factor that he thought was attractive, adding that if we put it out for competitive bidding, it could exactly be expensive to house an off-pram phone system for City Hall, Community Center, and CDBG. Councilman Sansing noted that Director Rothlisberger is worried about quality if it is put out for bid, questioning if the bid specifications would ensure quality. Director Rothlisberger stated that he would, but he is not sure anybody would be able to do that. He related that they could, of course, put it out for competitive bid, adding that he is just looking at the avenue of times dropping as many calls as there are. Councilman Mashburn questioned, in his opinion if it was sent for competitive bid versus taking what you have proposed, how much time would it take. Director Rothlisberger stated that it would depend, if they ordered equipment, and in the interest of money that the IT Department deploys the phones, it could take some time. He added that for the vendor to install the phone system that would drive up the cost. He then answered that in his opinion this would be the fastest way to go and we would save money on the implementation because the phones under this proposal would already be configured and the only implementation would be to plug them in. Councilman Bolden confirmed with Director Rothlisberger that his major point is proficiency, saying that in this case we need to get it completed. In response to a question from Councilman Sansing, Director Rothlisberger stated that Parks and Recreation’s dropped calls is about 10%, adding that both Engineering and Michelle in the Mayor’s office has reported dropped calls. He stated that it is system wide. Councilman Collins questioned if an off premises phone system could be placed for bid. Director Rothlisberger stated that if it is off premise they have to 1) off­ prem phone system where it is located in a facility and it would have to be at the Police Department. He then added that it could be put out for bid. Councilman Collins then questioned if it could be specified that it would be at the vendor’s site. 5  CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING SEPTEMBER 5, 2019 6:00 P.M. – 6:53 P.M. Director Rothlisberger stated that he could, but would like to know how the voice traffic is encrypted and how safe it is. Agreeing, that it could all be specified in the bid. Councilman Traylor questioned if the monthly bill with CenturyTel would increase. Director Rothlisberger clarified that actually the City would not be using CenturyTel, confirming that this is voice over IP over the Internet. He explained that what would happen since we would be using Centrex lines with CenturyLink, the new vendor would call to have them surrender the lines and the phone numbers, and since they are Centrex lines they would go into what we call PRI which drives the cost down. He stated that the line cost is incorporated in the monthly cost of the phone system. Councilman Traylor pointed out that we are losing the $500.00 a month but will pick up the $1,900.00. Director Rothlisberger agreed. He then agreed with Councilman Traylor that if the Internet goes down we lose the phone system until it is back up. He then noted that City Hall and Parks and Recreation have two Internet connections, one from Ritter and one from Comcast. He then clarified that Community Center’s main pipe out through the fiber tube to City Hall, so City Hall has backup and primary service, whereas the Community Center only has DSL for the general public. It was also pointed out that Ritter and Comcast also supply the Police Department. Councilman Traylor questioned if it is on State Contract you do not necessarily have to go out for competitive bid. Mayor and City Attorney Friedman agreed. In response to a question from Councilman Sipes, Director Rothlisberger stated that he budgeted $52,000 for a new phone system, adding that this proposal comes in well under that number. Councilman Traylor reminded that the monthly cost is $1,989.00 monthly for 5 years, so it would be $120,000.00 over 5 years versus $500.00 a month over 5 years and having to buying content. Councilman Ray moved, seconded by Councilman Mashburn to approve Ordinance 1613 on FIRST READING and SUSPEND THE RULES to place Ordinance 1613 on SECOND READING. ROLL CALL: Councilman Elliott, Bolden, Sipes, Sansing, Ray, Mashburn, Traylor, Twitty, and Collins voted AYE. (0) NAY. MOTION CARRIED. Councilman Ray moved, seconded by Councilman Bolden to further SUSPEND THE RULES and place Ordinance 1613 on THIRD AND FINAL READING. ROLL CALL: Councilman Elliott, Bolden, Sipes, Sansing, Ray, Mashburn, Traylor, Twitty, and Collins voted AYE. (0) NAY. MOTION CARRIED. 6  CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING SEPTEMBER 5, 2019 6:00 P.M. – 6:53 P.M. Councilman Sansing moved, seconded by Councilman Ray that Ordinance 1613 be APPROVED AND ADOPTED. ROLL CALL: Councilman Elliott, Bolden, Sipes, Sansing, Ray, Mashburn, Traylor, Twitty, and Collins voted AYE. (0) voted NAY. MOTION CARRIED. Councilman Ray moved, seconded by Councilman Bolden that the EMERGENCY CLAUSE be approved. Councilman Elliott, Bolden, Sipes, Sansing, Ray, Mashburn, Traylor, Twitty, and Collins voted AYE. (0) voted NAY. MOTION CARRIED. ORDINANCE 1613 (#20-2019) APPROVED AND ADOPTED THIS 5th DAY OF SEPTEMBER 2019. b. Request to accept bid Military Road Sidewalk Public Works Director Jim Oakley recalled that approval to apply for a grant on Military Road was passed from the Wood Briar Subdivision down to about Park Drive. He stated that while this is a small section it has the deepest ditches with the most pedestrian traffic. He reminded the Council that the City applied for this grant well over one year ago and was awarded $375,000.00. He then related that the bids came in higher than the award, pointing out that the low bid was $567,180.47. He noted that generally this is an 80/20 grant but the City’s part will be approximately 33%, adding that he still feels it is well worth it and is a good value for the money. He stated that he does have those matching funds in the Street Fund Reserves. Councilman Elliott moved, seconded by Councilman Bolden to accept the low bid from Weaver and Bailey Contractors, Inc. in the amount of $567,180.47 with fund to be drawn from Street Fund Reserves. Public Works Director Jim Oakley then answered Councilman Traylor that the State Highway Department requires curb and gutter with a buffer. Mayor Johnson pointed out that the City is also having to do some overlay on Military Road in this project. Public Works Director Jim Oakley explained that they wanted to extend it a couple of extra feet and we had to do a semi-not-quite ½ street improvement but a ½ lane improvement. At this time, MOTION CARRIED. APPOINTMENTS: HOSPITAL BOARD Councilman Ray moved, seconded by Councilman Bolden to approve the reappointment of Pat Bond for a term to expire 06/30/2020, reappointment of Tommy Swaim for a term to expire 6/30/2021, reappointment of Mike Wilson for a term to expire 6/30/2022, appointment of Gary Fletcher for a term to expire 6/30/2023 and reappointment of Jason Kennedy for a term to expire 6/30/2024. MOTION CARRIED. 7  CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING SEPTEMBER 5, 2019 6:00 P.M. – 6:53 P.M. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: NEW BUSINESS: ANNOUNCEMENTS: Speeding in Stonewall Subdivision Public Works Director Jim Oakley offered that speed humps not bumps are a suggestion for the Stonewall Subdivision, explaining that a speed hump goes up and then flat for a little ways and then back down, adding that they are prefabricated. He stated that if this is chosen, to date we do not have a speed bump or hump on public roadways. He stated that because the pro of slowing traffic, there is the con for emergency vehicles and the noise or banging caused by cars coming off the humps if speeding. He stated that they have to be used on local streets only, 30 mph or less, 85% of the speeding has to be 10 miles or more over the speed limit and 85% of the residents on that street have to sign a petition saying that they want a speed hump. Chief Laughy told the City Council that he is not in favor of speed bumps that will cause wear and tear on the vehicles, but he believes they could live with the speed tables (humps). Captain McCollough stated that he believes speed humps would be better than the speed bumps. Public Works Director Jim Oakley stated that he does not believe it would be a problem for the Sanitation trucks, pointing out that this would be for local roads only. He clarified that local streets would inside a subdivision, noting that a fire truck most likely, stop to start, could not get up to 30 mph but a police car could. He went on to say that the associated cost for one speed hump is approximately $5,000.00, adding that currently he does not have one in the budget. He then answered Councilman Mashburn that since they would be located on public roads the City would be responsible for having them constructed. He then acknowledged with Mayor Johnson that Hill Street would qualify as a local street. He then related that an engineering study would have to be performed to determine the vehicle count, explaining that the count has to be between 500 and 1500 as part of the criteria for placement. Discussion ensued as to the engineering evaluation study and Public Works Director Jim Oakley answered that it would take approximately one month to complete a study. Mr. Jim Moore, President of the Stonewall Homeowners Association, relating that former City Engineer Jay Whisker perform a speed study a couple of years ago regarding East Martin Street. He then related that a commercial vehicle was clocked at 55 mph on East Martin Street. He went on to say that he has never seen a fire truck or emergency vehicle go that fast, adding that he has observed them at a normal speed because of the intersection and mostly because they are going to the senior quarters at the end of East Martin Street. He explained that the vehicles are slowing down to get into that area. He then added that he has never seen a police department vehicle go 8  CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING SEPTEMBER 5, 2019 6:00 P.M. – 6:53 P.M. fast in Stonewall Subdivision. He related that there was a house on Berkshire Circle that was actually damaged because the vehicle going too fast to make the curve. He invited anyone to come to the pool and watch the speeding traffic. He then recalled an incident involving two vehicles racing each other down East Martin Street. He noted that Stonewall Subdivision has a lot of children living in the Subdivision, saying that if something isn’t done someone is going to get killed. He added that some of the speeding has to do with the senior citizens, they are speeding like they are race car drivers. He stated that there are residents of Stonewall in the audience who can vouch for what he is saying. He noted that the Air Base has put in humps and have a metal barrier gate 100 yards after you go through the gate, saying that vehicles were hitting the metal gate so hard that it broke the gates. So they had to put in speed humps to slow traffic. He related that private (not City) waste management truck that empties the dumpsters at the senior complex speeds through Stonewall Subdivision. He then added that UPS and FedEx also speeds. Councilman Bolden stated that he wanted to present this to try and get this accomplished, adding that it would require looking at the budget to see what can be constructed. Fireworks Ordinance and Committee meetings Councilman Collins stated that he will have an ordinance for the next regularly scheduled City Council meeting regarding fireworks. He stated that he would also like to resume consideration of Ordinance 1584, which was tabled. He stated that he would like to have it returned to committee for an update. He related that Ordinance 1584 deals with the requirement for out of state landlords to have qualified local representative. Councilmen Mashburn and Traylor volunteered to serve on the committee. Councilman Collins then stated that he feels there is some business for the rules committee regarding some education. Mayor Johnson stated that it could be discussed at the next meeting. Councilman Collins stated that he would like for the committee to meet before the next City Council meeting. He stated that he would work with the City Clerk to get that meeting scheduled. Prepared Statement by Councilman Sansing He stated that he is making this statement to his fellow Council Members, all Elected Officials, and the citizens of Jacksonville. Please note that Mr. Sansing’s words and statement were copied directly from his typed statement he read at the City Council meeting and are now a matter of record in the Office of the City Clerk. 9  CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING SEPTEMBER 5, 2019 6:00 P.M. – 6:53 P.M. “Integrity-the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. Also described as being honorable, good ethics, having virtue, decency, fairness, truthfulness, and trustworthiness. This is what I expect from all elected officials. This is what I expect from all elected officials, department heads and employees in Jacksonville. Elected officials should NOT verbally abuse city employees. Elected Officials should NOT try to smear employees’ names and reputation. Elected officials should not send lists to the mayor telling him to fire certain employees, because “they still work for Gary Fletcher”. Integrity has been lacking somewhat lately. You know what has transpired. It has been in the press and social media. I don’t know what the outcome will be. It almost sounds like the “fix is in”, as the paper puts it. All I can do is tell you what I know and my actions. On August 15th, I walked into the called fireworks meeting five minutes early, four elected officials and the police Captains were in there. I had been sitting outside the closed door for thirty minutes. No one came in, no one came out. I thought it was another meeting. When I went in, I asked twice if they were having a meeting and was answered by one alderman “no we are not having a meeting”. I made the mistake of giving them the benefit of the doubt, believing what I was told and not my eyes. I saw other elected officials ask the same thing and they were given the same answer by the same alderman. And still I thought surely we wouldn’t be lied to. We then started our scheduled fireworks meeting. A week later I found out that an Ordinance had been requested to set aside $800,000.00 out of the next city budget for the police department. This ordinance had been requested the following Monday by the same alderman who repeatedly answered all questions with “we are not having a meeting.” If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck… Yes there was a meeting, behind closed doors and no minutes had been taken. But surely they would have notified the press, we all know to notify the press. The alderman who calls the meeting always notifies the press. When I went home after finding out about the Ordinance request, I called the local press to ask if they had been notified about the 4:00 p.m. meeting that had occurred on August 15th, the answer was “no”. They had only been notified about the 4:45 meeting. The press then started asking me questions about 4:00 p.m. meeting and I told them what I knew from going inside and the answers I received. A couple of days later the press ask me if I had seen the answer to Mr. Blevins’s FOIA request and did I want them to send it to me. This is how I got the FOIA information. 10  CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING SEPTEMBER 5, 2019 6:00 P.M. – 6:53 P.M. I was torn. The FOIA information clearly showed an intent of some people to come early to discuss city business “on the down low”. A clear violation of FOIA laws. I had been lied to, we had all been lied to. I have never seen anything like this happen in all my years on the city council. Some people I had considered good friends were involved in this. What to do? All elected officials, city employees, and most importantly citizens of Jacksonville. Understand that my LOYALTY goes to the citizens of Jacksonville. Not to the alderman. Not to the Mayor. Not to any elected official, but to the citizens. It does not matter which elected officials are involved, it does not matter what department or subject is involved. I would take the same actions when faced with such blatant violation of the law. Therefore, there was only one thing I could do and that was to report the facts to the proper authorities. If the authorities do nothing, it will be on them. I did my due diligence, I upheld my integrity. I represented the law-abiding people. I was loyal to the citizens of Jacksonville.” Terry Allen Sansing, Alderman Jacksonville, Ward 2, Position 2 Councilman Bolden stated that the City has 286 employees, adding that he would never approve a raise or budget for any entity if everyone does not get a piece of the pie. He stated that there are times when he will literally pull his truck over and thank the people who are working the yard. He stated that at times, if he is in a restaurant and see a fireman getting ready to get their meal, he will pay for it out of his pocket because he appreciates the teamwork. We are all struggling financially, the budget is tight, so I wanted to make sure it is clear, if anything comes to this Council, while I am here, if it does not include everyone, take it back to the table and fix it. Councilman Elliott stated that it seems we cannot stay out of controversy, adding that he wants to see the City of Jacksonville move forward without controversy. He stated that as a Council, we have to work together. We have a new Mayor, let’s give a chance, let’s do not try to bypass the Mayor and the normal budget procedures and go behind closed doors. Let’s give our Mayor to present his first budget, instead of trying to go around and do back door deals, violate the law basically. Let’s try to work together and be positive, let’s try to give the Mayor a chance to address some of these issues and present a new budget. He stated that you cannot just come up with an Ordinance when you do not have a budget and know how it is going to affect the City dollars. You have to go through your budget procedures and through the Mayor. He added that Council Members are legislative, we are not administrative, so we do not need to be meeting with individual employees. 11  CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING SEPTEMBER 5, 2019 6:00 P.M. – 6:53 P.M. Councilman Bolden reminded that two Council Members cannot meet without the press. He stated that we have to work as a team, we have a great City and the Mayor’s work is overshadowed by this other matter. He stated that Jacksonville is a great City, I take pride in this City and I chose to live here because of the greatness of Jacksonville. He cautioned not to use his name in anything, if you don’t know the facts, because he will come back at you. Bow and Arrow Ordinance Mr. Jim Moore stated that approximately two to three years ago, he had a complaint from a resident in Stonewall because someone was shooting arrows in their backyard towards another house and there were kids in the house next door. He stated that it was not taken seriously. He passed an arrow around demonstrating the dangerous nature. He stated that this arrow was shoot across the common area toward a house that has kids living there. If stated that if this arrow had not dropped soon enough, it could have hit one of those kids if they had been in the backyard playing. He stated that he tried to get the Council to do an amendment to the ordinance, to outlaw these kind of arrows because they are a weapon. He stated that we need an ordinance to prohibit the shooting of these arrows in residential areas, he pointed out that we have an archery range now and that it where they need to be shot. Mayor Johnson stated that when he took this Office, he told all 10 of the Council Members that we need to be a team of 11. If we are not a team of 11, we are not going anywhere. We need to work together, be together, and let’s make Jacksonville greater than it’s ever been. ADJOURNMENT: Without objection, Mayor Johnson adjourned the meeting at approximately 6:53 p.m. MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully, ________________________ _________________________ Susan L. Davitt MAYOR BOB JOHNSON City Clerk-Treasurer 12