City Council

Lonoke City Council Lonoke City Council Meeting February 12, 2024 The Lonoke City Council held a city council meeting at the multiple building at 6:00 p.m. Monday, February 12, 2024. Mayor Wayne McGee called the meeting to order with the Invocation was given by Pastor Benjamin Carpenter of Lonoke Baptist Church. Deputy City Clerk, Regina Ibbotson called the roll and declared a quorum. Mayor Wayne McGee City Clerk Jeribeth Edwards (absent) Treasurer (Vacant) Deputy Clerk Regina Ibbotson Council Members Sean Simpson, Steven Holt, Raymond Hatton, Stan Moran, Wendell Walker, Wendell Moore, Koy Butler, and Jim Ed Ransom City Attorney Ginger Stuart Police Chief Matt Edwards W/S/S Supt. Thomas Stivers C.C. Director Mike Brown Fire Dept. Justin Whittenburg Parks Director Evan Jacobs (absent) Austin Hayes, Asst Director present Community Dev. (Vacant) News Media none Visitors: Mike Jones, Mildred Jones, Woody Evans, Wayne Rathburn, Terry Taykowski, Rachel Whittenburg, Terry Robinson, Delores Allison, Jim & Gina Wiertelak, Suzette Elmore, Ashley Reed, and Cindy Reaves Minutes: Mayor Wayne McGee asked for the acceptance of the January 8th regular minutes and the January 29th special minutes. Jim Ed Ransom made a motion to accept both sets of minutes as presented. Sean Simpson seconded the motion. Motion carried. Public Comment: A. Ashley Reed was present and spoke on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce and requested that the City Council consider approval of a map submitted delineating an Arts & Entertainment District or for the city to consider an area that would be an acceptable Arts & Entertainment District. Ashley, Suzette Elmore, and Gina Wiertelak explained to the Council what an A&E District is and why they think the city would benefit from having one. B. Terry Taykowski was present. Jim Ed Ransom made a motion to not hear his comment. Stan Moran seconded the motion. Motion carried. LONOKE COUNTY LIBRARY: A calendar to show the February activities was presented. FIRE DEPARTMENT: Chief Whittenburg was present and gave the report. A. VHF Radios- Mr. Whittenburg submitted three quotes to council for VHF Radios: C & C Communications $8,206, MJ Communications $14,878, and Arkansas Valley Communications $19,305.20. Jim Ed Ransom made a motion to purchase the VHF radios from C & C Communications for $8206. Sean Simpson seconded the motion. Motion carried. B. Resolution 2-1-2024 - “A Resolution Authorizing the City Council to Obligate American Rescue Plan Act Funds for the Purchase of VHF Radios for the Lonoke Volunteer Fire Department”. Koy Page 1 of 4  Lonoke City Council Lonoke City Council Meeting February 12, 2024 Butler made the motion to put Resolution 2-1-2024 on the table. Jim Ed Ransom seconded the motion. Motion carried. City Attorney Ginger Stuart read Resolution 2-1-2024 in its entirety. Jim Ed Ransom made a motion to accept Resolution 2-1-2024. Steven Holt seconded the motion. Motion carried. PUBLIC WORKS (WATER/SEWER/STREET) & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: Thomas Stivers was present and gave a report. Mayor McGee mentioned the water situation that the city faced during the winter weather event. Jim Ed Ransom made a motion that all social media posts must be cleared by the mayor. Wendell Walker seconded the motion. Motion carried. POLICE DEPARTMENT: Chief Edwards was present and gave the report. No action items presented. Chief Edwards asked the council for clarification regarding the motion to have all social media posts approved by the mayor as the police department uses social media for emergency purposes as well as a normal notification tool. PARKS AND MOSQUITO: Director Evan Jacobs was absent, and Asst. Director Austin Hayes gave the report. Mr. Hayes also asked the council for clarification on the use the social media as the ballpark sends out all the pertinent parks information on their page. Attorney Stuart spoke up and asked the council if they would like to amend the previous motion to state that only Emergency type posts need to be cleared through the mayor, and that day-to-day business would not have to be cleared. Jim Ed Ransom made a motion to amend his previous motion to state that only emergency type posts would need to be cleared by the mayor. Wendell Moore seconded the motion. Motion carried. A. Tennis Court Fence Repair – Quote were solicited and only one licensed entity responded. Ingle Fence Co. quoted $10,573 to repair the fence at the Tennis Court. Wendell Walker made the motion to move forward with Ingle Fence Co. and get the fence repaired. Steven Holt seconded the motion. Motion carried. B. Quotes to Replace Culverts @ Ballpark – Two quotes were submitted to replace the failing culverts at the ballpark: Zack Eaves quoted $4,144.60 and Culverts Plus quoted $5,829.98 for Four, 20-foot pieces of 36” HDPE (high density polyethylene pipe). COMMUNITY CENTER: Mr. Mike Brown was present and gave report. The events going on are Pickle Ball, Chess, Ping Pong, Solar Eclipse prep, and Baptist Health Checks. 2024greatamericaneclipse.lonoke is the site for more information regarding the eclipse in our area. A. Purchase Upgraded Strength & Cardio Equipment - A quote was presented from Second Chance Fitness (Tips/Taps vendor) for $233,206.67 to purchase new equipment for the upstairs cardio workout room. A down payment of $186,565.34 will be required to start the project. Koy Butler made the motion to approve the purchase of the new equipment. Jim Ed Ransom seconded the motion. Motion carried. Mike noted the workout area would be shut down Feb 23rd – 26th for the installation of the new equipment. B. Removal of old Asset – A sheet was provided to council detailing an old asset that needs to be removed from the fixed assets listing. Jim Ed Ransom made the motion to remove the fixed asset. Wendell Moore seconded the motion. Motion carried. Page 2 of 4  Lonoke City Council Lonoke City Council Meeting February 12, 2024 OLD BUSINESS: A. Solar Array Site Production Report- McKinstry provided a Site Production Report for the month of January 2024. The total estimated savings for January 2024 are $4042.00 in comparison with January 2023 $2605.80. B. Ordinance #817- “An Ordinance Granting a Non-Exclusive Franchise to First Electric Cooperative Corporation and its Wholly Own Subsidiary, Connect 2 First Internet LLC, for the Purpose of Constructing and Maintaining a Fiber Optic Transmission Line within Certain Public Rights-of- Way within the City of Lonoke, Arkansas”- Koy Butler made a motion to put Ordinance 817 on the floor and read title only. Steven Holt seconded the motion. Motion carried. Attorney Stuart read title only of Ordinance 817. Jim Ed Ransom made the motion to accept the 1st reading – title only of Ordinance 817. Sean Simpson seconded the motion. Motion carried. Koy Butler made a motion to suspend the rules and read title only – 2nd reading of Ordinance 817. Jim Ed Ransom seconded the motion. Motion carried. Attorney Stuart read title only – 2nd reading of Ordinance 817. Jim Ed Ransom made the motion to accept the 2nd reading – title only of Ordinance 817. Koy Butler seconded the motion. Motion carried. Koy Butler made a motion to suspend the rules and read title only – 3rd reading of Ordinance 817. Jim Ed Ransom seconded the motion. Motion carried. Attorney Stuart read title only – 3rd reading of Ordinance 817. Jim Ed Ransom made the motion to accept the 3rd reading – title only of Ordinance 817. Koy Butler seconded the motion. Motion carried. Wendell Moore made a motion to adopt Ordinance 817. Jim Ed Ransom seconded the motion. Motion carried. NEW BUSINESS: A. Engagement Letter from Ryan, LLC to Act as our Legal/Tax Counsel to Apply for the Inflation Reduction Act Energy Incentives for our solar array project. Ryan LLC works in conjunction with McKinstry who is in charge of our Energy Savings Contract. The cost of the engagement is $15,000 and will cover all aspects of the legal and accounting process. Koy Butler made a motion to enter into an agreement with Ryan, LLC. Jim Ed Ransom seconded the motion. Motion carried. B. Quotes to Replace Glass Entry Door at City Hall – 3 Quotes were obtained to replace the entry/exit doors at city hall to include continuous hinges and panic exit bars. Automatic Door Sales & Service quoted $10,587.55, Binswanger Glass quoted $11,528.47, and Glass Doctor of Central Arkansas quoted $15,412.80. Koy Butler made a motion to move forward with Automatic Door Sales & Service at $10,587.55. Sean Simpson seconded the motion. Motion carried. C. Approval to Pay City’s Portion of State Aid to Streets Grant Paving Project – The City received an invoice from ArDOT in the amount of $37,932.00 which is the portion in excess of the $300,000 covered by the grant for our State Aid to Streets paving project. These expenses will be paid from the Street 1 cent fund. Jim Ed Ransom made to pay the amount due to ArDOT. Wendell Moore seconded the motion. Motion carried. D. A & E District Map – The City Council revisited the topic covered earlier in the public comment and several voiced their concerns over allowing alcohol to be carried openly in the district delineated on the map submitted. They all agreed that an area could be designated as Arts & Entertainment but alcohol would not be part of it. They also decided to have a special meeting Page 3 of 4  Lonoke City Council Lonoke City Council Meeting February 12, 2024 on February 26th to discuss an area that would be appropriate for an A&E district but wanted to talk to constituents to hear their comments/concerns before meeting. E. Camping for the Solar Eclipse – There is a possibility that there may be some wanting to camp during the eclipse event. Camping will only be allowed with campers that have self-contained tanks and may only take place at the Community Center or City Ballpark if they choose to allow it. If camping is allowed, the fee will be $100 per night to camp at the Lonoke Community Center, and $150 per night at the Lonoke Ballpark. Any fees must be paid in advance with no refunds being issued. Jim Ed Ransom made the motion to approve the location and fees mentioned. Wendell Moore seconded the motion. Motion carried. APRROVAL TO PAY BILLS: Wendell Moore made a motion to pay bills. Raymond Hatton seconded the motion. Motion carried. BILLS ALREADY PAID IN JANUARY 2024 City General $103,775.84 Water $51,573.16 Street $62,665.37 Community Center $50,184.99 W/S Revenue $2.00 Retail One Cent $762.28 Court Automation $ 488.40 BILLS TO BE PAID FEBRUARY 2024 City General $ 8,213.13 Community Center $ 8,161.73 Water $ 19,220.78 Street $ 9,566.16 ADJOURNMENT- Wendell Moore made a motion to adjourn. Steven Holt seconded the motion. Motion carried. ____________________________ Mayor Wayne McGee Attest: ____________________________ Clerk Page 4 of 4