Oakland Cemetery Commission

K L A A N D Oakland Cemetery Commission Meeting Agenda Tuesday, November 19, 2013 at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers Conference Room, 2nd Floor, 203 South Commerce, Russellville, AR 72801 Welcome Old Business: 1. Review and approve minutes of the October 15, 2013 Cemetery Regular Meeting. 2. Financial Report – Finance Director Jerry McKaughan 3. Update on Charles SCHWAB Account – Finance Director Jerry McKaughan 4. Discuss Albert’s Curb Service Proposal for tree service at the Oakland Cemetery. Chairman Harris , John Carpenter. 5. A request for approval to remove or trim the magnolia tree #3 that is partially cut on Detroit. 6. Update on the request from Claude Allen Hughes Family to disinter and reinter Claude Hughes, Jr. and wife Mary Hughes. Jones New Business 1. Commissioners submit any nominee(s) to fill the vacancy left by Mr. Hlass. 2. Discuss items not on the agenda. 3. Prepare items for handoff to City Council for its December 19, 2013 Meeting. Adjourn.  Russellville Oakland Cemetery Commission Minutes November 19, 2013 The Russellville Oakland Cemetery Commission met on Tuesday, November 19, 2013 at 5:30 p.m., in the City Hall 2nd-Floor Conference Room at 203 South Commerce, Russellville, Arkansas. Attending were Chairman John Harris, Commissioner Anna Fields, and Commissioner Mindy Hudson, Commissioner Patricia Petray, Director Lequitta A Jones, Finance Director Jerry McKaughan, Mayor Bill Eaton, and, Laura and John Carpenter d/b/a Albert’s CurbService. Absent: Alderman Richard Harris, Secretary Donna Eubanks, and Alderman Steuber. The meeting was called to order by Chairman John Harris at 5:30 p.m. Old Business: The First Order of Business was to review and approve minutes of the October 15, 2013 Cemetery Regular Meeting. Commissioner Fields made the motion to approve the minutes as written. Commissioner Petray seconded the motion and approved unanimously. The Second Order of Business was the Financial Reports given by Finance Director Jerry McKaughan. Mr. McKaughan gave the financial reports to include the balance sheet and statement of revenue and expenditures and stated both were in order. The Third Order of Business was an update on Charles SCHWAB Account given by Finance Director Jerry McKaughan. Mr. McKaughan reported the Cemetery Brokerage Account Charles Schwab Account balance as of 10/31/2013 is $118,179.80 and the Genworth Account is $80,000. A short discussion on sending out a donation letter at the beginning of every year to property owners to up the donation account. Chairman Harris said we will address donations at a later date. Commissioner Hudson made the motion to approve the financial reports (Agenda Item 2 & 3) as submitted. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Fields and passed unanimously. 1 The Fifth Order of Business was to discuss Albert’s Curb Service Proposal for tree service at the Oakland Cemetery. Chairman Harris, John Carpenter. Mr. John Carpenter d/b/a Albert’s Curbside Tree Service said he was notified last year to come to the cemetery and go through and assess trees. He said him and his wife were over there two days, each day about 8 hours, walking through and looking at every tree. I gave my assessment of every tree and at that time I suggested trimming the trees and cabling. I then turned the paperwork in on what was needed done. After their next meeting they did not want to do any cabling of the trees. He said they wanted to remove the trees and at that time I didn’t think any trees needed to be removed that they could be trimmed or cabled. Mr. Carpenter said he was one of the bidders and got the bid. About seven or eight months later they said okay you can proceed. I started on the job and I was shut down and here we are. Commissioner Hudson asked Mr. Carpenter if he felt he was fairly compensated for the amount of work that he did so far. Mr. Carpenter said I gave a bill for what I had done up to that point. Mr. Carpenter said I’ve never said that I’m not going to come back and finish. It has always been my understanding when you guys come to an agreement that I would be the one that comes back and finishes it, but it was going to be such a period of time the City didn’t want to hold all of my money until everybody decided what was going on. So they went ahead and paid me the partial payment and when I come back to do the rest of the job they will pay me the rest of my money. Commissioner Hudson said you know since the original thing there have been new members. So things did change because of that and because of public opinion on this process. We pretty much agree with what your original assessment was that the trees didn’t need to come down. Commissioner Hudson asked Mr. Carpenter had we pretty much concluded the first one and we’re moving from the first on. Mr. Carpenter said it is still an open bill it has not been closed off, and I have never considered it closed off. Mr. Carpenter said I’m waiting for you all to tell me what to do next. Mrs. Hudson said not closed off, but that one is concluded and whatever we do has to be a new thing. Mr. Carpenter said no, that was not what I was under the impression of. I was under the impression whenever you guys decide what you want to do. Mr. Carpenter said we stop for a little bit because the ground was to wet. I was told that I needed to wait until after the decoration and that was my fault. What happened over there it happened because everybody’s decoration was the week before Oakland’s. I went to the decorations and went back in after that and started doing the work and that decoration wasn’t until that following weekend- that was my bad. But I didn’t realize all the decorations were at a different time. As far as it being said “you have been paid for this- your done we will go from here” that has never been brought up to me at all in anyway. Chairman Harris said to Mr. Carpenter when you came out and visited with me at my office sometime in June, we discussed it in the fact that you wanted to cable and trim the trees, but at that time that wasn’t the censuses of what to do. Mr. Harris said I am pretty sure you told me then that you had no hard feelings against the City, you were satisfied, and the $5600 was a fair amount. Mr. Carpenter said he did not have any hard feelings toward the City. The amount was fair up to that point. Chairman Harris said I guess I didn’t understand that there was any commitment past that. Mr. Carpenter said I have never said okay I’ll step away and you can do what you want- it never came to that. I was asked to stop cutting on that Magnolia tree that I was cutting on. I was stop by Lequitta Jones and I asked her why and she said something came across her desk at 5:00 and we can’t cut down the tree until after we have a meeting on this. Mr. Carpenter said I said okay and what am I suppose to do. Ms. Jones said to clean it up and get everything done because it is going to be awhile. Mr. Carpenter said a final cleanup is a major ordeal on a tree job. So we did a final cleanup for decoration so it wouldn’t be a mess and all of that. I was told that I would be notified when I could come back and finish doing what I was doing. That is where I am at. 2 Commissioner Harris said who told you that. Director Jones said I did. Mr. Carpenter said Lequitta Jones said “after we all have our meeting”. Director Jones said Mayor Eaton sent out a memo and I have made a copy for each one of you along with Mr. Carpenter’s bid. Mayor Eaton said he wanted to share a little bit of information about this. This all was done because there were some meetings that took place where it was decided that they weren’t going to do what they said they were going to do. That is when Mr. Roys was Chairman. They had a meeting and they made one decision what they were going to do and then they turned around and started something else. I talked to Mr. Roys in my office and he said you are absolutely right that is what we decided, turned around the next meeting and they decided to go ahead with what they said they were going to do, which was to remove the trees. Mayor Eaton said this came about as a result of that after I found out that was what was taking place. Mayor Eaton said he found out about it when he just happened to drive out by the cemetery, the day that you all were taking the trees down. And that is the time that I put that letter out. And all of this came about as a result of phone calls. I thought people were going to commit suicide over what took place over at the cemetery. And it was a lot of public scrutiny, it went to the City Council, the City Council started raising cane about it and said we have got to get that stopped, and that is what happened. And since that time, we have had people resign over that off the board and everything else. We had new members. Part of the question of all this has been based upon some opinions that people got that were on the Board and we’ve heard discussion from those folks like the County Agent, where he said that he didn’t say what he was quoted to have said about the trees and their health. Mayor Eaton said he thinks Mr. Carpenter’s assessment and their heath was pretty much what we have heard from the arborist. Mayor Eaton said he didn’t know how or why or what was the defining thing that caused the Commission to change their point of view and decided that they wanted to cut down the trees. Mayor Eaton said that is how we got to where we are now. And we have gone through several meetings, obviously, since May and I think there were some decisions made that we were going to only do certain things with the trees and not continuing cutting them down. Mayor Eaton said it was based on the information that we received from the arborist and after there was some question about what the status of the trees were. Commissioner Harris said he came on the Board and was one of those that were complaining to the Mayor and City Council about cutting the trees and so was Commissioner Hudson. For a couple of months in there or so there were three people Mike Roys, Bill Harmon, and Bill Vaughn that resigned from the board shortly after all this started or probably right before it started taking place. They were involved in the decision to cut the trees and then they resigned for other reasons. Commission Petray said Anna Fields and I were involved in that too. Commissioner Petray said I don’t feel like this is quite fair. We discussed this for a year before. Mrs. Petray said this was taken to the City Council, which I’m sure the Mayor was there, and it was passed by the City Council and we were given the money to do it. Mrs. Petray said it is not all exactly like you are laying it out. Mr. Harris asked what he laid out wrong? Mrs. Petray said like everybody resigned because of that. Mr. Harris said I have been told by all three, two resigned because of Little Rock taking over the cemetery. Mayor Eaton said to Commissioner Petray that he hoped that wasn’t what you gathered from what I said. Mayor Eaton said I didn’t state that. Commission Petray said the City Council did vote on it and approved the money, so all the City Council knew it. Mayor Eaton said that was correct they did subsequent to that was when the outcry from the City Council members all took place. And that’s why it was put on hold. The same people that had approved doing what you said and that goes back to what I’m talking about what Mike Roys had indicated that they wanted done was a 180-degrees from what we had been told. 3 Chairman Harris said let me say one other thing about, sort of chronological possession. I’m trying to bring you all up to date a little bit. Commissioner Hudson said you are back to getting new board members. Chairman Harris said we had new Board Members and then probably August or September, I couldn’t find anyone that told me the trees were dead. Director Jones said to Chairman Harris that no one has ever said that those trees are dead. Mr. Harris said they were dangerous and dying. Commissioner Fields said we were trying to protect the monuments. Mr. Carpenter said the tree that I started working and was stopped on, that’s an embarrassment to me and my business, that’s a dagger in my heart to leave that tree like it is. Mr. Harris said we had the County Extension Agent, which I called him one afternoon before a board meeting and told him the facts that we were supposedly working on and he said I’ve never said that. I don’t know where you got that information that the trees, that the trees needed to be cut because they were dying or were going to die in the near future. That is when we asked the County Extension Agent to come here. Mr. Harris said Phil Sims told me he never recommended removing the four trees and said the trees need regular pruning, needs trimming, and dead wood needs to come out of them, etc.etc…, and during that time also I had an arborist from the U of A who is head of the State Arborist Forestry, she came over and looked at the trees and basically said the same thing. I had two other people that looked at them and said they needed trimming etc...etc… so we hired an arborist on September 17. We voted as a Commission to trim #2 by an arborist, voted to trim the oak tree so we voted as a Commission to trim those two trees and trim by an arborist because of the lady at the U of A recommended it very highly. So that is where we are right now. Mr. Carpenter said he thought he was going to trim and the arborist was going to be there is what I was told when I talked to you (Chairman Harris) on the phone and that you were going to pay this arborist $35.00 hourly. Mr. Harris said that could be an option. Mr. Carpenter said so pretty much you guys just took Albert’s Curbside out of the mix is what it sound like you are saying to me. Mr. Harris said we were advised by an expert to have an arborist trim the trees. Commissioner Petray asked Mr. Harris if it makes any difference, it’s not John Carpenters fault and his wife’s, that three of the members that voted on this to begin with are gone. It makes no difference. We still made the deal with him and we need to stand up for what we said that we would do and if it’s to trim with an arborist there- that’s fine. I’m not saying cut them down. This is not good business. Chairman Harris asked Mr. Carpenter if he had changed his proposal? Mr. Carpenter said no that he had not changed anything. Mr. Carpenter said I am not the one that has changed anything the City is the one that has changed it. Director Jones said Mr. Carpenter’s bid was to cut them. Mr. Harris said I know that. Mayor Eaton said that is out of the question. Commissioner Petray said that is not his fault. Mayor Eaton said nobody is saying that it is anybody’s fault. We are saying the whole perspective on this changed and that’s not anybody’s fault. There is not a sole here or a sole that has left or these folks that did the work. Chairman Harris said I thought you were coming to the meeting today adjusting your bid for what we have decided to do. Mr. Carpenter said I drove 700 miles to come to this meeting. Mr. Carpenter said I don’t want my name tarnished because of that half tree. Director Jones asked do we have a problem with the arborist assisting Albert’s. Mr. Carpenter said it sound like he has the same ideas that I have because he is saying the same thing that I said in the beginning. Mr. Harris said I don’t have a problem with the arborist consulting Mr. Carpenter. Mr. Harris said I asked Mr. Gibby “tell me the truth how does that work if you are consulting and you are working with a guy that is actually doing the work in reality does that work”. Mr. Gibby said he had had good experience with them in the past. Mr. Carpenter said we had work with an arborist. Mr. Carpenter said he knew Lake Gibby. Chairman Harris said he seems very qualified and he wants to save the trees. Commissioner Hudson asked Mr. Carpenter if he had a bid for the pruning. Mr. Carpenter said I need to know what you want to 4 prune. Mr. Harris told Mr. Carpenter he would need to talk to Mr. Gibby specifically, but on the big magnolia on 8th Street we are talking; end weight reduction, removing dead branches, excess water sprouts, and raising the canopy to approx. 9 feet. On the willow oak it’s basically the same thing just doesn’t have end weight reduction. On the magnolia tree the end weight reduction the canopy will help that a little bit, but there is one big branch coming out of the northeast side of that magnolia that we are talking about. It does have a fair amount of decay in it. Mr. Carpenter said it is going to leave a big gaping hole. Commissioner Fields said she would like to get out of this without any hard feelings. We have tried so hard. We have tried to pacify people about the trees, but our concerns have been about the monuments. Mr. Harris said the arborist came out and looked at the half-tree magnolia and he said “thanks for meeting me at the Oakland Cemetery today. I have attached our proposal for the removal of the half magnolia; again, I would recommend retaining it and monitoring its health while it tries to branch back out. Please let me know what you guys decide”. Mr. Harris said since we have taken the recommendation of the arborist on the other tree, Mr. Harris said he would recommend we do the same with this tree. Mr. Carpenter asked Chairman Harris for a copy of what Mr. Gibby has suggested that needs to be done so he can prepare a bid. Mr. Carpenter said when John Harris notified him I thought that was what we were going to do was have an arborist come out and I do the work and the arborist was to be paid $35.00 hourly to stand there and watch me cut trees. Chairman Harris said what we need is what Mr. Carpenter is going to charge to trim those two trees. Mr. Carpenter said removal and haul off everything off is that correct? Director Jones asked Mr. Harris are we not going to have to have a release per City Attorney Smith before we can move forward. Chairman Harris said it is my understanding we don’t. Director Jones asked who told you that we didn’t need a release. Mr. Harris said City Attorney Smith did this afternoon. Commissioner Petray said City Attorney Smith said we had to have a release. Mr. Carpenter said I just think it is funny that you can just have someone doing something and you can just say, hey, we are not going to use you. Commission Petray said that is not right. Chairman Harris said I would agree that’s not the normal way to do business. Mr. Carpenter said you don’t do your car lot that way and I don’t do my tree service that way. Mr. Harris said he agreed, but the situation changed so much here it went from cutting all the trees and getting them out of there, to half the board resigning, new board coming on half of it, and the decision not to remove the trees to trimming the trees. Mr. Carpenter said the contractor should not be change because of that. The same contractor can do what you are asking to be done. Mr. Carpenter said you guys want the change not the contractor. Director Jones said she personally would like City Attorney Smith to come back to the next meeting before a decision is made and tell us we don’t have to have a release from Mr. Carpenter because I am not comfortable with hearsay especially after City Attorney Smith said we had to have a release. I would like to get it on tape from Mr. Smith that we do not need a release then this Commission is covered. Chairman Harris told Mr. Carpenter that he had no problem with him working with Lake Gibby. Chairman Harris said first of all telling us what it is going to cost working with Lake Gibby, you trimming the trees as Mr. Gibby has pointed out, very similar to what you have talked about, is that correct. Mr. Carpenter said from what I understand, yes. Mr. Carpenter said he wants it noted for the record what Mr. Gibby wants me to do that I’m not responsible; that it will fall back on Mr. Gibby should a tree die. 5 Mr. Harris said what I am waiting for then, you will have to meet with Mr. Gibby and further clarify what the bid would be from you to do the things that he is talking about. Mr. Carpenter said I need to see what Mr. Gibby is going to do because I don’t want to do more than what he is, if he says he will do them for $2500 and I say I will do them for $3000 I want to make sure I’m doing what he says is the same as he is going to do. I don’t want to do more or less. Director Jones told Chairman Harris there is such a thing that is called specs and we need to set down and write down what we want them to do. Mr. Harris said that is laid out right here. Mr. Harris said we don’t need to write specs this proposal (Gibby’s) includes cleanup and removal of all debris from work preformed. Mr. Harris said it does not include stump grinding he does not do stump grinding. Commissioner Hudson said tree grinding is not necessary because we are not taking the trees down. Mr. Harris wrote out the proposal and handed them to Mr. Carpenter. Mr. Harris stated that the proposal was the same requirement as in Mr. Gibby’s August 19th Proposal for the 8th Street Magnolia and Willow Oak. For the Record: No copy of the written proposal was supplied to the Commission. The Fifth Order of Business A request for approval to remove or trim the magnolia tree #3 that is partially cut on Detroit. Mr. Harris said we have a recommendation from the arborist: retaining it and monitoring its health while it tries to branch back out. Mr. John Carpenter said you do not want to do anything to that tree? Director Jones said it should be pruned up and other commissioners agreed. Commissioner Hudson made the motion to trim like we rendered earlier. Commissioner Fields seconded the motion. Commissioner Petray said for the record should this tree die that Albert’s Curbside Service is not liable. The motion passed unanimously. The Sixth Order of Business an update on the request from Claude Allen Hughes Family to disinter and reinter Claude Hughes, Jr. and wife Mary Hughes. Jones Waiting for a signed letter from the Hughes Family. New Business The First Order of Business Commissioners submit any nominee(s) to fill the vacancy left by Mr. Hlass. - None The Second Order of Business was to discuss items not on the agenda. The Third Order of Business was to prepare items for handoff to City Council for its December 19, 2013 Meeting. - None Adjourned. 6