Board of Directors

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY OF SILOAM SPRINGS, BENTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, HELD APRIL 19, 2022 The City of Siloam Springs, Arkansas, met in regular session at the City of Siloam Springs Administration Building on April 19, 2022. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Judy Nation at 6: 30 pm. Roll Call: Smiley, Burns, Hunt, Rissler, Sappington, Carroll— Present. Allen— Absent. City Representatives Present: Phillip Patterson, City Administrator; Renea Ellis, City Clerk; Chief Jeremey Criner, Fire Department; Capt. Scott Miller, Police Department; Ben Rhoads, Sr. City Planner; Steve Gorszczyk, Public Works Director; Phil Stokes, Electric Director; Christina Petriches, Finance Director; and Jay Williams, City Attorney. Opening prayer. Director Carroll led the opening prayer. The mayor led the Pledge of Allegiance. Public Input: The mayor asked if there was anyone in the audience who would like to address the Board on any item not on the regular agenda. No one came forward. The mayor asked if there were any comments from the audience regarding an item on the Consent agenda. No one came forward. Consent Agenda: A. Regular Meeting Minutes/ April 5, 2022 B. Contract/ Compensation Study Plan/ JER HR Group/$ 55, 200 C. Dedication of Utility Easements and Right- of-Way/ 1303 Brashears Rd. A motion was made by Smiley and seconded by Carroll to approve the remaining Consent Agenda items. Nation asked for a roll call vote. Motion passed unanimously. Recognizing 40-year employee/ Dale Bennett/ Water Treatment Plant Operator. Steve Gorszczyk introduced Bennett and gave a background of his employment with the city. The mayor expressed her appreciation to Bennett and presented him with a plaque in recognition of his service. Bennett then received a standing ovation from the audience. Police Department/ Introduction of New Officers. Captain Scott Miller introduced the newest graduates from the police academy. They are: Chris Ramon; Joshua Carlock; Edgar Galvez- Lua; Cesar Barrientos; and Christian Carter. The officers received applause from the audience. The Mayor pointed out how exciting it was to have new employees and a 40-year employee recognized. Board of Directors Meeting Minutes Page 12 April 19, 2022 Item D: Ordinance 22- 09 / 2nd Reading/ Amending Section 102- 21 of the City Municipal Code/ Rezoning from C- 2 to R-O/ 799 South Lincoln Street. Ben Rhoads briefed the item. A motion was d made by Smiley and seconded by Hunt to place Ordinance 22- 09 on its 2nd and 3' reading, suspending the rules and reading by title only. Motion passed unanimously. An ordinance entitled: An Ordinance Amending Section 102- 21 of the Siloam Springs Municipal Code City Zoning Map); Rezoning( From C- 2 to R- O) property located at 799 South Lincoln Street; was read on its second and third reading. A motion to adopt Ordinance 22- 09 was made by Smiley and seconded by Hunt. Motion passed unanimously. Item E: Ordinance 22- 10/ 2nd Reading/ Electrical Department/ Code Amendment/ Sec. 98- 75. 1. — Service extension fees. Phil Stokes briefed the item. A motion was made by Smiley and seconded by Burns to place Ordinance 22- 10 on its 2nd reading, suspending the rules and reading by title only. Motion passed unanimously. An ordinance entitled: An Ordinance Amending Section 98- 75. 1 of the Siloam Springs Municipal Code for the Purposes of Updating Terms of Service and Rates for Service Extension Fees; was read on its second reading. Item F: Offer from the Oklahoma Secretary of Energy and Environment Department and the Grand River Dam Authority to purchase Siloam Springs Water Resource Company Property in Oklahoma. Phillip Patterson briefed the item. Hunt was in favor of the sale with some of the money being earmarked for streets; Burns also was in favor of the sale with the money being earmarked for the engineering design for Sager Creek; Smiley spoke in favor ofthe sale with conservation and protection of the water source being maintained; Sappington wasn' t in favor or the sale saying it was a precious commodity that couldn' t be replaced, and that she thought if sold, the terms of the sale should be very specific; Carroll indicated he would like to move forward, that we should proceed with caution and insure the wetlands and overall property be protected; Rissler agreed that protecting the water source was important and Sager Creek was important, that we should conserve the integrity of the property and seek the best price for the property; Ed Fite with GRDA and formerly the Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission, gave a thorough background of the subject property and what he believed GRDA' s intentions for the property were. Permanent$ 0.01 Sales Tax. Phillip Patterson gave an overview of the tax' s past uses and presented three options for the Board' s consideration. Comments were received from the Board with the general consensus that the public needed to be involved, and option 3 was the preference with an increase in the amount of money streets would receive, while maintaining a specific portion of the tax for public safety. Item S: Administrator' s Report: Patterson reviewed with the Board the items on the attached report; reported that the State 911 Board had voted to fund three( 3) PSAPs in Benton County. All directors Board of Directors Meeting Minutes Page 13 April 19, 2022 were in favor of pursuing a PSAP in Siloam Springs, some indicating it was important even if it were self- funded. The mayor thanked Sam Dee for his time with the city; thanked Dale Bennett for his dedication to the city; thanked the PD for introducing the new officers and congratulated the same; congratulated the electric department on its award; and thanked Fite for his attendance and discussion. Directors Report: Hunt also congratulated Dee and Bennett; welcomed the new officers; congratulated the electric department; and stated recent family visitors had enjoyed their time in the city. Burns stated it was good to be a city employee; pointed out the tourism ads that were placed as part of the 2021 Board goals; said he appreciated the discussion at the recent workshop; congratulated city staff for its team concept; and said he was excited for the Dogwood Festival this weekend. Sappington said she enjoys healthy discussion; is passionate about Siloam and the environment and that we should be good stewards; said it was good to see Dale Bennett; said she was blessed to have the family that she has; and announced that she has lost vision in her right eye and partial vision in her left, but she' ll hang in there and would appreciate support. Rissler reminded everyone of the Dogwood Festival this weekend. Carroll said we had a tremendous opportunity to be on display this weekend and let the rest of the area, region and world know who we are and what we are capable of. The mayor said she would be emceeing the pancake eating contest this weekend and how, when speaking with IHOP, they had expressed they are overwhelmed by their acceptance in our community and thanked the community for their support. Smiley said the Dogwood Festival was one of her favorite times of year; that the dogwoods are blooming; congratulated Bennett for his 40 years; thanked Sam Dee; thanked Patterson for the updates; enjoyed the introduction to the new officers; and let the public know there was still time to give input on the Comprehensive Plan on the city' s website. With no further business, a Motion to adjourn was made by Smiley and seconded by Hunt. A voice vote was called. Motion passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned. ATTEST: APPROVED: I Renea Ellis, City Clerk, CAMC/ CMC dy ation, . yor U\\\ 1i11U11U(! q// SEAL} CITY c r ` UN1 ii11111I1;;, . yy` o 0 tea J © : 7n' P GS `' i Womp1I1111Pi\\ i\\`.,'• ' 9// IfTkA; 0//// 0 111111111 0,  11) () E S nOam' Spr ( irig S op Administrator' s Report April 19, 2022 1. Expenditures: 34, 200. 00— Airport- Jet Fuel 49, 900. 00— Public Works/ Water Treatment Plant— Repair of roof on operations building and replacement of roof on office Building and shop building. 52, 075. 00— Electric— 1 Bull Wheel Tensioner Trailer T50/ 52 and delivery charge( Sourcewell Contract)— Depreciation Fund Per Resolution 61- 21 95, 550. 00— Electric— 30 37. 5kva 240/ 120 1PH Pad Mount Transformers— Inventory 99, 120. 00— Electric— 28 50kva 240/ 120 1 PH Pad Mount Transformers— Inventory NOTE: All transformers will be scheduled in first available product slot in 2023. 2. March 2022 Tax Receipts City Month up 7. 6% YTD up 15. 6% County Month up 6. 13% YTD up 2. 52% 3. Level 2 EV Charging Station Use: Since April 2021, the charging station has been used a total of 47 times for a total charging time of 67. 5 hours consuming a total of 419 kWh. The average charge is almost 1. 5 hours. 4. The American Public Power Association' s Certificate of Excellence in Reliability recognize community- owned electric utilities with a System Average Interruption Duration Index that falls into the top quartile for all electrical utilities in the nation. One of the 199 recipients of the 2021 Excellence in Reliability Certificate is the Siloam Springs Electrical Department. Siloam Springs SAIDI= 97. 46, which is how long the average customer was without power during the year. Average in our area was 260. 8. 5. The Arkansas Department of Agriculture Forestry Division will be sponsoring" Free Tree Friday' s". The giveaway in Siloam Springs will be held on April 29, 2022, in the Library parking lot from 10:00 am to 1: 00 pm. ( white oak, bald cypress, and persimmon/ species may vary based on availability/ Limit 5 seedlings per person) 6. Critical Incident Debriefing/ Acts 747 and 921 of 2021— Act 747 requires a law enforcement agency to adopt a policy that may require an officer who has been involved in a critical incident to participate in a debriefing by a mental health professional or a certified peer support member. Action 921 requires a local government that maintains a fire department to make available to a firefighter who has been involved in a or a certified critical incident that opportunity to participate in a debriefing by a mental health professional  peer support member. Both acts require the local government to financially assist an officer or a firefighter who has been involved in a critical incident in obtaining additional services what may assist the individual in recovering from psychological effects resulting from the critical incident. A critical incident is defined as an event that has a stressful impact sufficient to overwhelm a person' s usually effective coping skills, including an event that falls outside the range of ordinary human experience. In order to comply with these requirements, staff is in the process of contracting with a mental health professional that has specific training and experience to deal with these types of traumatic events. The City will provide a pre- determined number of counseling sessions with the mental health professional, any additional sessions will be at the expense of the employee. We recognize that our officers and firefighters are exposed to critical incidents more frequently; however, other city employees can face the same or similar critical incidents while in the performance of their assigned duties, and we are drafting a policy to make this service available to all employees. 7. PSAP Update- Today, the State 9 1 1 Board voted to fund 3 PSAPs in Benton County. 8. Sam Dee, IT Manager, is retiring at the end of the month with 16 years of service to the City.