Board of Directors

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY OF SILOAM SPRINGS, BENTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, HELD JANUARY 3, 2023 The City of Siloam Springs, Arkansas, met in regular session at the City of Siloam Springs Administration Building on January 3, 2023. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Judy Nation. Roll Call: Allen, Carroll, Hunt, Rissler, Blair- Finn, Wiles, Smiley— Present. City Representatives Present: Phillip Patterson, City Administrator; Renea Ellis, City Clerk; Chief Jeremey Criner, Fire Department; Chief Allan Gilbert, Police Department; Don Clark, Community Development Director; Steve Gorszczyk, Public Works Director; Christina Petriches, Finance Director; and Kevin Moore, City Engineer. Opening prayer. Director Carroll led the opening prayer. The mayor led the Pledge of Allegiance. The mayor apologized for starting a couple of minutes late but stated she had received news that her neighbor of almost 50 years had just passed away; said she would try to maintain her composure and appreciated the patience. Swearing in: The city clerk administered the Oath of Office to Director Mindy Hunt. Directors Wiles, Blair-Finn and Rissler had previously taken the Oath. All four were welcomed by Nation. At this time an election of a vice mayor was held. A motion was made by Ken Wiles to elect David Allen as vice mayor. A motion was made by Carol Smiley to re-elect Reid Carroll as vice mayor. The mayor asked for a roll call vote on Allen' s nomination. Motion passed 4- 3 with Smiley, Hunt and Carroll voting no. The mayor asked if there were any comments from the audience regarding an item not on the City' s agenda. Arthur Hulbert with the Chamber of Commerce came forward and announced the winners of the Holly Jolly Deck the House contest and presented each with a check for$ 100 along with a$ 100 check to the grand prize winner. Winners were: Ward 1, Amanda Hittson; Ward 2, Mel Phillips; Ward 3, Lyle Winters; and Ward 4 Stanley Church. The grand prize winner was Mel Phillips. James McGuirk, 412 W. University, said the mayor can' t veto something the Board did not approve and that she was breaking the law spending taxpayers' money that she' s not allowed to spend; that Carroll didn' t control the last meeting; and stated he believed Carroll should not vote on any item that had to do with Main Street due to a conflict. Larry Kennemore, 207 Western Hills Drive, stated there was a sad state of the Board; paraphrased comments made by former Director Brad Burns with regard to being respectful of each other and thanked Director Mindy Hunt for her comments about being a team; admonished Board of Directors Meeting Minutes Page 12 January 3, 2023 the lack of order at the December 20, 2022, meeting and Carroll for his apology to Main Street; and commented on former Director Sappington addressing the audience asking to show respect. 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/ December 20, 2022 B. Dedication of Utility Easements and Right- of-Way/ 910 Raines Road C. Dedication of Utility Easements/ and Right-of-Way 1504 East Kenwood Street D. Dedication of Utility Easements/ 21000 Block of Arkansas Highway 16 E. Dedication of Utility Easements and Right-of-Way/ 2795 and 2831 Waukesha Road F. Dedication of Utility Easements/ 825 and 833 West Granite Street G. Res 01- 23 Amending certain purchasing requirements for Utility Inventory A motion was made by Smiley and seconded by Allen to approve the Consent Agenda. Nation asked for a roll call vote. Motion passed unanimously. Item H: Resolution 02- 23/ Procedures and Organizational Matters of the Board of Directors. Phillip Patterson briefed the item. A motion was made by Smiley and seconded by Carroll to approve the item. Carroll withdrew his second to allow for discussion. Allen made a motion amend the motion to include changes on a list he gave to the city clerk to hand out, (a copy of which is attached hereto), which was seconded by Rissler. Following lengthy discussion, including the number of votes needed to pass motions; the mayor' s power of veto; and if the Board could include language that was more stringent than state laws; when the packet was received; and if additional language conforming with state statutes could be added. Blair made a motion to include language in A. C. A. § 21- 8- 304( a), which was seconded by Wiles. A motion was made by Hunt to table the item to the January 17th meeting to allow staff to provide a copy of the resolution with redactions to the Board for consideration; seconded by Wiles. Motion carried 5- 2 with Rissler and Allen voting no. Item I: Resolution 03- 23 / 2023 Budget Amendment/ Part- time Employees. Christina Petriches briefed the item. Rissler asked for a breakdown of how FD' s wages were calculated for hourly and salaried employees. A motion was made by Smiley and seconded by Rissler to approve the item. Motion passed unanimously. Item J: Patterson pointed out that a copy of the November 2022 financials had been provided and any questions should be directed to him or Christina Petriches. Item K: Administrator' s Report: Patterson reviewed the Administrator' s report attached hereto, and congratulated the newly elected and re- elected Board members. Williams expanded on the Lockhart vs. the City of Siloam Springs, et. al lawsuit for clarification. Board of Directors Meeting Minutes Page 13 January 3, 2023 Directors reports: Hunt thanked the participants, Chamber and judges for the work on the Holly Jolly Deck the House contest and congratulated the winners; wished everyone a Happy New Year and that the Board work together for and on behalf of the citizens. Wiles said he appreciated all the support and encouragement he had received after his announcement he was running for Ward 2; that it was an honor to be seated; that he sees it as a duty and a privilege and he hoped there would be much communication between him and the citizens; and asked that we all work together. Blair thanked Sappington for comments calling for order and respect at the December 20th meeting, and stated she had big shoes to fill; thanked the citizens for allowing her to be in that position; that she was here for the citizens; and she takes the opportunity very seriously. Rissler wished everyone New Year blessings; said she was always prayerful when making her decisions; including serving the position in a Godly manner; representing all citizens; asked again about reconsidering the" buy all, sell all" ordinance with regard to solar energy and bringing the museum under the city as a department; encouraged participation in the Daddy/ Daughter Dance and asked about a mother/ son dance; pointed out the citywide prayer was Saturday at 9:00 am at the Chamber of Commerce and gave a background of how it started; and thanked those who kept the Board in prayer. Nation thanked former Director Marla Sappington for her service to the city in the past four years and that she knew her heart was in every decision. Carroll congratulated Rebecca Pressley, RN, on her receipt of the 2022 Nursing Excellence Award, and that it was one of ten awards handed out nationally; asked that quarterly reports from Main Street, the Chamber and Museum include a little report on where they are and where they' re going; and wished everyone a Happy New Year. Smiley said Christmas trees could be dropped off at the County satellite office on Ashely Street for recycling; pointed out several events going on at the library this week; and expressed hope that everyone have a great 2023 starting out with peace and love for our neighbors. Allen acknowledged the Chamber for its work on the Holly Jolly Deck the House contest; congratulated the winners; congratulated Blair and Wiles for being here; said he appreciated the quick response by the city to citizen concerns; pointed out a favorite employee in sanitation; and wished everyone a Happy New Year 2023. Condolences were extended to Mayor Nation; and all were in favor of bringing resolution to the Board at the next meeting to determine a representative to attend the settlement conference in the Lockhart case. With no further business, a motion to adjourn was made by Allen and seconded by Smiley. Nation called for a voicevote. Motion passed unanimously. pRPp Z , Meeting adjourned. O ATTEST: APPROVED: St% , 1110 ARKto enea Ellis, City Clerk, CAM4 J y ation, ayor c. ry4, G D E S S  tket t ACC ii 'SFAA0faSe c a u -e 6-5. as Board Rules - Amendments 6. Presentation of Agenda Items: 1. Call to order... 6. Presentations ( was moved by Patterson) 8. Regularly scheduled items- Contracts and Approvals moved here ( not under consent agenda) 6. c. Agenda Additions: All board meeting agendas and all packet information, including but not limited to presentation material and staff report items, will be posted for the board and public on the city website, no later than 7 days prior to said meeting date. . Any board member or the Mayor may add a new item to the agenda, as long as it is within 48 hours in advance of the date the agenda is posted publicly. Upon the request of two board members, a new item may be added to the agenda during a meeting if it requires immediate board of directors consideration. Minutes of the previous meetings of the Planning Commission, Parks Advisory Board, and any other board or commission which is appointed by the Mayor or Board of Directors or City Administrator will be provided in the board packet online. Minutes of the previous meetings of any board or group which receives city money from a contract for services will be provided in the board packet online. 6. d. Old Business and New Business ( Procedure) 1. Presentation by Staff and Applicants ( no change) 2. The Board of directors is given the opportunity for discussion and questions to the staff and/ or applicants regarding the agenda item. 3. Public Comments. ( no change) B. DUTIES & PRIVILEGES... 1. Seating The board of directors shall occupy the respective seats in the boardroom in order of position numbers 1- 7. ( only first sentence changed) 4. Voting only last 2 sentences changed) Suspending the rules and reading an ordinance by title only requires a simply majority ( 4 affirmative votes). An Emergency Clause requires 5 votes to pass. 5. Quorum A majority of the Board of Directors shall be necessary to constitute a quorum to do business. rest of paragraph is unnecessary and deleted) C. 1. b. Mayor' s Veto Power: The Mayor has the power to veto any ordinance, resolution or order ( other than personnel) passed by a majority of the Board of Directors and/ or adopted by the Board of directors within five ( 5) days of the board of directors vote, at which time the Mayor shall file in the city clerk' s office a written statement of reasons for the veto. The Mayor' s veto statement will be communicated to the board of directors by the city clerk immediately upon her receipt of the statement of veto. At the first Board of directors meeting following the veto, the Board may override the veto by a two-thirds majority( 5 affirmative votes). D. 1. Agenda- replacing last sentence) Any board member or the Mayor may add a new item to the agenda, as long as it is within 48 hours in advance of the date the agenda is posted publicly. Upon the request of two board members, a new item may be added to the agenda during a meeting if it requires immediate board of directors consideration. E. INTERNAL BOARDS, COMMITTEES, COMMISSIONS AND APPOINTMENTS: 2. The deadline date for acceptance of applicants of public individuals to be appointed to city commissions, boards, committees or any other appointments shall be communicated to the board of directors in a clear and separate email. All applications for these positions shall be provided to the board of directors upon request, and the applications for the final choices shall be emailed to the board of directors before the appointments are included in the board packet.  Pr41 Siloam Springs ITN' Of Administrator' s Report January 3, 2023 1. Expenditures: 39, 641. 00— Electric— 2023 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad 4x4 truck Per Resolution 43- 22 95, 766. 00— Water Department— 264 5/ 8" x'4" AMI Water Meters/ Inventory 2. Utility Commission— the 1• meeting of the Utility Commission is scheduled for January 28th at 5: 30 pm at City Hall. 3. Community Survey— the final report is scheduled to be completed in mid-January and staff will be scheduling a workshop to have consult review the survey results with the Board in February. 4. Court Work Hours Adjusted Current hours— 8- 5/ 1 hour lunch for employees; Court Building currently open to public from 8- 4 daily; Office and court room need to be open prior to people arriving, and to give court staff time to prep for opening; As of January 3`d court office hours will change to 7: 30-4:30 with building remaining open to the public from 8- 4 5. NW Arkansas Land Trust Workshop— staff has scheduled a Board workshop with the NWA Land Trust for January 17d' to discuss the deeding of a conservation easement on approximately 331 acres of the 453 acres in Oklahoma owned by the Siloam Springs Water Resource Company. 6. Lockhart vs. City of Siloam Springs Update—( City Attorney)— Settlement Conference scheduled for January 19, 2023 at 9:00 AM at the U. S. Federal Building, 35 E. Mountain, Fayetteville, AR. As a public entity, the Mayor and a quorum of the City Board of Directors, who have complete authority to agree to a settlement, are required by the Court to attend, or a representative given such authority by the Board may be required to attend. Page I of 2