Board of Directors

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY OF SILOAM SPRINGS, BENTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, HELD AUGUST 15, 2023 The City of Siloam Springs, Arkansas, met in regular session at the City of Siloam Springs Administration Building on August 15, 2023. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Judy Nation. Roll Call: Carroll, Smiley, Hunt, Wiles, Blair, Rissler— Present. Allen— Absent. City Representatives Present: Allan Gilbert, City Administrator; Jay Williams, City Attorney; Renea Ellis, City Clerk; Kevin Moore, City Engineer; Ben Rhoads, Sr. City Planner; and Meagan Thomas, City Planner. Director Wiles led the opening prayer. Mayor Nation led the Pledge of Allegiance. Nation asked if there were any comments from the audience regarding an item not on the City' s agenda. Todd Varnado, 507 N. Madison, thanked the mayor and board for the work they do for the city and presented slides of the sidewalk in front of his house and asked that the city repair the same sooner than later. Blake Jones told the audience that Allan Gilbert had been found guilty of violating" Mr. Lockhart' s" civil rights by charging him with DWI and gave an overview of the court proceedings. Presentation. Bryan Minnis of Maxim Golf gave an update on the Siloam Springs Golf Course; asked about the possibility of equipment sharing; stated that the needs were greater than were assessed; and asked the Board if the City would be willing to make another$ 50K dollar investment to get the greens restored. Hunt, Smiley and Carroll all spoke about the importance of the golf course in the community; Carroll asked if the community would be asked for additional funds; Blair asked what made Minnis think that with the additional money, the golf course would rise above this year' s shortfall and if the City could loan the money at no interest. Minnis said with his experience, he would stake his reputation on the course being viable next year; that Simmons had already agreed to donate an additional $ 10K; and that the course was not playable with the greens in their current condition. Williams advised the City could not loan public funds. All members of the Board agreed that Gilbert should look at possible ways to make an additional investment. 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/ August 1, 2023 B. Dedication of Utility Easements/ 1000 to 1100 Block of Cheri Whitlock Parkway C. Dedication of Utility Easements and Right- of-Way/ 2800 Waukesha Road D. Dedication of Utility Easements and Right-of-Way/ 20927 Keck Road Board of Directors Meeting Minutes Page 1 2 August 15, 2023 E. Airport Ground Lease/ 8100 sq ft building with P& P Holdings LLC Director Hunt asked that Item E be pulled from the agenda. A motion to approve the remaining items on the consent agenda was made by Smiley and seconded by Carroll. Motion passed unanimously. Item E. Hunt asked for clarification as to where the hangar was being built. James Harris, Community Services Manager, advised it would be close to Highway 59. A motion to approve the ground lease was made by Carroll and seconded by Smiley. Motion passed unanimously. F. Ordinance 23- 20/ 2nd Reading/ Amending Section 102-21 of the City Municipal Code/ Rezoning from R- 2 to C- 1 / 2600 Block of North Country Club Drive. Ben Rhoads briefed the item. Misti Stephens, 1701 Villa View, asked that the Board place the item on its second and third reading. A motion was made by Smiley and seconded by Hunt to place Ordinance 23- 20 on its second and third reading, suspending the rules and reading by title only. Motion passed unanimously. An ordinance entitled: An Ordinance Amending Section 102- 21 of the City Municipal Code / Rezoning from R- 2 to C- 1 / 2600 Block of North Country Club Drive; was on its second and third reading. A motion to adopt Ordinance 23- 20 was made by Smiley and seconded by Hunt. Motion passed unanimously. G. Ordinance 23- 21 / 2nd Reading / Amending Section 102- 21 of the City Municipal Code / Rezoning from C- 2 to I- 1 / 2000 Block of Brashears Road. Maegan Thomas briefed the matter. A motion to place Ordinance 23- 21 on its second reading, suspending the rules and reading title only, was made by Smiley and seconded by Hunt. Motion passed unanimously. An ordinance entitled: An Ordinance Amending Section 102- 21 of the City Municipal Code / Rezoning from C- 2 to I- 1 / 2000 Block of Brashears Road; was on its second reading. H. Sanitation Discussion: Gilbert announced that this item was being pulled from the agenda. I. June Financials. A copy of the June financials had been provided. Gilbert said any questions should be directed to Christina Petriches. J. Administrator' s Report. Gilbert reviewed the report attached hereto. The mayor encouraged the audience to attend the Town Hall meeting on the 24th and said it should be very enlightening. Board of Directors Meeting Minutes Page 3 August 15, 2023 Directors Reports. Hunt thanked the electric department for their quick response to outages following last weekend' s storms and said she appreciated citizens expressing their appreciation as well and thanked the first responders for their quick action at the Kayak Park; pointed out that Parks& Rec was having a Latin dance series and encouraged citizens to check out all the activities Parks & Rec was offering; and thanked Main Street, the Chamber and the City for their collaboration on 4th Friday. Wiles commended staff on the work they do and said they were the city to the city' s success; it was nice having the rain, but it had brought about power outages and caused the incident at the Kayak Park. Blair said she had visited Sanitation and that there were only 20 recycling bins left until the end of the year and thought that more needed to be purchased to allow people to separate their recyclables; pointed out the Animal Shelter needs volunteers and toys, and pointed out you could sign up at NWATailwaggers.org or sign up at the shelter. Rissler with the sanitation trucks being down if it would affect commercial customers. Gilbert said it would and staff was looking at a possible budget amendment to get another truck to help with the situation, and we need patience. Rissler asked if there were other resources available, possibly borrowing a truck from another department; and stated people have been patient; and thanked the electric department for restoring power during the recent outages. Carroll announced school is back in session; that two weeks ago a car hit a telephone pole and within four minutes police and electric was there and replaced the pole before noon; was a testament on who we are and how we take care of things; he was proud to be a part of the city; and was looking forward to a crisp morning tomorrow. Smiley wished the students a successful year and reminded the audience to be on the lookout for kids and be aware of the traffic since school has restarted; and also spoke on the Shelter needing volunteers, treats, toys, dog walking was a great exercise and that cats need socialization as well. Williams addressed the comments that were made earlier by Blake Jones. He stated they were untrue; that all charges were dismissed; that Mr. Lockhart brought a case in Federal Court citing civil rights violations; that the officer acted properly; the City filed a Motion for Summary Judgment and that many of the causes of action were dismissed; some were vague and the matter would be heard on appeal in the Eighth Circuit Court and we are hopeful that no merit will be found and the case dismissed; if not, the case will go back to the trial court and if no settlement reached, would be vigorously defended. Gilbert also pointed out that this matter happened before his tenure with the city; that he had reviewed all the information and supported the officer. With no further business, a motion to adjourn was made by Smiley and seconded by Carroll. Nation called for a vote. Motion passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned. ATTEST: APPROVED: 26-C; Afk. .."- a-- 1, t4 otounitollo Fcn enea Ellis, City Clerk, CAMC/ CM,Ga%uuwuuiu,,,,, J ation, Mayor S'l CITY C'% unrnnmm- 46 ARK;„, n mmnmmr S  CITY OF Siloam Springs Administrator' s Report August 15, 2023 Expenditures: In excess of$ 30, 000 37, 968—( gty12) 37. 5kva 240/ 120 1 PH Pad Mount Transformer- Electric 32, 250— 1500 Tons of 67 Stone for General Line Extension- Electric Per Resolution 34- 23 None 1. Approved site plan revision for expansion of patio at Wienerschnitzel. The additional patio area reflects a 0. 7% change to the overall site plan and was recommended by staff. 2. Approved site plan revision for Siloam Springs School District Admin Building. Relocating dumpster enclosure as well as expanding enclosure to screen the generator. The additional space increases the total lot coverage and reflects a 1% change to the overall site plan that was previously approved. Staff recommended approval. 3. Hispanic Heritage Festival is being planned for 9/ 16/ 23. We' ve changed the time to 2pm— 8pm to beat the heat and allow for better placement of food trucks. We already have over 50 vendors and music planned. Look forward to a special announcement tomorrow afternoon on music for the festival. 4. A Town Hall Meeting is being hosted by the Community Development Department August 24th from 5: 30— 7PM at the Siloam Springs Public Library. 5. Siloam Springs will host the annual fall conference of the Arkansas City Management Association October 25th through 27d'. Staff has begun planning and look forward to showing off the best of Siloam Springs. Page 1