Board of Directors

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY OF SILOAM SPRINGS, BENTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, HELD FEBRUARY 6, 2024 The City of Siloam Springs, Arkansas, met in regular session at the City of Siloam Springs Administration Building on February 6, 2024. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Judy Nation. Roll Call: Blair, Wiles, Hunt, Rissler, Carroll, and Allen— present. Smiley— Absent. City Representatives Present: Allan Gilbert, City Administrator; Scott Miller, Police Chief; Kris Paxton, Community Development Director; Barbara Rivera, Executive Assistant; Kevin Moore, City Engineer; Ben Rhoads, Senior Planner; and Meagan Thomas, City Planner. Director Allen 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. Mary Nolan, Director of Operations, Siloam Springs Museum came forward. February 24th from 10: 30 to 12: 00 will be Kids Day with Amazeum where children can learn the art of paper quilling. Please register your children for the event or call the museum with questions. On March 2nd from 6: 00 to 8: 00 Steve Garrett will speak about" The Endangered Ozark Giraffe," which refers to the giraffe houses we see in our area. The event will be held at Olive& Opal and no registration is necessary. Arthur Hulbert, President, Chamber, announced a February 15`h candidate forum from Noon to 1: 00 at the Siloam Springs Public Library. 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/ January 23, 2024 B. Resolution 12- 24/ Special Use Development Permit/ Short Term Rental/ 504 East Franklin A motion to approve the consent agenda as presented was made by Allen and seconded by Carroll. Motion passed unanimously. Item C: Ordinance 24- 01 / 3`d Reading/ Vacation of a Utility Easement/ 816 East Main Street. Kris Paxton briefed the item. A motion was made by Hunt and seconded by Rissler to place Ordinance 24- 01 on its third reading, suspending the rules and reading title only. Motion passed unanimously. An ordinance entitled: Board of Directors Meeting Minutes Page 12 February 6, 2024 ORDINANCE NO. 24- 01 AN ORDINANCE VACATING AND ABANDONING A UTILITY EASEMENT AT 816 EAST MAIN STREET; was read on its third reading. A motion to adopt Ordinance 24- 01 was made by Carroll and seconded by Rissler. Motion passed unanimously. Item D: Ordinance 24- 02 / 3`' Reading/ Amending Section 102-21 of the City Municipal Code/ Rezoning from C- 2 to R-4 / 4290 Cheri Whitlock Drive. Kris Paxton briefed the item. A motion was made by Allen and seconded by Carroll, to place the ordinance on its third reading, suspending the rules and reading title only. Motion carried 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- 4) PROPERTY LOCATED AT 4290 CHERI WHITLOCK DRIVE; AND AMENDING THE FUTURE LAND USE MAP OF THE SILOAM SPRINGS 2040 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN; was read on its third reading. A motion to adopt Ordinance 24- 02 was made by Allen and seconded by Rissler. Motion passed unanimously. Item E: Resolution 13- 24/ Final Plat Development Permit/ Somerset Subdivision, Phase 2/ 3000 Block of East Kenwood Street. Kris Paxton briefed the item. A motion was made by Allen and seconded by Carroll to approve Resolution 13- 24. Motion passed unanimously. Item F: Resolution 14- 24 / Significant Development Permit / 500 Block of South Britt Street. Maegan Thomas briefed the item. A motion was made by Allen and seconded by Carroll to approve Resolution 14- 24. Motion passed unanimously. Item G: Resolution 15- 24/ Special Use Development Permit/ Light Industry/ 800 Block of East Jefferson Street. Maegan Thomas briefed the item. Allen asked questions to confirm his understanding of the reason for a special use development permit. A motion was made by Allen and seconded by Rissler to approve Resolution 15- 24. Motion passed unanimously. Item H: Resolution 16- 24/ Preliminary Plat Development Permit/ Oak Brook Addition/ 700 Block of West Pittsfield Street. Kris Paxton briefed the item. Subject to one condition for approval, that subject will annex the property into the city limits of Siloam Springs prior to construction on the property. Blair asks when the development will start. Paxton said it depends on when the developer decides to work through the annexation. Blair said she has heard from citizens asking what they are going to do to control the trash during construction. Paxton responds that, after annexation, it falls within our stormwater management area. Also, we will have a construction inspector starting soon that can watch for this. Discussion was had regarding the types of mitigation that would happen. Allen asks how the building traffic will occur and if it would come off Carl Street. He thinks current residents need to be aware there are going to be a Board of Directors Meeting Minutes Page 13 February 6, 2024 lot of construction vehicles, and asked if he was correct about the flow of traffic into the area. Paxton confirmed that this was the only way into the site, and that construction vehicles have the same right to use the public street as others. Mayor Nation asked if there was anyone in the audience that would like to address Resolution 16- 24. Ron Homeyer, Civil Engineering, came forward to address comments. He confirmed that Carl Street would be the path taken for access to the construction site and that they will be as careful as they always are. Regarding construction trash, Homeyer says that the city has ways to take care of that through building inspectors and code enforcement. He comments that previously, annexation has been tied to the final plat and asks why this one would be tied to construction. Kevin Moore, City Engineer, explained that the County recommended it be tied to construction to avoid large investments being made before a requirement is fulfilled, in case of some later obstacle. A motion was made by Carroll and seconded by Allen to approve Resolution 16- 24. Motion passed unanimously. Item I: Gilbert pointed out the December financials had been provided and any questions should be addressed with Christina Petriches, Finance Director. Item J: Administrator' s Report. Gilbert reviewed the report attached hereto. Handouts of golf course updates from Maxim Golf were shared with Board members and Administrator Gilbert said that Bryan Minnis would come give them an in-person update in the future. Gilbert then asked Kris Paxton to explain under what circumstances the City may consider combining the 2° d and 3`d readings of a rezoning ordinance. Paxton said one condition would be that there is no negative public input on the item. The second condition would be for the request to come from the applicant. Gilbert asked that everyone join him in sending thoughts and prayers to City Clerk Renea Ellis whose brother- in- law passed away. Also, in sending best wishes to Director Smiley, who is at home recovering. Gilbert asked attorney Joel Kurtz to clarify the question of whether regular Board meetings that are rescheduled due to the timing ofholidays must be labeled Special Called because they are not on the usual first and third Tuesday of the month. Kurtz said it is not a critical requirement what you call it if notice requirements are met on the change of the regular time and date. He said a special meeting tends to imply there is some special purpose for it, so if it is just a rescheduled regular meeting, it would make sense to call that a regular meeting, though it does not have legal significance. Directors Reports. Mayor Nation began by sending condolences to Renea. Hunt echoed condolences and best wishes. She thanks American Legion for their 4Chaplains service. She also thanks Parks and Recreation for line dancing classes. It was fun for all ages. Wiles said he would keep Renea and Carol in his thoughts and prayers. Director Blair said she was angry and frustrated for citizens because developers are wreaking havoc. Their big machinery tears up streets, and they are causing drainage problems. She doesn' t care for progress at the cost of existing citizens. Rissler sends prayers for Renea and Carol and wants to publicly commend Chief Miller. She shared that she received positive comments from three different citizens this week about the job he is doing. Director Carroll echoed kudos to Chief Miller, as well as prayers to Renea and Carol. Carroll also asks that citizens exercise their right to vote in upcoming elections. Director Allen congratulated Chief Miller and extended well wishes to both Renea and Carol. He extended congratulations to John Brown III for being named Pioneer Citizen of 2024. Allen extended thanks to Utility Billing  Board of Directors Meeting Minutes Page 14 February 6, 2024 department staff for continuing to work late this evening to ensure all electric shut- off issues from the day have been resolved. With no further business, a motion to adjourn was made by Allen and seconded by Rissler. Nation called for a vote. Motion passed unanimously. RPO ioi,,,, Meeting adjourned. s;'zo .. r ATTEST: APPROVED: sp•• ING, L- 1/ et_...- 4-/ offiffimstvoo' enea llis, City Clerk, CAMC/ CMC Judy tion, ayor747 L ANAGS, Nommmimoa"`` 4  CITY OI Siloam S S Administrator' s Report February 6, 2024 Expenditures: In excess of$ 30, 000 35, 226/ 3 Reels 477 ACSS OH Primary Wire/ Electric Department 41, 750/ Pickleball Court Resurfacing/ Parks and Recreation 48, 325 / Labor and Equipment to Install Feeder on Pump Line/ Electric Department Per Resolution 07- 24 60, 465/ 24 Oil Base Wood Poles/ Electric Department 1. Golf course status update. 2. Discussion: Combining 2nd and PI readings in one evening. 3. An Alzheimer' s support group is meeting at the library this Saturday from 11AM— Noon and is open to all. 4. We' re excited for the 2024 Great North American Eclipse in April. In Siloam Springs, we' ll see a deep partial eclipse with a magnitude of 97.6%. We' re planning events and videos to get ready for the eclipse. On April 8, join us at Memorial Park for a viewing party. There' ll be food trucks, music, and games. The Siloam Springs Public Library will give away 9, 000 pairs of glasses for safe viewing. Board members, you have a pair in front of you now. We' ll be releasing more information later this week, so stay tuned.