Board of Directors

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY OF SILOAM SPRINGS, BENTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, HELD NOVEMBER 6, 2024 The City of Siloam Springs, Arkansas, met in regular session at the City of Siloam Springs Administration Building on November 6, 2024. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Judy Nation. Roll Call: Hunt, Blair, Carroll and Long, Rissler, Allen and Wiles— present. City Representatives Present: Allan Gilbert, City Administrator; Jene' Fain, City Clerk; Jay Williams, City Attorney; Scott Miller, Police Chief; Kris Paxton, Community Development Director; Ben Rhoads, Senior City Planner; Maegan Thomas, City Planner; Kevin Moore, City Engineer and Public Works Director; Jason Davis, Public Service Director; Dustin Kindell, Fire Chief; Misty McGlothlin, Human Resources Director; and Christina Petriches, Finance Director. Director Blair led the opening prayer. Mayor Nation led the Pledge of Allegiance. Mayor Nation asked if there were any comments from the audience regarding an item not on the City' s agenda. Marc Hayot, 751 Hwy 16 E, Apt R- 7, wanted to let the public know that the newspaper had a glitch and that is why they were not printed for distribution on Wednesday. You can still catch the news online. Mark Miller, 22587 Westwood Drive, Director Blair put him in touch with Chief Miller wherein he, the Kimble family and the Lee family helped donate 30 LifeVacs to the City of Siloam Springs. Chief Miller explained what LifeVac does and expressed his appreciation to Mark Miller on behalf of the City. The mayor asked if there were any comments on an item on the Consent Agenda. There were none. Consent Agenda A. Regular Meeting Minutes/ October 15, 2024 B. Resolution 48- 24/ Adopt 2025 Budget C. Approval/ 2024 Computation and Certification Form A motion to approve the consent agenda with Item B removed was made by Allen and seconded by Rissler. Motion passed unanimously. Director Allen requested that Item B be removed for further discussion. Lengthy discussions were held between the Directors and City staff regarding potential issues in the budget. Hunt expressed her opinion that meetings and opportunities had been available to resolve the issue discussed prior to this meeting and moved that Item B on the Consent Agenda be approved and was seconded by Wiles. Motion passed 6- 1. Board of Directors Meeting Minutes Page 12 November 6, 2024 D. Contracts and Approvals/ Wastewater Treatment Plant/ McClelland Consulting Engineers/ Corrective Action Plan/$ 74, 500. Kevin Moore briefed the item. A motion was made by ** and seconded by ** to approve. Motion passed unanimously. Item E: Ordinance 24- 30 / 2nd Reading/ Annexation of 0. 21 acres / 2270 Dawn Hill Road. Ben Rhoads briefed the item. A motion was made by Long and seconded by Carroll, to place Ordinance 24- 30 on its second reading, suspending the rules and reading title only. Motion passed unanimously. d Item F: Ordinance 24- 31 / 2° Reading/ Vacation of a Right- of-Way/ 800 Block of South Lincoln Street. Kris Paxton briefed the item. A motion was made by Rissler and seconded by Wiles, to place Ordinance 24- 31 on its second reading, suspending the rules and reading title only. Motion passed unanimously. Item G: Resolution 49- 24/ Significant Development Permit/ 1700 Block of East Kenwood Street. Maegan Thomas briefed the item. A motion to approve Resolution 49-24 was made by Rissler and seconded by Hunt. Motion passed unanimously. Item H: September Financials. Item M: Administrator' s Report is attached. Directors Reports— Mayor— She thanks everyone who voted but wished there had been more voting. We will have two more runoff elections so please vote. She wants to recognize eight seniors who participated in CASS and volunteered to help Kind at Heart Ministries. Thank you to the fire department for assisting with the fires in Colcord. On Saturday, November 9th the American Legion National Commander will visit the City at the First Christian Church, and she will present a Proclamation. She wants to thank everyone for giving her the opportunity to serve the citizens. Congratulations to David Allen. The Civitan had Clery Appreciation on October 17d' wherein she presented a Proclamation. She thanks the Civitan Group for acknowledging our clergy in our City. Allen— Thank you Mark Miller for the LiveVacs. He is glad to see the upgrade to the skate park and would like to see upgrades to the Aquatic Center. He appreciates Kind at Heart. Thank you to the Fire Department for assisting in the blaze at Colcord. He thanked Gilbert for the leadership that brings our communities together and helping our police and fire departments. Long— Learned tonight he was incorrect in telling people the runoff is December 3rd Carroll— He was glad to see the community come together and vote. Kuddos to the City employees who helped with the fire, the rain and outages. The city works hard behind the scenes. Remember Monday is Veterans Day, and we should show our respect. He would like to see a change to the Board of Directors Meeting Minutes Page 13 November 6, 2024 election procedures wherein municipalities could hold primaries so that on general election night a decision could be made. Rissler— Thank you Kevin Moore, she appreciates him answering her questions. She requested an update on Waukesha Road. She also requested an update on Lake Francis Drive. She asked if the City had received any communication on the Dawn Hill water issue. She asked if the basement at the Community Building could be used as a tornado shelter. She requested an update on the City surplus auction held on November 2nd. She reminded everyone of the Veterans Day parade this Saturday. She received a complaint about a house in town being in violation of code. It was a disabled veteran, and the VFW came together to help them out. Please support our VFW. Blair— Questioned if the letters would go out to everyone at Dawn Hill or just the Woods.' Marc Hayot has done some research on the issue and an article will come out next week. Adult Development Center hosted an Open House, and it was a great event. We have an amazing Senior Center. They will have a Thanksgiving dinner on November 19th, please let them know ahead of time if you would like to attend. The Civitan is having a soup lunch this Friday from 11 am- 1 pm. Wiles — The Veterans parade is this Saturday and hopes everyone can attend. It is always impressive. He had someone reach out regarding recycling. Sanitation took a container to them, and they will do that for everyone who requests one. Hunt— Thank you to the voters for voting and thank you to the candidates to David Allen. She expressed having heard rumors over the last few weeks. She addressed the firing of the previous City Administrator and asked that everyone move past it and look forward to the future for our City. Rather than questioning one' s faith, we should encourage others in our faith. With no further business, a motion to adjourn was made by Hunt and seconded by Long. Meeting adjourned. ATTEST: APPROVED: ain City Clerk y ation, ayo UItH111111U1Hy/// owl" ru\ .... ....../{ moo Gp..... S .,: 4 SILOAM I SEAL to 9c0. --.— co SPRINGS  Sn Administrator' s Report November 6, 2024 Expenditures: In excess of$ 30, 000 Primary Concrete/$ 45, 000/ Repairs to Skatepark/ Parks& Recreation Per Resolution 07- 24 None 1. This Thursday there will be a public involvement meeting from 4- 6 p.m. at City Hall to discuss proposed plans to widen Kenwood Street between Highway 16 and Bruce Rutherford Drive. 2. Next Monday, November 11, City offices will be closed in observance of Veteran' s Day to honor and pay tribute to the brave men and women who have served in the armed forces. 3. Thursday, November 14, we will host the first ever State of the City event. Learn about major projects completed in 2024 and get a glimpse of the exciting plans for 2025! The event will be held at the Berry Performing Arts Center on John Brown University campus, from 2 to 4 pm. 4. SSFD dispatched five trucks to assist in combating wildfires in Colcord last week. Thanks to the collaboration of multiple responding departments, several homes and structures were saved. We are proud to be part of these efforts and are grateful for the support of Gentry FD who agreed to cover Siloam Springs if the need had arisen. 5. Our Grant Writer is actively researching funding opportunities for public storm shelters in response to recent extreme weather events. 6. Seagan Morrow has been hired to fill the position of Administrative Assistant to assist citizens at the administration window at City Hall. After training, she will also be backup to our City Clerk and assist our Communications Manager. Pending background check and drug testing, She will join the City on November 25t. Seagan holds an MBA from John Brown University and has most recently been employed with Visit Bentonville and the Springdale Chamber of Commerce. We look forward to her joining the team!