Board of Directors

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY OF SILOAM SPRINGS, BENTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, HELD AUGUST 5, 2025 The City of Siloam Springs, Arkansas, met in regular session at the City of Siloam Springs Administration Building on August 5, 2025. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Judy Nation. Roll Call: Hunt, Wiles, Blair, Rissler, Carroll, Burns, Allen— present. City Representatives Present: Christina Petriches, Interim City Administrator; Jene Fain City Clerk; Chase Fine, Captain SSPD; Dustin Kindell, Fire Chief; Jason Davis, Community Services Director; Kris Paxton, Administrative Services Director; Travis Chaney, Parks& Recreation Manager; Maegan Thomas, Current Planner; Ben Rhodes, Senior Planner. Director Carroll led the opening prayer. Mayor Nation led the Pledge of Allegiance. At this time, Mayor Nation asked if there were any comments from the audience regarding an item not on the City' s agenda. There were none. The mayor asked if there were any comments on an item on the Consent Agenda. There were none. Consent Agenda A. Regular Meeting Minutes/ July 15, 2025 B. Special- Called Meeting Minutes/ July 9, 2025 C. Resolution 31- 25 / Setting Hearing Date for Easement Vacation/ 1113 East Ashley Street A motion to approve the consent agenda was made by Rissler and seconded by Carroll. Motion passed unanimously. Regularly Scheduled Items Item D: Grant Acceptance/ Community Services/ Sanitation/ Multi- Family Recycle/$ 66, 475. Jason Davis briefed this item. A motion was made to approve the grant acceptance by Rissler and seconded by Burns. Motion passed unanimously. Item E: Grant Acceptance / GRDA / Parks & Recreation / $ 25, 000 / Softball Field Lighting / Budget Amendment/ $ 30, 000. Travis Chaney briefed this item. A motion was made to approve thegrant acceptance by Rissler and seconded by Allen. Motion passed unanimously. Board of Directors Meeting Minutes Page 12 August 5, 2025 Item F: Ordinance 25- 22 / 2" d Reading/ Amending Section 102- 21 of the City Municipal Code/ Rezoning from P- D to I- 2/ 500 Block of North Progress Avenue. Maegan Thomas briefed this item. There was lengthy discussion surrounding the support and opposition of this facility as well as the Comprehensive Plan. There were conversations about the communication with Don Stone Knoxville, TN) regarding the company' s wages, certifications, ratings, and other employment benefits. There was also lengthy discussion about prior concerns and whether they have been addressed or not. The zoning maps that were provided to the board were discussed. Rebekah Wyatt( 1109 E. Jewell) reads a letter in opposition to the egg washing facility. There was also discussion about age restricted businesses if 1- 2 business is allowed. There is appreciation for the company and the citizens opinions. A motion was made to place Ordinance 25- 22 on its second and third readings was made by Bums and seconded by Carroll. Motion failed 4- 3. A motion was made to place Ordinance 25- 22 on its second reading, suspending the rules and reading by title only was made by Rissler and seconded by Carroll. Motion passed 6- 1. Item G: Ordinance 25- 23 / 3`d Reading/ Amending Section 102- 21 of the City Municipal Code/ Rezoning from P- D to C- 2 / 600 Block of North Progress Avenue. Maegan Thomas briefed this item. A motion was made by Rissler and seconded by Hunt to table Ordinance 25- 23 to the August 19th meeting. Motion passed unanimously. Item H: Ordinance 25- 26/ 1S` Reading/ Amending Section 102- 21 of the City Municipal Code/ Rezoning form R- 2 to C- 2 / 1200 Block of East Lake Francis Drive. Maegan Thomas briefed this item. A motion was made by Rissler and seconded by Burns to place Ordinance 25- 26 on its first reading, suspending the rules and ready by title only. Motion passed unanimously. Item I: Ordinance 25- 27 / 1st Reading/ Amending Section 102- 21 of the City Municipal Code / Rezoning from R- 2 to C- 2/ 1200 Block of East Lake Francis Drive. Maegan Thomas briefed this item. There was discussion around why this was zoned as a C- 2 and not a G- I, which was addressed. Ron Homeyer ( Civil Engineering) brought up that churches are allowed in C- 2 for additional lot coverage. That is how the neighboring church is zoned, and they felt it was a good fit for C- 2. A motion was made by Rissler and seconded by Allen to place Ordinance 25- 27 on its first reading, suspending the rules and ready by title only. Motion passed unanimously. Item J: Resolution 28- 25 / Final Plat Development Permit / Lawlis Ranch, Phase 3 Addition / 23006 Lawlis Road. Ben Rhoads briefed this item. There was discussion from the board regarding drainage issues. Ron Homeyer( Civil Engineering) spoke on those drainage issues and publication issues. A motion was made by Rissler and seconded by Burns to approve Resolution 28- 25. Motion passed 6- 1. Item K: Resolution 32- 25/ Significant Development Permit/ 900 Block of Cheri Whitlock Drive Simmons Health Clinic & Benefits Center). Ben Rhoads briefed this item. There was discussion in the past. A regarding the sidewalk path and the Butterfield trail plan that had been discussed Board of Directors Meeting Minutes Page 13 August 5, 2025 motion was made by Allen and seconded by Rissler to table Resolution 32- 25 until the August 5th meeting. Item L: Resolution 33- 25 / Special Use Development Permit/ 1401 East Emelyn Lane. Maegan Thomas briefed this item. Juan Ludwig (CDS Muery Services in San Antonia TX) spoke to the substation for reliability and sustainability between their hubs, telecommunication, and infrastructure. Greg Lavel ( American Electric Power in Tulsa OK) spoke to the SWEPCO service area in Siloam Springs and mentioned that they serve as distribution to the substation in the local area. A motion was made by Rissler and seconded by Bums to approve Resolution 33- 25. Motion passed unanimously. Administrator' s Report — Administrator' s Report is attached. Christina had two expenses in excess of$ 30, 000. One for the grant related to the Gazebo remodel and the other was for the lift station pump replacements. She mentioned the upcoming Dive- In movie for the community, thanked Audiogirl Ministries for donating new banners to the Fire Department for the Safe Haven Baby Box, mentioned the first day of school, welcomed Josh Napier as the new Public Works Director to his role, and gave an update to the RAISE grant. Directors Reports— Mayor— Congratulated Josh Napier and thanked Kris for all his hard get an engineer hired for the city. Bums— He has concerns on the budget coming up and wants to set a workshop for goal setting. He knows we are making progress on Sager Creek and would like to continue discussion around that. He wants goals for 2026 Act 595 and is also concerned about growth in our city and not a fan of urban sprawl. He encourages everyone to attend the Arkansas Groundworks meeting. In 2026 he also would like to address some of the watershed concerns and look at other cities that use it as a utility. Blair- Finn— Congrats to Josh Napier and she is excited about the new city engineer and hopes he is good with drainage, but believes he has great qualifications. Wiles — Congratulated on the Recycling Reward and that it shows hard work and dedication of staff. He is glad that all the departments go beyond all the time. Hunt— Thanked Christina for follow up on the RAISE grant. She thanked Parks and Recreation for how great the flowers look around town. She mentioned that school is started and to watch out for kids. JBU starts classes back on August 25`h Carroll — Excited to see school begin again, the transition can be hard. He thanked Christina for the RAISE grant update and would like a goals workshop soon as well. Board of Directors Meeting Minutes Page 14 August 5, 2025 Rissler— Thanked Audio Girl Ministries for the banner at the Fire Department and congratulated Josh Napier for the hard work and promotion. And congratulations to Jason Davis on the Recycling award. Allen— Acknowledges that the City won Arkansas Recycling coalition award and thanked Jason Davis. He thanked Sylvia and Lori with AudioGirl Ministries for the Baby Box and congratulated Josh Napier as Public Works Director. He is glad to hear about the new city engineer and also wants to educate public on infill needs. He encourages people to read about the Groundworks. With no further business, a motion to adjourn was made by Carroll and seconded by Rissler. Meeting adjourned. ATTEST: APPROVED: tI.- J y in, City Clerk 0 a J dy ". tion" M. or ,/, /,„. A, p\ OdQO u o i/ i 9< y SILOAM SEA * 0, : Q SPRINGS 0 n// lionimin igpgnm..,, n, o, s, Administrator' s Report 04 Siloam Springs August 5, 2025 NOTES: Expenditures: In excess of$ 30. 000: 30, 097. 90 for Parks& Rec to Natural State Treehouses for the grant related Gazebo Remodel 36, 640. 00 for Water/ WW Services to Jack Tyler Engineering for lift station pumps replacements Per Resolution 11- 25: None 1. Join Parks and PD for a splash- filled farewell to summer at the Aloha Summer Luau with a dive- in movie showing of" Moana 2" this Friday at the Family Aquatic Center. Gates open at 7: 00 p. m. Admission is free and open to the public. 2. A special thank you to Audiogirl Ministries for donating new banners to the Siloam Springs Fire Department in support of the Safe Haven Baby Box located at Fire Station 1. These banners will be displayed at both Fire Stations 1 and 2 to help raise awareness about this life- saving resource. 3. Tuesday, August 12th is the first day of school. We wish everyone in the district a great start to the new school year. 4. Welcome to Josh Napier, who recently stepped into the role of Public Works Director! Josh has served as our Water Treatment Plant Superintendent for the past 8 years, and we' re excited to see him take on this new leadership role. 5. The RAISE grant is moving forward. There is a change in the structure of the acceptance letter that is being prepared, but the grant is still in process. Crafton Tull will assist us with updating the acceptance letter. And staff will bring that to the Board when it has been approved by USDOT.