COUNCIL MINUTES OCTOBER 2022

CITY OF GASSVILLE, ARKANSAS
MINUTES FOR THE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 24, 2022   

     A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Gassville, Arkansas was held on Monday, October 25, 2022 at the Gassville Community Center.  The meeting had been delayed one week due to lack of a quorum on the regular meeting date of October 18th.  Mayor Braim led those in attendance in saying the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag and in offering a word of prayer.  The meeting was then called to order at 6:00 PM by Mayor Jeff Braim, Presiding Officer. 

     Upon the calling of the roll, those in attendance were Council Member Ernest Adkins, Council Member Tim McFarland, Council Member Anita Seaman, Council Member Naomi Lassen, Council Member Kenneth Smith, Council Member Ralph Bird, Mayor Jeff Braim, and Recorder-Treasurer Jeff Lewis.  Department Heads in attendance were Police Chief Tim Mayfield, Water and Street Superintendent Michael Dewey, and Fire Chief Michael Glotzl.

     The minutes from the September 26, 2022 regular meeting had been provided to each Council Member.  Council Member Adkins moved to approve the minutes as presented.  This motion was seconded by Council Member Bird.  There were no additions or corrections asked for, whereupon the Mayor called for the vote.  Council Members Adkins, McFarland, Seaman, Lassen, Smith, and Bird voted for the motion.  There were no nays, and the Mayor declared the motion carried.

     The financial report for the month of September, 2022 was presented to the City Council.   Council Member Lassen moved to approve the financial report as presented.  This motion was seconded by Council Member Adkins.  There were no questions or corrections, whereupon the Mayor called for the vote.  Council Members Adkins, McFarland, Seaman, Lassen, Smith, and Bird voted for the motion.  There were no nays, and the Mayor declared the motion carried.

     Police Chief Mayfield gave the police department activity report for the month of September, 2022.  It was accepted into the record without objection. 

     Fire Chief Glotzl gave the fire department activity report for the month of September, 2022.  It was also accepted into the record without objection.    Council Member Adkins asked if the fire department still provides smoke detectors for residents.  Fire Chief Glotzl answer that yes, battery operated smoke detectors are available from the fire department, but they cannot be used to replace an existing electrically powered fire detector due to safety codes.  The battery operated detectors the fire department has available are donated by the Red Cross without cost.

     In other fire department business, Fire Chief Glotzl presented the City Council with a revised policy and standard operating guidelines manual.  A number of changes have been made to the existing manual after input from the City Attorney.  The policies section has been separated from the guidelines section as per recommendation.  The City Council took no action with respect to approving the changes at this time.  The Council Members wanted to have this final draft reviewed by the City Attorney before considering approval.

     Fire Chief Glotzl then asked the City Council to approve adding additional funds to the fire department operating and maintenance expense line item #1601.  Sales of surplus equipment had generated $1,524.25, which had been recorded as miscellaneous fire department income in line item #1254.  Chief Glotzl asked to approve adding this $1,524.25 to his O/M expense line item #1601.  Council Member Bird moved to approve this request.  The motion was seconded by Council Member Adkins.  Mayor Braim called for the vote.  Council Members Adkins, McFarland, Seaman, Lassen, Smith, and Bird voted for the motion.  There were no nays, and the motion was declared to be carried.

     With respect to the Knox Box system that has been discussed many times previously,  Fire Chief Glotzl announced that representatives from the Knox Box company will present their products at a public meeting to be held on Wednesday November 9th at 8:00 AM at Momentum Coffee.  The presentation will be repeated at 6:00 PM at the Gassville Community Center.  Knox Box is a system that provides non-destructive emergency access to commercial and residential properties.

     Finally, Chief Glotzl informed the City Council that the part-time fire department employee is sometimes unable to work his allocated weekly schedule for one reason or another, and asked if the employee could make up those missed hours during a succeeding week.  Council Members agreed by consensus to allow this, provided that the part time employee does not work more than 32 hours in one week.

     Mayor Braim then gave the building inspection report for the period of September 20th through October 18th.   It too was accepted into the record without objection.

      Superintendent Dewey reported that the building of the new pavilion for the city park should commence soon.  The roof will be hunter green in color.  By consensus, the Council Members decided to paint the frame structure brown in color.

 

 

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     The Mayor reported that the overlay street paving work has been completed for some time now, and he does not expect any further expenses associated with that work.  The Council had budgeted and set aside $100,000 in the street department for paving work in case of over-runs.  Mayor Braim asked that the City Council re-appropriate $10,000 of that amount from street paving expense line item $2350 to street operation and maintenance expense line item #2341.  Council Member Lassen moved to amend the budget as per this request.  The motion was seconded by Council Member Bird.  The Mayor called for the vote.  Council Members Adkins, McFarland, Seaman, Lassen, Smith, and Bird voted for the motion.  There were no nays, and the motion was declared to be carried.

     Under unfinished business, the City Council took up consideration of Proposed Ordinance 2022-04 on its third reading.  Council Member McFarland moved to place the proposed ordinance on its third and final reading by title only.  The motion was seconded by Council Member Seaman.  The Mayor called for the vote.  Council Members Adkins, McFarland, Seaman, Lassen, Smith, and Bird voted for the motion.  There were no nays, and the motion was declared to be carried.  Thereupon Recorder-Treasurer Lewis read aloud the title of the proposed ordinance, entitled:

"ORDINANCE NO. 2022-04.  AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 98-04 PROHIBITING THE USE OF FIREWORKS WITHIN THE CITY OF GASSVILLE, ARKANSAS, EXCEPT DURING A DESIGNATED PERIOD OF TIME EACH YEAR, DEFINING DISPLAYS REQUIRING A PERMIT, PROVIDING A PENALTY FOR VIOLATIONS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES."

     Council Member Bird then moved to adopt the proposed ordinance as read.  This motion was seconded by Council Member McFarland.  Mayor Braim called for discussion, then for the vote.  Council Members Adkins, McFarland, Seaman, Lassen, Smith, and Bird voted for the motion.  There were no nays.  The Mayor declared the motion carried and Ordinance No. 2022-04 to be adopted.

     Also under old business, the Mayor announced that due to the re-assessment of commercial properties the city was notified by Baxter County officials that the 5 mill property tax levy the city requested the Baxter County Quorum Court to pass will be reduced to 4.89 mills.  There should not result in any tax revenue reduction for the city, however.

 

 

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     Under new business, the City Council took up consideration of Proposed Ordinance No. 2022-06 relating to the condemnation of nuisance properties.  Mayor Braim stated that Attorney Kerry Chism has reviewed the proposed ordinance and believes it to be appropriate.  The current ordinance dealing with this issue is outdated and no longer conforms to state statutory requirements.  Council Member Adkins moved to place the proposed ordinance on its first reading.  The motion was seconded by Council Member Bird.  The Mayor called for the vote.  Council Members Adkins, McFarland, Seaman, Lassen, Smith, and Bird voted for the motion.  There were no nays, and the Mayor declared the motion carried.  Thereupon, Recorder-Treasurer Lewis read aloud the proposed ordinance in its entirety, entitled:

"ORDINANCE NO. 2022-06.  AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE CONDEMNATION AND REMOVAL OF HOUSES, BUILDINGS AND/OR STRUCTURES CONSTITUTING A NUISANCE WITHIN THE CORPORATE LIMITS; PROVIDING FOR A LIEN ON THE PROPERTY; PROVIDING A PENALTY THEREFORE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES."

          The City Council next took up consideration of Proposed Ordinance No. 2022-07 regarding a re-zoning request.  Mr. Arlynd Mallett had filed a petition for rezoning with the Gassville Planning and Zoning Commission, which had conducted a public hearing on the request and recommended to the City Council that the rezoning request be approved.  Council Member Bird moved to place the proposed ordinance on its first reading.  The motion was seconded by Council Member McFarland.  Mayor Braim called for the vote.  Council Members Adkins, McFarland, Seaman, Lassen, Smith, and Bird voted for the motion.  There were no nays, and the motion was declared to be carried.  Thereupon Recorder-Treasurer Lewis read aloud the proposed ordinance in its entirety, entitled: 

"ORDINANCE NO. 2022-07.  AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 98-08 WITH REFERENCE TO ZONING WITHIN THE CITY OF GASSVILLE, ARKANSAS RELATIVE TO CHANGING AN AREA ZONED RESIDENTIAL (R-3) TO COMMERCIAL (C-2)."

     Council Member McFarland then moved to suspend the rules and place the proposed ordinance on its second reading by title only.  The motion was seconded by Council Member Bird.  The Mayor called for the vote.  Council Members Adkins, McFarland, Seaman, Lassen, Smith, and Bird voted for the motion.  There were no nays, and the motion was declared to be carried.  Thereupon, Recorder-Treasurer Lewis read aloud the title of the proposed ordinance.

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     Council Member Bird then moved to further suspend the rules and place the proposed ordinance on its third and final reading by title only.  The motion was seconded by Council Member Adkins.  The Mayor called for the vote.  Council Members Adkins, McFarland, Seaman, Lassen, Smith, and Bird voted for the motion.  There were no nays, and the motion was declared to be carried.  Thereupon, Recorder-Treasurer Lewis read aloud the title of the proposed ordinance.

     Council Member Seaman then moved to adopt the proposed ordinance as read.  The motion was seconded by Council Member Adkins.  The Mayor called for discussion, then for the vote.  Council Members Adkins, McFarland, Seaman, Lassen, Smith, and Bird voted for the motion.  There were no nays, and the Mayor declared the motion carried and the Ordinance No. 2022-07 to be adopted. 

     Due to the nature of the re-zoning, Council Member Bird moved to add an emergency clause to the ordinance and to adopt the emergency clause.  This motion was seconded by Council Member McFarland.  The Mayor called for discussion, then for the vote.  Council Members Adkins, McFarland, Seaman, Lassen, Smith, and Bird voted for the motion.  There were no nays, and the Mayor declared the motion to be carried.  The emergency clause that was adopted will be added to the ordinance text. 

     The next proposal up for consideration was Proposed Ordinance No. 2022-08 regarding contracting with EF Recover Billing Services for the fire department.  Mayor Braim advised that the proposal had been reviewed by the City Attorney, and Fire Chief Glotzl spoke briefly about the particulars of the contract.  Council Member Adkins then moved to place the proposed ordinance on its first reading.  The motion was seconded by Council Member Bird.  Mayor Braim called for the vote.  Council Members Adkins, McFarland, Seaman, Lassen, Smith, and Bird voted for the motion.  There were no nays, and the Mayor declared the motion carried.  Thereupon, Mayor Braim read aloud the proposed ordinance in its entirety, entitled:

"ORDINANCE NO. 2022-08.  AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR OF THE CITY OF GASSVILLE, ARKANSAS TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT WITH EF RECOVERY BILLING SERVICES FOR THE CITY OF GASSVILLE VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT TO SEEK REIMBURSEMENT IN ACCORDANCE WITH ACT 1345 OF 2013 AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES."

 

 

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     The last of the proposed new ordinances to come up for consideration was Proposed Ordinance No. 2022-09 designating a new wellhead protection area for the second city well.  Council Member Lassen moved to place the proposed ordinance on its first reading.  The motion was seconded by Council Member Smith.  Mayor Braim called for the vote.  Council Members Adkins, McFarland, Seaman, Lassen, Smith, and Bird voted for the motion.  There were no nays, and the motion was declared to be carried.  Thereupon, Mayor Braim read aloud the proposed ordinance in its entirety, entitled:

"ORDINANCE NO. 2022-09.  AN ORDINANCE DESIGNATING A WELLHEAD PROTECTION AREA ON HOUSER AVENUE IN THE CITY OF GASSVILLE, ARKANSAS, PROHIBITING THE CONVEYANCE OF HAZARDOUS OR NO-SANITARY MATERIALS AS DESCRIBED AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES."

     The Mayor reported that the Cotter-Gassville Joint Sewer Commission had met.  The new truck for the CSLC is finally in the process of being built after a very lengthy delay.  It is anticipated now that the truck will be built by the end of this year for delivery to the cities soon thereafter.  With respect to the Phase II renovation project of the wastewater collection system along the White River, the City of Cotter has made application to the state to receive $1.5 million from the state's ARPA funds for this project.  A scoring system will be used to rank the requests.  He also reported that most of the issues at the Gassville Nursing and Rehabilitation Center have now been resolved by S. & M Plumbing Co.

     Council Member Lassen gave a report from the Gassville Planning and Zoning Commission.  The public hearing on the rezoning request from Arlynd Mallett had been the primary order of business, which the City Council already acted on earlier.  The city zoning map was discussed and needs to be updated.  A self-help housing project on Bayless Ct. was discussed, as was the possibility of the need to establish some regulations for Airbnb locations.  Mayor Braim stated that there are currently no Airbnbs in Gassville, but there are some in surrounding municipalities, and that the City of Mountain Home just adopted an ordinance pertaining to them.  Council Member briefly discussed the Airbnb situation but took no actions.

     Prior to adjournment, the Mayor updated the City Council on various issues, to-wit:

 

 

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1.      The federal single compliance audit was completed and sent to the state clearinghouse.  The cost of the audit was $15,000.

2.     With respect to the second city water well project on Houser Avenue, drilling on site is expected to commence soon, perhaps this week.  It will take approximately six weeks to drill the 1,500 feet needed for the well.  This is a $367,000 project, funded from the city's ARPA monies. 

3.     The first payment on the USDA loan for the sewer system expansion project is due this month in the amount of $1,052 per month.  Two new debt reserve accounts have been opened at Farmers & Merchants Bank in accordance with the terms of the loan. 

4.     There is nothing new to report from the Arkansas Rural Water Association with respect to the rate study that has been requested.

5.     On December 19th, Wingard Photography will be providing photo ID badges for city officials and taking new photos of Council Members.  This will take place at the Cotter Fire Department between 4PM and 8PM.  These services are being provided to the city without cost.

6.     The Arkansas Municipal League's winter conference will be held in January, 2023.  Pre-registration is required for any Council Members, officials, or employees who will be attending.

7.     The Mayor will be setting up meetings for the Parks Committee and for a Budget Workshop.

     The meeting then adjourned at 7:32 PM upon motion of Council Member Bird, seconded by Council Member McFarland, with all members voting in favor.

 

 

 

Submitted by:        /s/ Jeffrey Lewis,
                           Recorder-Treasurer

 

Approved by:            /s/ Jeff Braim,
                                    Mayor

 

 

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