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NOVEMBER 2023 REGULAR City of Van Buren, Arkansas Minutes of the Regular Monthly Meeting of the City Council Monday, November 27, 2023 Van Buren Municipal Complex CALL TO ORDER 5:31PM The regular monthly meeting of the Van Buren City Council was called to order by Mayor Joseph P. Hurst at 5:30PM. Reverend and City Attorney Jacob Howell led the invocation. Mayor Hurst led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL 5:32PM Present: Council Member Madison Simmons, Council Member Kenneth Bell, Council Member Mike Kneeland Council Member Tyler Wood, Council Member Matt Dodson, Council Member Tonia Fry, Mayor Joseph P. Hurst, City Attorney Jacob Howell, City Clerk-Treasurer Shawnna Reynolds Absent: None PRESENTATIONS -AWARDS None CONSENT AGENDA 5:33PM After determining there were no reported objections or unfinished business, Council Member Mike Kneeland moved to approve the consent agenda which consisted of: o Minutes from October 23, 2023, City Council Meeting o A& P Commission Appointment Letter—Jane Sanders o Resolution 11-01-2023 Fire Department Fixed Asset Disposal o Resolution 11-02-2023 Sidewalk Fund Recommendation for Planning Commission o Financial Statements o Department Reports Motion was seconded by Council Member Madison Simmons. All in favor. None opposed. Consent Agenda approved. 5 NEW BUSINESS 5:33PM Resolution 11-03-2023 Tennis Court Resurfacing Mayor Joseph Hurst stated this was a contract with Custom Pavement Maintenance&Safety to provide 100% resurfacing for our tennis courts for the cost of$84,335.00. If approved,they would start the project as soon as possible. Motion to adopt Resolution 11-03-2023 made by Council Member Kenny Bell. Seconded by Council Member Matt Dodson. Roll Call. All in favor. None opposed. Resolution 11-03-2023 Tennis Court Resurfacing is adopted with six yeas and no nays. Ordinance 33-2023 Purchase of New Vehicle for Fire Department Fire Chief Tim Arnold stated that the purchase of this vehicle was for a 2023 Dodge Ram 1500 Classic from Breeden Dodge in Fort Smith for the sum of$43,347. The vehicle won't actually arrive until Spring of 2024. Motion to adopt Ordinance 33-2023 made by Council Member Matt Dodson. Seconded by Council Member Tonia Fry. Roll Call. All in favor. None opposed. Motion to pass emergency clause made by Council Member Matt Dodson. Seconded by Council Member Tonia Fry. Roll Call. All in favor. None opposed. Ordinance 33-2023 Purchase of New Vehicle for Fire Department is adopted with six yeas and no nays. Ordinance 34-2023 Purchase of New Equipment for Fire Department Fire Chief Tim Arnold stated that the purchase of this equipment was for equipment that is newly updated for the Jaws of Life and will be located at the fire station next to the interstate. It will be purchased with ARPA funds and will arrive in Spring 2024. The purchase will be made from Siddons-Martin Equipment Sales Emergency Group for the sum of$40,481.72. Motion to adopt Ordinance 34-2023 made by Council Member Tonia Fry. Seconded by Council Member Mike Kneeland. Roll Call. All in favor. None opposed. Motion to pass emergency clause made by Council Member Matt Dodson. Seconded by Council Member Mike Kneeland. Roll Call. All in favor. None opposed. Ordinance 34-2023 Purchase of New Equipment for Fire Department is adopted with six yeas and no nays. Ordinance 35-2023 Repealing Existing Dog Code &Authorizing New Code Mayor Hurst opened the floor for discussion regarding the proposed "dog ordinance". The proposed ordinance is 25 pages in length. A motion was made by Council Member Tyler Wood to read the proposed ordinance by title only. Seconded by Council Member Matt Dodson. Roll call. All in favor. None opposed. Planning Department Head Wally Bailey made a presentation for discussion,with public input of the highlights of the changes made to the proposed ordinance since the presentation in September 2023. The biggest change in the proposed ordinance was the progressive penalties. There were no further questions or concerns. Motion to adopt Ordinance 35-2023 made by Council Member Kenny Bell. Seconded by Council Member Matt Dodson. Roll Call. All in favor. None opposed. Ordinance 35-2023 Repealing Existing Dog Code &Authorizing New Code is adopted with six yeas and no nays. Y Ordinance 36-2023 Amendment to Payment in Lieu of Sidewalk Construction Planning Department Director Wally Bailey stated there are two sidewalk programs. One is .03 cents of every.10 cents of a permit goes into the Sidewalk Fund and there is $120,968.24 in that account. This program was started in 1997. The other is Payment in Lieu of payments and there is$28,857.65 in that account. This program was started in 2017. In 2017 the per linear foot cost to build a sidewalk was$20 per linear foot. The Planning Commission looks at the cost annually and the Planning Commission voted with a majority vote to raise the cost from$20 per linear foot to$50 per linear foot due to construction costs and inflation. Mr. Bailey stated that according to his research the average cost is$50-88 dollars per linear foot. He mentioned ARDOT, Hawkins-Wier, Eagle Redi-Mix, and the City of Fort Smith as those with whom he reached out to for their cost. Two contractors that build in the city stated that they believed it was too much of an increase for them to be able to recoup any of the cost from the sale of their properties. They also mentioned the "sidewalks to nowhere" in the neighborhoods where sidewalks don't connect. They believed that paying"in lieu of" in those situations didn't make sense. Mayor Hurst made mention that there was a process in place for a variance to be reported back to the Planning Commission if the contractor did not agree with the assessment of the cost by the Planning Department. He also mentioned there is a master sidewalk plan that will address the"sidewalks to nowhere" issue. Motion to table Ordinance 36-2023 and send it back to the Planning Commission for further updates was made by Council Member Tyler Wood. Seconded by Council Member Mike Kneeland. Roll Call. All in favor. None opposed. Ordinance 36-2023 Amendment to Payment in Lieu of Sidewalk Construction was not adopted and was tabled with six yeas and no nays. s L J Miscellaneous and General Discussion 6:20PM Mayor Joseph Hurst mentioned that the Arkansas Legislative Audit for 2022 was not going to be performed in the calendar year 2023. Due to scheduling conflicts, it was determined between the City Clerk-Treasurer and the Legislative Audit that it would be in the best interest of the City of Van Buren to perform a two-year audit (2022 &2023) commencing in April of 2024. Discussion was had regarding the inappropriate handling, in the opinion of two city residents (husband and wife) by the Police Department regarding the sidewalk in front of their house and their neighbor's vehicle that protrudes from the driveway into a portion of what is considered the sidewalk. The couple states they have called the non-emergency line as requested when the sidewalk is blocked, and no one can walk down the street without moving into the grass to get past the protruding vehicle and that they don't know the outcome the call. The couple mentioned that it is against ADA(American Disability Act) and that they would have to file a complaint if the city did not respond. Neighbors of the couple spoke as well stating that there is a form of harassment going on and several issues were cited and possible resolutions to this situation. Mayor Hurst stated that he would have further discussions as needed. i � N ADJOURNMENT 6:40PM Council Member Madison Simmons made a motion to adjourn,seconded by Council Member Matt Dodson. The motion passed 6-0. The Regular Meeting of the Van Buren City Council was adjourned at 6:40PM. G\erk Trek City of Van Buren ATTESTED: �ymI* APPROVED: raCounty,F' a t- Shawnna M. R ynolds 4ayor P. Hurst City Clerk-Treasurer I V I i i I i ��>>ti�.►IPf6f/����f Q�S"y1~