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07 July 2014 Special MINUTES OF THE VAN BUREN,ARKANSAS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD JULY 8,2014 A special called meeting of the City Council of the City of Van Buren, Arkansas met at 6:30 p.m., on Tuesday, July 8, 2014 at the Municipal Complex. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Freeman. Council members present were Alderman Parker, Blake, Moore, Ragsdale, Dodd and Sagely. City Clerk-Treasurer Barbie Curtis and City Attorney Candice Settle were also present. This made a total of nine (9)present. A quorum was declared. The Mayor ordered spread upon the minutes,the "NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING AND WAIVER OF REGULAR NOTICE OF AND CONSENT TO SPECIAL MEETING." Mayor Freeman went into discussion regarding the status of several current road projects as well as some potential future projects. First, Mayor Freeman commented on the fact that Rena Road is completed with the exception of regaining control from the Highway Department. They will not release it until the warranty period has expired. City Engineer Brad Baldwin said that it was a six month warranty and we still have approximately four months of that time remaining. Also, Mayor Freeman stated we have about$250,000 in change orders remaining for this project. Mayor Freeman then moved onto Pevehouse Road's low water crossing. Discussion for this started seven years ago and it was not affordable at that time. He said within the last couple of years we began working with the county on this again and this project has been approved for a FEMA 80/20 grant. It would be a million dollar project and our portion of that would be approximately $100,000. Next,he spoke on the Highway 64 overlay from the base of the Midland Bridge to the interstate ramps. He said that while Forsgren was here milling and overlaying this area he would like to see how much it would cost to also have them do 4th Street from the bridge to Washington Street which is a high traffic areas right in front of the Crawford County Courthouse as well as 8th Street up to the base of Log Town Hill which is another high traffic areas. He asked Forsgren to get us those quotes and between the two streets in would cost about $85,000. This is the reason Mayor Freeman called the special meeting. If this is something the council will approve we need to do it while they are here and have the time frame available. Mayor Freeman stated that over the last several years we've been able to overlay 16th Street and Pointer Trail, 24th Street, a portion of Alma Boulevard, and 11th Street. The next highest traffic area that needs attention is 20th Street. The area between Highway 64 and Alma Boulevard has several concrete patches but it is currently not a consideration with Forsgren. We still need to find out what will come of the sewer and waste water study that the water department is conducting. The next couple of projects for consideration would be Alma Boulevard by Blakemore Field, Poplar Street from King School to Highway 59, 9th Street from Pointer Trail down, and all the older streets north of Butterfield School. Alderman Parker expressed that she would hate to see Poplar Street tore up during the school year due to the interference with school traffic. Mayor Freeman agreed that that was the similar problem with all of these projects. All of these high traffic areas are near schools. He recommended we keep the money put back and be ready to bid it out early so that it can be done during spring and summer breaks. He also mentioned that we applied for a state aid program for$250,000 and we were granted that aid for 28th Street project. The state surveyed the area from Alma Boulevard down to Kibler Road as well as from South Highway 59 to the railroad tracks and it has been approved to do sometime next year. City Engineer Brad Baldwin's estimate to get this done was about a million dollars. We also received another estimate of$350,000-$375,000 that would not be as extensive as a repair but it would only last about 10-15 years. On the agenda next was to consider AN ORDINANCE ALLOWING THE MAYOR TO CONTACT WITH FORSGREN,INC. FOR STREET IMPROVEMENTS; WAIVING COMPETITIVE BIDDING; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. The City Clerk read the Ordinance in its entirety. Alderman Ragsdale moved that the rules be suspended and the Ordinance be placed on its second reading. The motion was seconded by Alderman Parker. The council followed with a unanimous vote. The City Clerk then read the Ordinance the second time. Alderman Ragsdale moved that the rules be further suspended and the Ordinance placed on the third and final reading. The motion was seconded by Alderman Dodd. The council followed with a unanimous vote. The City Clerk then read the Ordinance the third and final time. The Mayor asked if there was any discussion. Alderman Blake asked how much money the city will be saving by doing these projects now. City Engineer Brad Baldwin commented that we won't be saving much rather than we will be taking advantage of them being available now to do it. The Mayor then put the question, "Shall the Ordinance pass?" Motion was made by Alderman Parker and seconded by Alderman Ragsdale to adopt the Ordinance. On the Clerk's calling the roll, the following vote resulted: Ayes—Alderman Dodd, Sagely, Parker, Blake, Moore, and Ragsdale.Nays—none. The Mayor declared the motion carried as there were six (6) ayes and(0)nays. Four(4)votes being necessary for passage. Motion was made by Alderman Dodd and seconded by Alderman Sagely,that the emergency clause be adopted. On the Clerk's calling the roll,the following vote resulted: Ayes —Alderman Dodd, Sagely, Parker, Blake, Moore, and Ragsdale. Nays—none. The Mayor then declared the Ordinance passed and signed same in open Council, duly attested by the City Clerk. THE ORDINANCE WAS GIVEN THE NUMBER 9-2014 CITY OF VAN BUREN,ARKANSAS ORDINANCE NO. -2014 SECTION 4• To the extent there is any conflict this Ordinance hereby amends or supersedes any ordinance(s)previously adopted by the City of Van Buren,and the various provisions and parts hereto are hereby declared to be severable,and,if any section or part of a section,or any BE IT ENACTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL,FOR THE CITY OF VAN BUREN,ARKANSAS provision or part of a provision herein, is declared to be unconstitutional, AN ORDINANCE TO BE ENTITLED: inappropriate,or invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction,such holding shall not invalidate or affect the remainder of this Ordinance and to that extent the provisions hereto are AN ORDINANCE ALLOWING TEE MAYOR TO CONTRACT WITH declared to be severable. FORSGREN,INC.FOR STREET IMPROVEMENTS; WAIVING IN WITNESS WHEREOF,the City of Van Buren,Arkansas,by its City Council,did pass, COMPETITIVE BIDDING;DECLARING AN EMERGENCY;AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. approve,and adopt,by a vote of_E for and 0 against,the foregoing Ordinance at its special meeting held on the r day of July 2014. WHEREAS, the Arkansas Highway Department has contracted with Forsgren,Inc.for improvements to Highway 64 within the city limits of Van Burn,Arkansas;and WHEREAS, based on a review by the City Engineer,the City of Van Buren has determined that the improvements to South 4m Street and South 8m Street to the north of Highway 64 are in the best interest of the city and will benefit the health,safety and welfare of the citizens of Van Buren; R bert D.F and Mayor WHEREAS, the City Council has determined,pursuant to ARK.CODE ANN.§14-58-303(bx2XB)that exceptional circumstances exist,specifically the on-going nature of this project,which renders the formal competitive bidding process impractical and/or unfeasible;and ATTESTED: O r A,TO FORM: WHEREAS, a state of emergency exists because the street repairs and improvements herein are needed a .MME immediately to provide for the health,safety,and welfare of the citizens of Van Buren and to B ie Curtis "' A.'e i° preserve the ptuperty of the city. City Clerk/Treasurer City Attorney NOW,THEREFORE,BE IT ORDAINED AND ENACTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF VAN BUREN,ARKANSAS,THAT: SECTION':The City Council in accordance with the terms of ARK.CODE ANN§14-58- 303(b)(2XB),hereby waives the requitement of competitive bidding in this particular case,as such procedure is not deemed feasible or practical,and hereby authorizes and directs the Mayor to contract for the above described improvements. SECTION 2: The Mayor is hereby duly authorized to contract in the amount of$83,88125,with Forsgren, Inc.as appropriated herein,to be paid out of capital improvements,and to execute all documents,contracts,and agreements necessary to effectuate this Ordinance. SECTION 3: That in order to contract repairs hereto,at the amounts herein,it is further found that there is an immediate need and as such an emergency is declared to exist and this ordinance being necessary for the preservation of the public health,safety,and welfare,shall take full effect from and after its passage and approval. Mayor Freeman then went into discussion about the 16th Street and Pointer Trail project. He noted that the project was great with the exception of the finished ride. He went back and explained that McClellan Engineering did the first set of asphalt density testing and it came back with some issues that we took to the contractors. The contractor asked for the opportunity for another lab of our choosing to test it again. That test was completed and the results showed that the asphalt was good. We contracted with a third testing firm and those results also came back good. Mayor Freeman then stated that after all change orders were made our final contract amount was $709,673.92. Of that we have paid $604,599.37 leaving us with a$105,074.55 balance due to the contractor. The mayor proposed to the contractor a$60,000 penalty for the issues with the smoothness. The contractor countered with a$30,000 penalty. Alderman Ragsdale asked what made the ride so rough compared to the other projects. Mayor Freeman replied that the asphalt was coming from Northwest Arkansas and they didn't have enough trucks to keep the asphalt moving so the temperature of the asphalt fluctuated. He then suggested that a representative sit down with the two firms(McClellan Engineering and TNT Contractors) and try to agree to some number in the middle, otherwise we go to litigation which would not be beneficial to any parties involved. City Attorney Candice Settle said her issue with going to court would be provability of damage. She questioned how we would value the "comfortability" of the ride since there's no actual damage to it. With all that being said, Mayor Freeman expressed that he would be very cautious about entering into a contract with either party involved in the future. Alderman Sagely asked if either party would be willing to sit down and meet. Alderman Blake asked if there was a way to get a warranty involved with the conclusion. Mayor Freeman said that he would work on getting a meeting set up and then any decision will be approved by council. There being no further business,motion was made by Alderman Parker seconded by Alderman Dodd to adjourn. The Council followed with a unanimous vote. The meeting adjourned at 7:35 p.m. ATTESTED: is" 'OVED: (-461Ait' 0 CITY CLERK-TREASURER AYOR ��