There was also discussion near the meeting’s end about the events of last week’s Planning and Zoning Commission meeting in which a request by Hope Public Schools for a special use permit was denied a recommendation by that body.

The board of directors meeting, which took place in the City Hall boardroom, can be seen in its entirety on the City of Hope’s Facebook page.

About fifteen minutes before the meeting adjourned, Director Steve Montgomery said, about the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting last week, that he had heard from citizens in favor of allowing Hope Public Schools to have a special use permit for a baseball/softball complex and tennis courts.  “In my mind, I just don't believe enough time or notification or dialog was given for this, and I guess I'd like to see more dialogue on this,” he said.

City Attorney Wright was asked by Wilson to research whether there was a way the matter could be discussed again or whether the commission’s vote to deny the special use permit effectively ended any other consideration of the proposal.  Wright said he believed the city board’s two Planning and Zoning Commission members, Vice-mayor Talley and Director Linda Clark, weren’t required to recuse themselves from voting—both did so—because though both are Hope School District employees, neither has a direct economic interest in the outcome of the vote. Talley said she would continue to recuse if the matter was to come up for discussion again, but Clark seemed to say Wright’s statement made a difference for her.

A resident of the area in which the multisport complex would be built, near East 19th Street, Don Freel, approached the podium and said that while he had objections to the way the project would increase the number of students walking past and perhaps through his property that he would consider supporting the project if his objections could be addressed with fencing or greenspace.

Talley agreed with Montgomery that more time and more communication with the residents in the area being considered for the multisport complex's location might have made the project more acceptable. She said holding public meetings and making sure concerns were addressed was a matter for the Hope School District to undertake.

The meeting began over an hour earlier with the board's approval of a purchase. Presenting the board with the bids submitted by companies seeking the contract to provide Hope with hot mix asphalt, Street Superintendent Kenneth Harvel said the city had more to choose from than it did last year: “We actually did pretty good this year. We’re going to wind up with five bids, three more than we had last year. Luckily, we came in with the low bid of $129.90 [per ton].  So we’re asking you to go ahead and approve that for us, and we hopefully can get started in a month or so.”

Harvel confirmed with the board that the company submitting the bid, Tri State Asphalt of DeQueen, had provided material for the city before and that the price would be $10 per ton higher than the city paid last year.  The city will likely purchase around 3,200 tons. Harvel said he would appear again in the second February meeting on the 18th with further details.

The board approved the purchase by voice vote.

Next, City Engineer Jeremy Stone and BiLD Architects representative Clay McGill asked the board to approve an updated agreement Stone and BiLD had negotiated with about eight or nine items changed from the previous contract.  Decisions on such matters as the number of offices to be included in the proposed aquatic and recreation center will need to be made in future discussions with the city board, McGill said. 

Mayor Don Still asked McGill whether the contract calls for weekly inspections. Page 23 of the contract, McGill said, specifies that “We’ll be on site once a week at a minimum.” A third-party inspector will also be on hand.  Inspections will be carried out during foundation work, plumbing, metal deck reinforcement.

McGill said the pay structure would play out over up to a year-and-a-half-long-period with BiLD billing the city as construction goes on. “During construction, we're going to bill for architectural every three months or so. So maybe in a 14- to 18-month project, you might see maybe four or five bills from us, while the contractor is billing you every month, because they have to get paid to release materials and pay labor and things like that. So you see less bills from us in general.”

McGill said BiLD would need six months of design time before it could begin the next stage, letting out bids, which would take at least three weeks before decisions could be made on which to accept. Stone said the bidding period could be extended to as much as 40 days. During those weeks contractors would be invited to visit the site and ask BiLD questions.

After City Manager J.R. Wilson said he and Stone thought the cost of the contract was acceptable and that City Attorney Randal Wright had also approved it, the city board assented by voice vote to the contract, which would be signed by Mayor Still.

The next item concerned the adoption of a logo for the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism. The logo, designed by SWARK.Today based on input from the department’s staff will be used on all the department’s documents and on its website. Parks Superintendent Summer Chambers said of the logo, shown below, “With all of our new things coming, it's just something new and improved.”

With the change in Arkansas state law concerning the way cities can spend funds, Wilson introduced a 16-page ordinance reflecting these changes, which include a raising of costs entailing certain procedures to conform every five years to the Consumer Price Index. Department heads alone can approve expenditures of $4,000 and below now.  Verbal quotes from vendors are required for expenditures from $4,000 to $20,000. Purchases from $20,000 to the Arkansas Statutory minimum requirement for competitive bidding of $42, 921 will require three written quotes from vendors, a purchase order signed and coded by a department head and a signature from the City Manager.  Purchases over that level will require a competitive bids process.  Emergency purchases allow the City Manager to make the purchase but to communicate doing so to the City Board.

After Wright read the ordinance, Mayor Still joking at one point about members of the audience possibly laying poker, a motion to suspend the rules passed unanimously, as did a motion to adopt the ordinance and a motion to adopt the emergency clause.

Next Fire Chief Todd Clark presented a list of eight sites in the city for the new fire department headquarters approved by voters in the November general election. He said he and the other fire personnel preferred sites at 1008 South Main and 501 East Third, though with reservations about the S-curve at the latter location.

Director Mark Ross asked whether the owner of a site at 704 South Main had contacted owners of neighboring property to see whether they were also interested in selling. Assistant City Manager Daniel Shelman said the owner had said she would do so but had not yet contacted Shelman about whether she had. 

It emerged during discussion that the old filling station on the S-curve that is now a used car dealership would remain, but the old buildings of the Village Shopping center would be demolished.  “My unknown on that is the expense of that and the parking lot,” Clark said. “I’m sure it’s not going to be a cheap fix.”

Wilson mentioned the need for asbestos abatement at the 501 East Third site as well, but said the city could probably undertake the demolition itself without contracting the job out.  Wilson said the property owners were receiving about $2,700 in rent from the businesses operating there. Director Coffee suggested having City Engineer Stone work out cost estimates. Mayor Still agreed and asked that Stone come back to the board with that information.

In the City Manager’s Report, Wilson asked that the directors look at the 2024 report from the city’s department heads. He said on February 18th a working meeting starting at 6:00 p.m. on street projects will occur before the board meeting at 7:00 p.m.

Wilson asked the board to allow an airport attendant a depredation permit from Arkansas Game and Fish providing the right to shoot deer that have been posing hazards on Hope Municipal Airport’s runways and resulting in pilot complaints. Any deer harvested would be required to be used for feeding the hungry locally.  The board approved the motion by unanimous voice vote.

Wilson also reported that a drawing will be shown in the February 18th done by Waterplay Solutions Co. of a splash pad and a 3D rendering shown in March.  He suggested placing the pad where the historic North Side Park pool used to be. Mayor Still asked whether parents could watch both the playground and splash pad at the same time. City Engineer Stone said the design would make this so, also noting that lighting and drainage work would be needed at North Side Park as well as a refurbishment of its current bathrooms.

During the section of the meeting allotted to questions from the board members, Director Ross asked if security cameras would be included in the work for the aquatic center. Stone said a contractor would be brought in which would work with BiLD architects. Ross also asked whether a Lions Club Pavilion could be moved from the site of construction. 

During citizen’s comments, NAACP Hope Chapter Unit 6012B President Sylvia Brown announced that a reception for the organization will take place at the Hempstead County Courthouse Wednesday February 12th at 3:30 p.m. in recognition of Black History Month. “Within the last month or so,” Brown said. “[County] Judge Jerry Crane has put up some historical pictures of influential black Americans, black Hempstead Countians, including Floyd Young, our first mayor, as well as Doctor Lavell Douglas and his father as well.”

The meeting adjourned at about 8:45 p.m.