After an opening prayer said by Councilman Howard Austin, a pledge of allegiance and approvals without questioning of the September meeting minutes and financial reports, Mayor Terry Oliver observed that Fall Fest had had a big turnout, then he began the reports portion of the meeting. With Chamber of Commerce Director Jamie Hillery being absent and Chief of Police Ann Jordan saying she had nothing to report, Godwin was given the floor.
She encouraged the council members to look through the sales tax figures she had handed to them in their meeting packages, announced the success of the grand opening of the new Love’s Travel Center October 3rd, noting that Love’s has given a $2,000 donation to the Senior Citizens Center. “That was a blessing there,” Godwin said.
Condemned houses have been torn down as part of an ongoing effort, Godwin said, but there still remain several to do.
Turning to the drainage improvement project for Hays, Arnold, East Third and East Laurel Streets, Godwin reported that the lowest cost bid for the project out of three companies submitting turned out to be $428,347.30. The 100 percent grant provided by the state would cover $300,000 of this, leaving $128,347.30 to be covered by the city somehow.
Godwin said a call from the contractor to the Arkansas Economic Development Commission resulted in an agreement to provide an additional $86,998.65 on the condition that the city would match it. She said that in consultation with City Accountant Carl Dalrymple she found the city has two options, either deduct the cost from a sales tax budget (separate from the recently passed tax to retire debt for the 2021 winter storm energy costs) already passed which will be collected in 2024 or trim off parts of the drainage improvement project.
Councilman Ivory Curry moved that the $86,998 grant be accepted and matched. He said he believed all the work included in the drainage project was needed and would keep going up in cost if not pursued now. Councilman Austin seconded. After a little discussion about what was included in the project, the motion was passed unanimously by the council on individual voice votes.
Austin asked whether a road near the park that is particularly prone to flooding during rains was covered by the project. Godwin and Mayor Oliver said it would be. Godwin said work would not start until early next year, but the goal would be to complete it by early spring.
Godwin also presented a proposal by Brandon Tullis to lease 126 acres for five years at the industrial park and cultivate hay on the property. The project will take at least two years to kill undesirable plants with herbicides at a cost to him of $3,000 a year. Hay could be harvested by the third year, which Tullis would pay $5 s bale for. Godwin said Tullis has agreed to step away from the deal should the city make a deal for a company to place facilities on the property if given a 60 day notice. Tullis has already been bushhogging its vegetation.
Godwin said the deal is advantageous to the city in that it would reap about $1,000 a year for the hay in three years.
Curry said he’d like to see the proposal in writing before a vote in favor. Godwin said the contract would be based on a previous one, and when it is presented she would ask Tullis to come to the council to speak about his proposal.
In Citizens Communications, Jerry Eslick spoke on a variety of matters, including a Freedom of Information Act request he said he filed a year ago which was not responded to. He said the area around the former Potlatch location had not been sufficiently checked for remaining pollutants before the city purchased it. Godwin responded that this was not true. Before the city purchased the property, a phase one environmental study had been done on it, turning up lead paint cans and gas cans that were disposed of properly.