The meeting was called to order at 7:10 p.m. by Mayor Doug Kinslow. The roll was called by
City Clerk/Treasurer Sharla Derry and council members present at roll call were Ralph Meeker,
Rod Powell, Daniel McDaniel, Tim Terry, and Lance Terry; a quorum was declared; City
Attorney Mike Hamby was present and Councilman AC Brown arrived after roll call at 7:12
p.m. Prayer was offered by Bro. Jeff Ivey of Greenwood First Baptist Church and Pledge of
Allegiance was led by Police Chief Will Dawson.
Approval of Minutes:
Motion was made by Mr. McDaniel, seconded by Mr. Meeker to approve the July 11, 2022
regular city council meeting minutes as presented; motion passed unanimously.
Recognitions and Acknowledgements
None
Committee Reports:
Boys & Girls Club – Report Submitted
SRCA – Report Submitted
Parks Commission – Report Submitted
Water/Wastewater Commission – Reports Submitted
Citizen Forum:
Jim Newcomb – Mr. Newcomb stated that he recently made a request to see the City’s Fire Board minutes and found that minutes of those meetings do not exist, to his knowledge. He requested that minutes to those meetings be recorded due to the fact that three councilmen sit on that board and make decisions with the City’s tax money, to which Mr. Hamby clarified that 2 or more council together discussing city business is considered a meeting. Mr. Newcomb said that he was curious about the recent purchase of a fire truck and expressed doubt that the Fire Department could have made that purchasing decision without the councilmen discussing the city’s business therefore. He said he has looked at some of the City’s meeting notes and questioned that if he were to look at the Fire Board’s minutes, would what was discussed match what went on at the City Council meeting; Mayor Kinslow stated that this would be looked into. Upon further discussion, Mr. Powell acknowledged Mr. Newcomb’s point as valid and offered commentary and said he would visit with the City Attorney and consider when all three councilmen are discussing city business, maybe minutes should be taken and, in later comments, expressed his desire for transparency to the citizens; Mr. Tim Terry inquired of Mr. Newcomb as to why it took 12 months after a new fire truck was bought for him to inquire about this and found it interesting that this question has been raised during an election period. Mr. Brown offered the statement that, in order to maintain a low ISO rating of 2, certain purchases are made to maintain the standard required to stay at that rating. In conclusion, Mr. Newcomb stated that he is not griping about the fire department, first responders, or the council members, he simply would like to read minutes from the meetings.
Sue Edwards – Mrs. Edwards offered thanks and praise for the Greenwood Fire Department, the
Police Chief, the Mayor, and the Parks Director for their efforts in successfully saving their
house from catching fire recently while they were not home.
Financial Report
Report submitted with tax receipts updates from Mr. Marsh; ARPA second tranche was received
at $975,195.00 that is still unallocated but some recommendations will be brought to council,
possibly next meeting; solar savings update; Fire property loan has been paid off; flood related
expenses update – $61,000 plus expected sewer issue at the lake which is likely to bring the total
to $160,000 to date.
Mayor Kinslow stated that FEMA and WAPDD grants are being pursued which would allow
purchase of flood prone properties to remove the homes and convert the properties to a park-like
setting, along with funding to relocate inhabitants of those homes.
Agenda Additions
Police – Resolutions to Amend Budget for Purchase of Flood Damaged Vehicle
Police – Ordinance to Waive Bidding for Purchase of Vehicles
There were no noted objections to this addition.
OLD/UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Mayor – Ordinance Authorizing Water Tap Outside City Limits on Property
Owned by Farmers Bank – 3rd Reading – Mr. Powell asked that Section 4 of the ordinance be
edited to remove the 25% surcharge language and replace it with language that refers back to the
city ordinance that enacts the surcharge so that, if anything about that changes in the future, said
change will not affect this section of this ordinance. Motion was made by Mr. Brown, seconded
by Mr. Meeker to approve this by title only, with change discussed; motion passed by majority
with Mr. Tim Terry voting no, and all others voting yes. The title was read by the City Clerk.
Mayor – Approval of Water Rights Purchase for 35.96 Acres of Land at Highway 71
and 10 Spur – Tabled from Previous Meeting – Mr. Marsh distributed a “cover letter” that is to
accompany the letter provided in the packet “A Memorandum of Water Rights Agreement and
Agreement for Binding Arbitration”; a lengthy discussion followed with additional commentary
by Greenwood Water/Wastewater Commission Chair Tate Cole, Planning & Building Director
Sonny Bell, Cheryl Garner, John Van Gorder, Buddy Loyd, Joanna Brandt, and
Water/Wastewater Commission member John Bailey. After discussion, motion was made by Mr.
McDaniel, seconded by Mr. Powell to accept this agreement with “council approval”
acknowledged on the cover letter; motion passed unanimously; this was followed by a round of
applause.
Mayor – Approval of Agreement Regarding Extending Water Services for Library –
Tabled from Previous Meeting – Mr. Tim Terry clarified that this is just to run a line under the
street, to which Mayor Kinslow answered in the affirmative and referenced a map to confirm
location. After discussion, motion was made by Mr. McDaniel, seconded by Mr. Powell to
approve this agreement as presented; motion passed unanimously.
NEW BUSINESS
City Clerk – Ordinance to Approve Related Party Transactions with Jim Reynolds
Outdoors – 1st Reading – Motion was made by Mr. Tim Terry, seconded by Mr. McDaniel to
approve this ordinance; motion passed unanimously and the title was read by the City Clerk. Mr.
Tim Terry inquired as to what type of business could be done with Mr. Reynolds, to which Mr.
Reynolds clarified that it is an advertising agency. Mr. Reynolds addressed council and spoke on
the plans for moving dirt for the library and stated that it is the County that will be doing that and
thanked the Council for the yes vote that raised the standard of living here in Greenwood,
Arkansas. Ms. Derry entertained passage under emergency, to which it was decided that this
would be read over three separate readings.
Finance – Resolution to Create Restricted Funds Account and Amend Budget for
City Lake Bridge Trail Project – Mr. Marsh stated that this is a subaccount under the General
Fund for the Parks and donations for the stated purpose will go into the account; motion was
made by Mr. Powell, seconded by Mr. McDaniel to adopt this resolution as presented; motion
passed unanimously.
Finance – Resolution to Amend Budget for Increasing Capital Improvements for
City Lake Bridge Trail Project – Mr. Marsh explained the dynamic of the donated funding for
this project and how it relates to additional funding from City Sales & Use Tax – Parks; motion
was made by Mr. Brown, seconded by Mr. Powell to approve this resolution with the following
change in Section 1 of the document: Change “Oak Street” to “The Oaks Subdivision”; motion
passed unanimously.
Mayor – Approval of Ordinance to Waive Bidding for City Lake Bridge Trail Project – Ms. Derry asked Mr. Marsh if he took issue with the passage of waiving bids by ordinance, rather than resolution, to which he stated that he and Mr. McDaniel have questioned the reasoning for passage of these by ordinance, as it delays progress in projects with having to wait for three readings, etc. Mr. Marsh explained that state law mandates passage by resolution but city ordinance legislates that waiving bids be passed by ordinance, instead; and it was then discovered that state law recently changed to direct that bids be waived by resolution instead of ordinance; it was requested that next month’s agenda include changing the City’s bid requirements to match that of the statute.
Mr. McDaniel asked for an update on the areas at the City Lake being within city limits, to which
Mr. Hamby stated that he is waiting on the title company for certification that the City owns the
property there and it has been taking them a significantly longer time to determine this due to the
governmental lots that exist there and he said without this, he cannot proceed.
Motion was made by Mr. Powell, seconded by Mr. Meeker to put this on first reading by title
only; Mr. McDaniel explained the process for placing the bridge as being pickup of components,
which are 90 feet long, taking them to a fabrication yard, customizing them to fit the location,
and the work will be done by Holmes Erection, Crawford Construction, and Mickle Wagner
Coleman Engineering – once these processes are complete, a better budgeting figure will be
arrived at for cost to complete the project. The earlier motion passed by majority with Mr. Tim
Terry voting no, and all others voting yes. The title was read by the City Clerk. Motion was
made by Mr. Brown, seconded by Mr. Powell to waive the second and third readings of the
ordinance; motion passed by majority with Mr. Tim Terry voting no and all others voting
yes. Mr. Powell thanked Mr. McDaniel for his work in pushing this project forward; motion was
made by Mr. Brown, seconded by Mr. Powell to enact the emergency clause; motion passed by
majority with Mr. Tim Terry, Mr. McDaniel and Mr. Lance Terry voting no and all others and
Mayor Kinslow voting yes to the pass the measure.
City Attorney – Authorization to Allow Remittance of Restitution in Payments – Mr.
Hamby stated that he had contacted Ms. Shepherd’s attorney inquiring as to the status of the
$1,000 payment for tree damages at the lake and was informed that Ms. Shepherd had lost her
employment and was needing to make payments of $100 per month and that he would not
recommend that council accept that offer, rather he will advise her attorney that if the City does
not receive payment within 30 days as initially discussed litigation would proceed. Ms. Derry
clarified that the payments Ms. Shepherd stated that she could pay was $50 or $60 per
month. Motion was made by Mr. McDaniel, seconded by Mr. Powell to not accept the proposed
payments for this restitution; motion passed unanimously.
Water Commission – Repeal and Replace Ord #04-33 Authorizing Refund of Water
Deposits – Emergency Passage – Mr. Posey presented this ordinance and explained that the
water office has switched software and the new system no longer accommodates the procedure
which this ordinance requires to select customers that would receive the refund of deposit based
on good payment history; Mr. Posey stated that these checks are due in August under the current
ordinance and if delayed further, this will not change until next year, to which Mr. McDaniel
questioned why this change has been requested at this late time. Mr. Marsh stated that the new
system does not accommodate the procedures necessary as the previous software did, and this
has just been discovered as of late. After discussion, motion was made by Mr. Brown, seconded
by Mr. Meeker to put this on first reading by title only; motion passed unanimously; motion was
made by Mr. Brown, seconded by Mr. Meeker to waive the second and third readings of the
ordinance; motion passed unanimously and the title was read by the City Clerk; motion was
made by Mr. Tim Terry, seconded by Mr. Brown to adopt the ordinance; motion passed
unanimously. Motion was made by Mr. Tim Terry seconded by Mr. Brown to enact the
emergency clause of the ordinance; motion passed by majority with Mr. McDaniel voting no and
all others voting yes.
A&P Commission – Confirmation of Debra Thomas to Fill Vacancy on Commission – Mr. Powell stated that Mrs. Thomas owns the restaurant Cucina and the A&P Commission has requested council confirm her to replace the vacancy created by the leaving of the McDonald’s manager. Motion was made by Mr. McDaniel, seconded by Mr. Meeker to confirm this appointment; motion passed unanimously.
A&P Commission – Term Renewals for A&P Commissioners Tanner, McAlister, Powell and Brown – Mr. Powell stated that Mr. Tanner is with KMAC, Mr. McAlister is at large, and Mr. Powell and Brown are council members. Motion was made by Mr. McDaniel, seconded by Mr. Tim Terry to confirm these appointments; motion passed unanimously.
Finance – Proposed Retirement Plan Change to Allow Loans on Vested Employee Retirement Balances – Mr. Marsh stated that this has been explored and the Retirement Board has met and would like to implement the plan change with the retirement attorneys drawing up the changes to the plan. He said that vested amounts up to $50,000 or 50% of lower vested amounts for up to a 5-year period can be drawn and if an employee leaves employment without repayment, the employee would receive a 1099 tax form as income; a fee of $75 would be applied with prime plus 1% interest to any employee taking advantage of this, with only one loan per application allowed at any one time. After discussion, motion was made by Mr. Brown, seconded by Mr. Powell to approve this change to the retirement plan as presented; motion passed unanimously.
Police – Resolutions to Amend Budget for Purchase of Vehicle Due to Flood Damage
– Chief Dawson explained the reasons for his actions at last meeting and expressed his
frustrations with police officers vs. firefighters as they relate to votes on the council. He said his
officers responding to a scene are being paid less than the first responders/firefighters responding
to the same scene and that his officers are risking their lives just as much and are full-time
employees. He apologized for lashing out at the Fire Department and had built up frustration
that was let out and stated that he shouldn’t have done that; he added that he didn’t have much
time left at the City and explained further these thoughts, also adding that he is not against the
Fire Department but would like these problems solved. Mr. Lance Terry responded to Chief
Dawson’s comments by asking of him to name what he has not received in all of the years that
he has made requests of the Council and also inquired as to why his agenda additions were made
at the meeting instead of ahead of time as others do, to which Chief Dawson stated that he was
waiting on quotes to arrive. Mr. Lance Terry included a response to Chief Dawson’s earlier
comment about not having much time left at the City, and expressed that Greenwood is not a
priority for him, which prompted an outburst from citizen John Van Gorder seated in the
audience. Mr. Van Gorder shouted expletives, became unseated and walked toward the council
bench while Mayor Kinslow called for order in the room; he asked for Mr. Van Gorder to
address council in a calm manner, to which Mr. Van Gorder apologized and returned to his seat
by his own volition. Mr. Lance Terry went on to respond further, along with comments from
other council members and some citizens.
Two resolutions were presented for approval and Mr. Marsh and Chief Dawson explained the
reasons for both; there was a discussion that the items can be purchased with DTF funds but the
outfitting and insuring them was requested to be provided by the General Fund. Chief Dawson mentioned that he had reported after the fact that he took the DTF purchased Command Trailer and the 1992 Hummer acquired through government acquisition and traded it for a CID truck as an even trade.
Motion was made by Mr. Powell, seconded by Mr. Meeker to approve the resolution as
presented for purchase of a 2022 Chevy Camaro and a 2022 Dodge Durango; motion passed
unanimously.
Motion was made by Mr. Powell, seconded by Mr. Meeker to approve the resolution as presented for a Dodge Charger to replace a flood damaged 2014 Chevy Tahoe; motion passed unanimously. Mr. Tim Terry asked if Council should have been involved in the trade of the DTF purchased vehicles and Chief Dawson responded that he has done this in the past, but feels that his job administrating assets is to make those decisions and didn’t believe that he had made
decisions asset-wise that was negative to the City. He said that he had shared with the Mayor
that he wished to trade his truck in for a gas powered truck since he will no longer need to pull
the Command trailer anymore and stated that if council wants him to come before them, he will;
Ms. Derry acknowledged that assets are under the control of the Council for disposition but,
regarding trade-ins, did not know if that was a different gray area. Mr. Hamby advised that it is
whatever is adopted by ordinance, to which Ms. Derry stated that she believes that is designated
as the Mayor or his agent. Chief Dawson updated council on personnel needs at Mr. Powell’s
request, additional discussion followed, in which Chief Dawson clarified that the school is
paying half of two officer’s salaries and one whole officer salary with a goal to have one officer
at every school.
Police – Ordinance to Waive Bidding for Purchase of Vehicles – Chief Dawson presented this for consideration and again offered his apologies for previous interactions and expounded on ways the City of Greenwood Police Department is proactive rather than reactive. After discussion motion was made by Mr. Powell, seconded by Mr. Brown to put this on first reading by title only; motion passed unanimously and the title was read by the City Clerk. Motion was made by Mr. Powell, seconded by Mr. Meeker to waive the second and third readings of the ordinance; motion passed unanimously. Motion was made by Mr. Tim Terry, seconded by Mr. McDaniel to adopt this ordinance; motion passed unanimously. Motion was made by Mr. Brown, seconded by Mr. Meeker to invoke the emergency clause of the ordinance; motion passed by majority with Mr. McDaniel voting no, and all others voting yes.
Department Reports and Questions from Council
Police – Mr. Powell asked about the demographics of the Greenwood Police Department, to
which Chief Dawson confirmed that there is an average young age present, and offered his
thoughts on why that exists. He also touched on training and lessons he has learned during his
tenure as Chief regarding hiring trained officers versus training them through the department;
training pools, salaries, climate and environment of safety and competitive pay.
Planning – Mr. Tim Terry asked about the area of construction on Highway 10 Spur where
storage buildings are to be placed and inquired of Mr. Marsh what kind of tax revenue that brings
the City, to which Mr. Marsh stated that Mr. Terry knows the answer to that. Mr. Tim Terry then
asked Mr. Bell how that was approved, to which Mr. Bell indicated that the area is zoned
commercial and whomever owns a piece of land can build something that they are allowed to
build there that fits the zoning. Mr. Tim Terry and Mr. McDaniel inquired as to the option that
the City might have to define its commercial zoning so that only tax-generating businesses are
allowed to build in a commercially zoned area, to which Mr. Hamby said he does not have an
answer to that but he will have one at next meeting and Mr. Tim Terry acknowledged that.
There was additional discussion and Mr. Bell again clarified that the law is getting sensitive
where selective building is concerned.
Council Forum
Mr. Meeker inquired about Ms. Brandt’s earlier request for a parking lot and Ms. Briley
displayed via her cellphone a previous rendering by MAHG for a proposed parking lot and park
that could be developed adjacent to those buildings and showed it to the council members for
reference.
Mr. Buddy Loyd notified council that a community outreach is being planned by the Masonic
Lodge to hold an ice cream and watermelon social hosting the fire, police and first responder
departments coming up with a time and date yet to be announced. This prompted a conversation
from Mayor Kinslow about consideration of the use of the Masonic Lodge parking lot in the
event that it has to be relocated due to the location of the bypass in the future, in that it could
possibly be used as public parking while not being used by the Lodge.
Mr. Meeker mentioned the consideration of expanding the pipe size, at the City’s cost, when the
waterline is built to provide access to the area known as the Burton Property; the Mayor agreed
that the pipe referenced should be a 12” pipe.
Mayor Kinslow praised the firefighters for the job they did in the recent fire and also praised the
Water Distribution workers for the work they did in an emergency waterline break the night
previous.
Chief Dawson thanked the Street Department for fabricating a trailer to mount the radar sign
atop so that it can now be moved around town to different locations.
Chamber Director Bob Purvis announced the Teacher Appreciation Banquet to be held the
coming Thursday at the high school. He praised Greenwood for its safety and good schools, and
invited everyone to come show the teachers of the school how much they are appreciated at
11:30 at the school cafeteria; Mayor Kinslow called upon his wife, Pam Kinslow, to stand and be
recognized for her 27 year teaching career; this was followed by applause.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn was made by Mr. McDaniel, seconded by Mr. Tim Terry; the meeting
adjourned at 10:42 p.m.
