The meeting was called to order at 7:09 p.m. by Mayor Doug Kinslow. The roll was called by City Clerk/Treasurer Sharla Derry and council members present at roll call were AC Brown, Tim Terry, Roger Rainwater, Daniel McDaniel, and Rod Powell; a quorum was declared. City Attorney Travis Plummer was present; Prayer was offered by Council member McDaniel and Pledge of Allegiance was led by Fire Chief Stewart Bryan.
Approval of Minutes:
Motion was made by Council member Terry, seconded by Council member Brown to approve the November 6, 2023 regular City Council meeting minutes as presented, motion passed unanimously.
Recognitions and Acknowledgements
Committee Reports:
Boys &Girls Club – Report Submitted; Mr. Sunde thanked council and the A&P Commission for everything they’ve done for the center.
SRCA – Report Submitted
Parks Commission – Report Submitted
Water/Wastewater Commission – Report Submitted; Chair Burtchett stated that the public meeting went well and there weren’t too many negative comments. Mr. Dalton Moore updated the Council on the work going on at the lift station across from Walgreens and said it is up and running while awaiting repairs.
Citizen Forum:
Citizen Self-Identified by an (Unable to Detect Spelling) Alias: (This speaker requested to be addressed by an alias, which was pronounced with a Russian dialect and requested not to be filmed therefore she addressed council from the entrance to the room out of view of the camera) – This citizen stated that she would like to be addressed by an alias due to being threatened by her ex-husband in Joplin. She stated that she rents at 1600 Meadowbridge and gave a brief history of family members’ demise and stated that she has tried to reach Mayor Kinslow and the City Council about being harassed at Meadowbrook for almost two months and has received no response from her letters nor her phone calls. She said she does not know the individuals who are harassing her and said that Chief Hobbs says they are respectable people, Pam and Ronnie Williams and she finds their behavior psychotic and alarming. She said they wait for her to leave the property and follow her out, even when she has to go outside to make a phone call on her flip-phone due to poor reception in the cottage; she said she waited for a month for this to stop because it is insulting and harassing, and she then decided to call the police and has filed two reports; she
said Chief Hobbs told her that he doesn’t think they are harassing or stalking her, and she thinks the opposite way. She expressed feeling doubted and said she has tried to explain clearly that she’s been assaulted in Joplin and she continued to tell a story about being attacked in Joplin and that is why she doesn’t want her real name to be revealed. She continued to state that she doesn’t feel safe and that she has followed proper procedure in reporting this, yet nothing has been done, nor a warrant issued for Williams and she is tired of it. She asked for resignations from the Mayor, Council and Mr. Hobbs due to this, and said she has not been able to find a job. Mayor Kinslow said he appreciates her coming and referenced her efforts in contacting police. No further comments were noted.
Maria Chavez – 205 W. Gum Street – Ms. Chavez stated she is here to address the liquor license subject and said as they stated before, there’s a part now that allows La Fiesta, specifically, to sell liquor and she needs ot know what to do now. Councilman McDaniel stated he was going to put this on the agenda, but for another reason, and he asked Ms. Chavez about the status of this and she said that they are good with the ABC, and the owner of the building attended the seminar. The process of the ordinance was discussed, along with certain steps to follow and Ms. Chavez said she has paperwork that is 99.9% complete and needs to get with Ms. Sharla Derry and there was discussion about the application process, to which Ms. Derry said that so far, there have not been the correct documents submitted in order to go forward. Mayor Kinslow stated that he didn’t feel the process has been made clear, and things need to get rolling and not take another 90 days. Council member McDaniel recalled conversations that he had with an attorney at the ABC and Representative Lee Johnson and stated his opinion about those; this item was added to the agenda.
Financial Report
Report Submitted; Mr. Marsh also updated on tax revenue statistics and capital expenditures status for the year. He also mentioned that he had a discussion with the SRCA about their contract and told council to look for that approval in January.
Agenda Additions
The following items were requested to be added ot the agenda:
Mayor – Private Club License Discussion
Animal Sheltering Contract
2024 Council Calendar Adoption
2024 Janitorial Contract Approval
It was requested that Item #14 be moved to first of business; there were no noted objections to this request. It was acknowledged by Chief Hobbs that the police department janitorial contract would be addressed at the January meeting.
OLD/UNFINISHED BUSINESS (Items listed in order addressed)
Mayor – Private Club License Discussion – Mr. Plummer stated that it is his understanding that La Fiesta has engaged in an attorney that specializes in getting these things done with the ABC,
and part of that process involves purchasing a non-profit that has been in existence more than one year, and the missing piece is that Ms. Chavez has to bring approval from the ABC, but in order to get that we have to pass our ordinance. In conclusion, Mayor Kinslow asked Ms. Chavez (representative on behalf of La Fiesta Restaurant) to have La Fiesta’s attorney contact the City Attorney and work through this.
Council – Ordinance Repealing & Replacing Ord#14-10 Discharge of Firearms in City
Limits – 1″ Reading – Council member Meeker stated his wish to get the City’s ordinance in line with Game & Fish distances and recommended that the other item that mentions “no hunting in lawful hunting areas” in this ordinance be stricken. He referenced section 2(7) of the ordinance and asked for “on a minimum of (10) acres or more” to be stricken and to add “or archery at 50 yards” added to the section. Police Chief Hobbs stated that he considers Councilmember Meeker to be an expert on this subject matter and that he is in agreement on this. Councilmember Meeker explained that the only entity that can control hunting in the state of Arkansas is the Game and Fish Commission because, by default, many cities do not allow the discharge of a firearm within the city, which oftentimes includes archery, then no hunting is allowed but the City cannot disallow hunting; he said in the essence of public safety, a city can say “no firearms” – period, and so that’s where problems arise, especially with white-tailed deer, it there’s no hunting then he questioned who takes care of the deer. He said Game and Fish does not promote the discharge of guns inside city limits, but opportunities are allowed, through archery-only hunts, to allow people to harvest deer inside the city limits. He said that he would like to leave the discretion of Chief Hobbs referenced Urban Archery Hunt information that he included in the packet and talked about distance limits of discharge of firearms from roadways and stated his desire for the previous mentioned discretion to be determined by the City Council, and then he will enforce that law. Councilmember Meeker specified that the amendment to this ordinance is a separate subject from the urban hunting subject and that the change to this ordinance is so that deer can be hunted via bows and arrows within the city limits. Chief Hobbs said that he and Council member Meeker agreed that no firearms be allowed on city property, on trails, around the lake or in the parks. After discussion, motion was made by Council member Meeker, to visit with Chief Hobbs and come back with a draft of changes; he later rescinded his motion and motion was made by Council member Brown, seconded by Council member Powell to put this on first reading by title only; motion passed unanimously, and the title was read by the City Clerk with Ms. Derry stating that this reading strikes the emergency clause and also the fact that she had just read the title of an existing ordinance; Council member Terry stated that he felt the ordinance would be used, but changed some.
Water/Wastewater Commission – Ordinance Repealing & Replacing Ordinances #12-06 and #12-09 Adjusting Water Rates – 2 Reading – Commission Chair Theresa Burtchett went through any changes made since last reading and Mr. Marsh added information with changes made concerning the CPI to allow discretion to reduce, lower, or change that in the future as needed. It was determined that the word “national” be inserted in front of the CPI portions in Sections 3and 4. Motion was made by Councilmember Brown, seconded by Council member Meeker to put this on second reading by title only with changes as discussed; motion passed unanimously. The title was read by the City Clerk.
Water/Wastewater Commission – Ordinance Repealing & Replacing Ord#12-10 Adjusting Sewer Rates – 2″d Reading – It was discussed that a requirement by state law specific to sewer for public hearing advertisement in a local newspaper would need to be circulated and an additional public hearing held for sewer rates and Ms. Derry stated that she would find out the next day when the most recent publishing date could be held for this and get back with Chair Burtchett regarding a public hearing date. Motion was made by Council member Brown, seconded by Councilmember Powell to put this on its second reading by title only, with the included changes discussed and that the word “national” be inserted in front of the CPI portions; motion passed unanimously. The title was read by the City Clerk.
NEW BUSINESS (items listed in order discussed)
Mayor – Resolution to Accept Purchase of Property from Burgess Living Trust for
Greenwood Bypass Project – Mayor Kinslow referenced a letter of intent penned by Dr.
James Burgess wherein it was estimated that 20 acres of property would be purchased as
an easement for $4,000 per acre and he said this agreement has been set at 27 acres for
$4,000 per acre and there was extensive discussion about various aspects of this and
Mayor Kinslow stated that ARDOT is awaiting the approval of this agreement.
Councilmember McDaniel requested that access points for gates on the property be
indicated on the agreement; there was discussion about the floodplain exception included
in the agreement and it was made known that this exception is undesirable as flooding
occurs in the area and there were no noted objections for including, instead, language that
allowed the Burgess’s to develop land in the referenced area. Councilmember Terry
stated the benefit of waiting until construction is completed in the area before decisions
are made concerning floodplain exemptions and indicated that granting exceptions to
some and not others puts the City at risk and that negotiation in good faith is to assist
development on the land between the bridges, either the purchase of or the development
of, the parties – will reconvene at a later date and if the areas referenced are considered an
island or unusable, the City will purchase those areas to occur after construction is
completed; there was general agreement to this noted with Mayor Kinslow reminding
council that this agreement must be approved before ARDOT will continue in the area
discussed. Councilmember McDaniel read aloud the following suggested language to
include in the agreement: “The City will negotiate in good faith to either purchase the
property, or assist as possible, to enable the development of the land between the new
bypass and existing 10 Highway (possibly for commercial use) upon the completion of
the bypass project.” Mr. Plummer suggested giving the Mayor authorization to enter into
the contract once a meeting has been had with the Burgessess and one other
council member, taking the council’s concerns to them and so that an agreement is
reached that is amenable to both sides.
After discussion, motion was made by Councilmember Powell, seconded by
Councilmember Meeker to allow the Mayor to enter into a real estate purchase agreement
with the Burgess family with Council’s concerns; motion passed by majority with
Councilmember McDaniel abstaining, and all others voting yes.
The resolution authorizing “the purchase of certain real property” was discussed and Mr.
Marsh asked for determination about which budget year this would be for, and said that
City Sales & Use Tax – Street, where the resolution has the funding coming from, is
woefully underfunded based on budget needs and this fund is in a dire situation and needs
council to address it; Mr. Marsh expressed his desire that reserve balances not go below
one year’s worth of revenue stream in order to fund an additional project within a year
without having to wait for the accumulation of revenue in a given year.
It was decided that the resolution reflect purchase of up to 27 acres of real property,
instead of the listed 22.78 acres; there was a request to add a section to Exhibit B for the
agreement to be attached to the resolution, and that the amount listed in Section 3 not
exceed $108,000; motion was made by Council member Terry, seconded by
Council member Brown to approve this resolution with the changes in acreage and price;
motion passed unanimously.
Mayor – Resolution to Authorize Donation of City Property to ARDOT for
Greenwood Bypass Project – There was extensive discussion for this and the Mayor
specified that this property will eventually come back to the City after construction;
motion was made by Councilmember Terry, seconded by Councilmember McDaniel to
approve the resolution as presented; motion passed unanimously.
City Attorney – Ordinance Approving Annexation of City Owned Property for Future
Senior Citizens Center – Motion was made by Council member Terry, seconded by
Council member 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 Council member McDaniel, seconded by
Council member Meeker to suspend the rules waiving the second and third readings of the
ordinance, excluding the emergency clause, which Council member McDaniel later restated as
only waiving the second and third reading; motion passed unanimously; motion was made by
Council member McDaniel, seconded by Council member Rainwater to adopt the ordinance;
motion passed unanimously.
Finance – Resolution to Adopt Temporary Operating Budget – Motion was made by
Council member Terry, seconded by Council member Brown to approve this resolution as
presented; motion passed unanimously.
Mayor – Approval of 2024 Sebastian County Library Contract – Mayor Kinslow stated there
have been no changes since last year; motion was made by Councilmember Powell, seconded by
Council member Terry to authorize the Mayor to contract with the Sebastian County Library;
motion passed unanimously.
Mayor – Approval of 2024 Economic Development Contract – Motion was made by
Council member Brown, seconded by Council member McDaniel to accept this as presented;
motion passed unanimously.
Mayor – Approval of 2024 Sebastian County Boys & Girls Club Contract – Mr. Marsh
explained that the contract is written for $54,000 and any additional funding would be requested
by the Club on a case-by-case basis; motion was made by Councilmember McDaniel, seconded
by Councilmember Powell to accept the contract as explained by Mr. Marsh; motion passed
unanimously.
Finance – 2022 Water Sewer Audit Report – Mr. Marsh pointed out that there were no
significant difficulties in the audit and the only significant item of note was that the bond
covenant failed to be met in 2022 on the 2016 Water Bond; he said that with the rate study, steps
are being taken to make this a non-issue in the future; he reported that total net position has
increased by 4.6% and while revenues were up by almost 6%, expenses were up around 12%.
Upon conclusion, motion was made by Councilmember Brown, seconded by Councilmember
Terry to accept the report as presented; motion passed unanimously.
Finance – Federal ARPA Funding Audit Report – Mr. Marsh stated that when more than
$750,000 of federally funded grant money is expensed in a year, this has to be done and to expect another audit in 2023 for money expensed in that year, as well. He said that the findings are that the City of Greenwood complied in all respects and the final certification would be performed as soon as he has access to the portal to do so. Motion was made by Council member Meeker, seconded by Council member Brown to accept this report; motion passed unanimously.
Animal Sheltering Contract – Mayor Kinslow stated that the only change with this is that the
fees were raised from $15 to $18 per day and he said the facility has been very generous and due
to all other things going up, this has gone up as well, although Kyla Gwin has done what she can
to keep the amount of animals held at a minimum through adoptions; motion was made by
Council member Terry, seconded by Council member Rainwater to accept and allow the Mayor to
enter into the agreement; motion passed unanimously.
2024 Council Calendar Adoption – Ms. Derry stated that she has inserted the dates for the
quarterly budget reviews but they can be changed if needed. Motion was made by
Council member Terry, seconded by Council member Rainwater to accept the 2024 calendar as
presented with tentative dates for the quarterly budget reviews; motion passed unanimously.
2024 Janitorial Contract Approval – It was stated that this contract is only for City Hall and
had raised from $150 to $175 per week and motion was made by Council member Terry,
seconded by Council member Meeker to allow the Mayor to enter into this contract; motion
passed unanimously.
Department reports and questions from Council
Mayor Kinslow congratulated Mr. Craig, Chief Hobbs and the Chamber for a perfectly run parade and said it was the most people he had ever seen there.
Council Forum
Mayor Kinslow updated council on the status of the senior center remodel and he said that the last bid was still $300,000 over the grant and the grant administrator is currently trying to see if any additional grant money might be available and that changes are also being worked on to lower the amount of cost.
Mayor Kinslow stated that Phase II of the sidewalk project is approved and he updated council on the status of that, with work still to do on collecting easements which will be tasked to Hunter Mikles.
Mayor Kinslow read a letter from ARDOT requesting the maximum final payment from the City of
$4,500,000.00 towards an overall city portion of $11,569,000.00, however the City was only responsible for any amount up to $5,000,000.00 per the terms of the bond issue, and he reminded council of the value the City received on this.
Council member Meeker said some construction is going on at Brighton Place where silt fences were not properly installed therefore causing drainage issues on Fairhaven Cove and he has received request that the City address this; Mayor Kinslow acknowledged this and stated that he would send Mr. Mikles to take a look at it, as he is the one that’s been dealing with this issue.
Adjournment: Motion was made by Councilmember Terry, seconded by Councilmember Rainwater to adjourn; meeting adjourned at 11:08 p.m.
