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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-03-05 - Minutes -Council Member Robert B. Stafford Ward 1 Position 1 Council Member D'Andre Jones Ward 1 Position 2 Council Member Sarah Moore Ward 2 Position 1 Council Member Mike Wiederkehr Ward 2 Position 2 Mayor Lioneld Jordan City Attorney Kit Williams City Clerk Treasurer Kara Paxton City of Fayetteville Arkansas City Council Meeting March 5, 2024 City Council Meeting Minutes March 5, 2024 Page 1 of 12 Council Member Scott Berna Ward 3 Position 1 Council Member Sarah Bunch Ward 3 Position 2 Council Member Teresa Turk Ward 4 Position 1 Council Member Holly Hertzberg Ward 4 Position 2 A meeting of the Fayetteville City Council was held on March 5, 2024 at 5:30 p.m. in Room 219 of the City Administration Building located at 113 West Mountain Street, Fayetteville, Arkansas. Mayor Jordan called the meeting to order. PRESENT: Council Members Robert B. Stafford, D'Andre Jones, Sarah Moore, Mike Wiederkehr, Scott Berna, Teresa Turk, Holly Hertzberg, Mayor Lioneld Jordan, Senior Assistant City Attorney Blake Pennington, City Clerk Treasurer Kara Paxton, Chief of Staff Susan Norton, Chief Financial Officer Paul Becker, Staff, Press and Audience. Council Member Bunch arrived at 5:37 p.m. after roll call had been taken. Pledge of Allegiance R1avor's Announcements, Proclamations and Recoanitions: None City Council Meetine Presentations, Reports, and Discussion Items: Monthly Financial Report - Chief Financial Officer Paul Becker, Chief Financial Officer gave a brief summary of the Monthly Financial Report. He stated sales tax was down around 3.6%, franchise fees were up around 30% and building permits were down 50% compared to budget. He stated the revenue in the General Fund was down approximately 3% compared to the budget and the Street Fund and Parking Fees were also down approximately 3%. He stated Parks Development was down 2% compared to budget, Recycling and Trash collections were down 1 % and Water and Sewer was down approximately 5%. He stated 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes March 5, 2024 Page 2 of 12 Airport flights were down 22% and gasoline sales were down 23%. He stated that it was rough in the month of January for all funds. Agenda Additions: None Consent: Approval of the February 20, 2024 City Council Meeting Minutes. APPROVED J.A. Riggs Tractor Company (Budget Adjustment): A resolution to approve a budget adjustment associated with Resolution 53-24. Resolution 79-24 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk SSI of Northwest Arkansas (Service Contract): A resolution to award Bid #23-46 and authorize a contract with SSI of Northwest Arkansas in the amount of $541,241.00 for the construction of lighted pickleball courts, tennis court improvements, and basketball court lighting, to approve a project contingency in the amount of $50,000.00, and to approve a budget adjustment recognizing park land dedication funds from the Southwest Quadrant. Resolution 80-24 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Kajacs Contractors, Inc. (Utility Relocations): A resolution to award Bid #24-22 and authorize a contract with Kajacs Contractors, Inc. in the amount of $4,349,500.00 for construction of water and sewer utility relocations along Highway 16, to approve a project contingency in the amount of $435,000.00, and to approve a budget adjustment. Resolution 81-24 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk McClelland Consulting Engineers, Inc. (Amendment No. 1): A resolution to approve Amendment No. 1 to the Professional Engineering Services Agreement with McClelland Consulting Engineers, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $218,974.41 for additional services associated with utility relocations along Highway 16, and to approve a budget adjustment. Resolution 82-24 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Drake Field T-Hangar (Lease Agreement): A resolution to approve T-Hangar Lease Agreements in 2024 at the current rental rate for all T-Hangars rented at the Fayetteville Airport. Resolution 83-24 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes March 5, 2024 Page 3 of 12 Alpine Aviation of Fayetteville (Lease Agreement): A resolution to approve a three-year lease agreement with Alpine Aviation of Fayetteville, Inc. for the hangar at 4166 South School Avenue for rent in the amount of $750.00 per month. Resolution 84-24 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk First Star Exteriors, LLC. (Service Contract): A resolution to award Bid #23-48 and authorize a contract with First Star Exteriors, LLC in the amount of $193,975.00 for roof replacement of the Rock Street Annex roof, to approve a project contingency in the amount of $19,397.50, and to approve a budget adjustment - 2019 City Facilities Improvement Bond Project. Resolution 85-24 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Seven Hills Homeless Center (Funding Assistance): A resolution to approve a contract with Seven Hills Homeless Center to provide funding assistance in the amount of $40,000.00 for maintenance and repairs at the Walker Family Residential Community Complex in 2024. Resolution 86-24 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Benchmark Construction Company of NWA, Inc. (Service Contract): A resolution to approve a contract with Benchmark Construction Company of NWA, Inc. in the amount of $789,747.50 for the construction of the North Street Corridor Improvements Project Phase 1, to approve a project contingency in the amount of $80,000.00, and to approve a budget adjustment — 2019 Street Improvement Bond Project. Resolution 87-24 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Arkansas Department of Transportation (Funding Recognition): A resolution to approve a budget adjustment in the amount of $1,948,635.00 recognizing federal -aid and state funding from ARDOT for right of way acquisition associated with improvements to Highway 112. Resolution 88-24 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk McClelland Consulting Engineers, Inc., Olsson, Inc. and GTS, Inc. (Service Contract): A resolution to award RFQ #24-01 Selection #1 and authorize the purchase of on -call materials testing services from McClelland Consulting Engineers, Inc., Olsson Associates, Inc., and GTS, Inc. as needed through April 30, 2025. Resolution 89-24 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk McClelland Consulting Engineers, Inc., Hawkins -Weir Engineers, Inc., and Olsson Associates, Inc. (Service Contract): A resolution to award RFQ #24-01 Selection #2 and authorize the purchase of on -call surveying services from McClelland Consulting Engineers, Inc., Hawkins -Weir Engineers, Inc., and Olsson Associates, Inc. as needed through April 30, 2025. Resolution 90-24 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayefteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes March 5, 2024 Page 4 of 12 Rush Truck Center of AR (Purchase Agreement): A resolution to approve the purchase of a International HV Dump Truck from Rush Truck Center in the amount of $209,706.12 plus any applicable surcharges, freight charges, and delivery fees up to 10% of the original price, pursuant to a Sourcewell Cooperative Purchasing Contract. Resolution 91-24 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Lewis Ford of Fayetteville (Purchase Agreement): A resolution to approve the purchase of a Ford F150 Lightning from Lewis Ford in the amount of $61,974.00 plus any applicable surcharges, freight charges, and delivery fees up to 10% of the original price, and to approve a budget adjustment. Resolution 92-24 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Henard Utility Products, Inc. (Purchase Agreement): A resolution to approve the purchase of a brush chipper from Henard Utility Products, Inc in the amount of $54,251.60 plus any applicable surcharges, freight charges, and delivery fees up to 10% of the original price, pursuant to a Sourcewell Cooperative Purchasing Contract. Resolution 93-24 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Polaris Sales, Inc. (Purchase Agreement): A resolution to approve the purchase of a Polaris Ranger from Polaris Sales, Inc. in the amount of $36,499.46 plus any applicable surcharges, freight charges, and delivery fees up to 10% of the original price, pursuant to a Sourcewell Cooperative Purchasing Contract. Resolution 94-24 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Premier Trailers (Purchase Agreement): A resolution to approve the purchase of two trailers from Premier Trailers in the amount of $29,600.00 plus any applicable surcharges, freight charges, and delivery fees up to 10% of the original price, pursuant to a Sourcewell Cooperative Purchasing Contract, and to approve a budget adjustment. Resolution 95-24 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Council Member Berna moved to accept the Consent Agenda as read. Council Member Moore seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. l'nfinished Business Rezoning-2023-0035: (NW of N. Shiloh Dr. and W. Chicory Pl./Springwoods Investments LLC, 248): An ordinance to rezone the property described in Rezoning Petition RZN 2023-0035 for approximately 2.44 acres located northwest of North Shiloh Drive and West Chicory Place in Ward 2 from CPZD, Commercial Planned Zoning District to UT, Urban Thoroughfare. At the February 20, 2024 City Council Meeting this item was left on the Second Reading. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes March 5, 2024 Page 5 of 12 Council Member Bunch moved to suspend the rules and go to the third and final reading. Council Member Turk seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. Senior Assistant City Attorney Blake Pennington read the ordinance. Jonathan Curth, Development Services Director stated the applicant had brought forward a Bill of Assurance that included the following components: 1) Prohibiting the development of the property with Use Units 17 and 18 of the City of Fayetteville's Unified Development Code. 2) The donation of access easements for passage through the property to the Wilson Springs property and the donation of any native plants to the Northwest Arkansas Land Trust. 3) If a Conditional Use Permit were approved for a mini storage, it would be developed consistently with the proposed building rendering. He stated staff recommended in favor of the original request and the Planning Commission felt similarly, forwarding the item to the City Council with a vote of 6-2. He stated Will Kellstrom was present as the applicant for the item. Will Kellstrom, Attorney with Watkins, Boyer, Gray & Curry PLLC was present on behalf of the applicant and apologized for the late notice of the Bill of Assurance. He stated they currently had a pending Conditional Use Permit for a mini storage submitted to the Planning Commission and that after hearing the City Council's concerns, they had decided to bring forward the Bill of Assurance. He handed the City Council a copy of the Bill of Assurance and proceeded to read through the details. He stated he and Kyle Ham, their engineer, were available for questioning. Council Member Berna questioned if the City Council could ask questions regarding the proposed development details since he felt as though the applicant had opened the door to that topic by offering the Bill of Assurance and building rendering. Blake Pennington, Senior Assistant City Attorney, "I think you can, but keep in mind that if you rezone it to this, it also opens the door to everything else that they are not including as a prohibition within Urban Thoroughfare (UT)." There was brief discussion between Council Member Berna and Will Kellstrom regarding if the mini storage building would have any type of outside storage component. Will Kellstrom stated everything would be contained within the four walls of the building and that there would not be any garage doors on the outside of the building. Blake Pennington explained that if the rezoning were to be approved, the Planning Commission could add conditions to the item, since it was a Conditional Use Permit, that would prevent the applicant from going outside of the site plan they had proposed. Council Member Stafford thanked the applicant for their work on the item and stated he would be in support of the ordinance. He stated the city needed to review all of the expired zoning areas and work on getting them rezoned. He questioned if the previous zoning for the property that had expired would have allowed a storage unit as was being proposed tonight. Jonathan Curth stated the previous use of the expired zoning was auto oriented uses, which allowed for car dealerships and offices, but did not permit residential units. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes March 5, 2024 Page 6 of 12 Council Member Hertzberg questioned what the procedure would be if a member of the City Council wanted to propose a different zoning for the area in question. Blake Pennington stated he did not recommend rejecting the ordinance, but the City Council could amend the ordinance to a different zoning category. He stated the City Council could consider tabling the item and getting staff input on what would be more appropriate for the area. Council Member Hertzberg wanted to see more housing in the area and would not be in support of the ordinance as it currently was. There was a brief discussion between Council Member Stafford, Jonathan Curth and Council Member Turk regarding the property and its previous zoning. Jonathan Curth stated the request was to rezone 2.44 acres and spoke briefly of how the previous zoning on the site had been for commercial use. There was a brief discussion between Council Member Hertzberg and Jonathan Curth regarding the nearby zoning areas. Jonathan Curth stated there were some residential zonings to the west in the form of estate lots and some residential zonings to the south in the form of single family developments and townhomes, which were zoned Planned Zoning District (PZD). Council Member Bunch asked if any Ward 4 or Ward 2 City Council Members had heard feedback from constituents in the area. No one had heard any comments. The City Council received 1 public comment regarding this ordinance. There was a brief discussion between Council Member Moore and Jonathan Curth regarding the City of Fayetteville Future Land Use Map and how it characterized the area in question under city neighborhood. Jonathan Curth stated staff felt that Urban Thoroughfare was a very complimentary zoning district to the city neighborhood characterization and that staff felt it to be appropriate. Council Member Bunch briefly spoke of the Urban Thoroughfare (UT) zoning and how it was wide open, and she felt it left up to question how the property would be developed. She stated that when she looked at city neighborhoods, she envisioned the area to be additional mixed uses to utilize the space. She was struggling with the UT zoning and was thankful for the Bill of Assurance but did not believe the best use of the space was to put in a mini storage. She continued to have mixed feelings on the item and requested input from fellow council members. There was brief discussion between Council Member Stafford and Jonathan Curth regarding how the developer was not required to give access to the Northwest Arkansas Land Trust but had decided to do so anyway in their Bill of Assurance. Council Member Stafford questioned Marson Nance regarding how he felt about the developer granting the Northwest Arkansas Land Trust access through the site. Marson Nance, Director of Land Stewardship and Research with Northwest Arkansas Land Trust stated it was an ideal scenario for them and that they were neutral on what kind of development 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes March 5, 2024 Page 7 of 12 was built on the site. He explained how the granting of access was something the Northwest Arkansas Land Trust would have worked with any potential owner of the property to acquire. There was brief discussion between Council Member Stafford and Kyle Ham regarding how storage units had a low intensity for vehicle traffic. Will Kellstrom briefly spoke of how the site was not ideal for putting a lot of residentials units on. Council Member Berna expressed his appreciation for the item being held at the last City Council Meeting and briefly spoke of how he would be in support of the ordinance. Council Member Turk questioned if the northside of the proposed development bordered the Wilsons Spring Preserve. Jonathan Curth stated that was correct. Council Member Bunch understood there could be housing built on the property but stated that was not what the council had been asked to consider, they were being asked to consider a mini storage. She stated the developer had worked with the Northwest Arkansas Land Trust to provide access and have a low traffic building. She expressed concerns regarding if a building built for storage could be repurposed in the future for something else. Council Member Wiederkehr spoke of how the applicant would be building the storage units vertically, allowing access to the Northwest Arkansas Land Trust and providing a Bill of Assurance that overcame a majority of his objections to the proposal, so he would be in support. Council Member Moore questioned if there were considerations of other zonings that could be appropriate with a city neighborhood designation. Jonathan Curth briefly explained how the Urban Thoroughfare zoning was ultimately what the applicant proposed and what city staff was recommending in favor of. Council Member Stafford acknowledged comments regarding what other ways the property could be used for by briefly speaking of his time in San Franscico where he saw storage units utilized as practice spaces for bands and artists. He questioned Police Chief Mike Reynolds regarding that if the area were to be developed for residential use, would that then create an additional area for the Fayetteville Police Department to patrol. Mike Reynolds explained that whether a storage unit was built, or residential units were built, the Fayetteville Police Department would still patrol the area the same. Council Member Stafford moved to amend the ordinance to add the Bill of Assurance. Council Member Bunch seconded the motion. Senior Assistant City Attorney Blake Pennington read the ordinance with the Bill of Assurance. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes March 5, 2024 Page 8 of 12 Council Member Turk thanked the applicant for working with the Northwest Arkansas Land Trust and for designing an attractive building and for all the work they had put into the proposal. Mayor Jordan asked shall the ordinance pass. Upon roll call the ordinance passed 6-2. Council Member Stafford, Jones, Wiederkehr, Berna, Bunch and Turk voted yes. Council Member Hertzberg and Moore voted no. Ordinance 6721 as Recorded in the office of the City Clerk New Business: Ecological Design Group, Inc. (Service Contract): A resolution to approve a professional architectural services agreement with Ecological Design Group, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $262,000.00 for design services associated with Phase One Improvements to Underwood Community Park, to approve a project contingency in the amount of $15,000.00, and to approve a budget adjustment. Ted Jack, Park Planning Superintendent gave a brief overview of the resolution. He stated there had been meetings held to Lyather public input, with a consensus that the public wanted to see the following things. nature immersion, active living, play and social emphasis. He stated there had been concerns voiced from nearby neighbors regarding how the park might impact them and how those concerns had been mitigated and the impact reduced. He briefly spoke of the floodplain and how it interacted with much of the site. He stated there was $2.4 million in funding for the construction of the site and spoke of how the park would be unique and would help better the quality of life in the City of Fayetteville. Council Member Hertzberg and Council Member Stafford thanked Ted Jack and city staff for their work on the project. Council Member Turk thanked Ted Jack for his work and for explaining the process. She wanted to bring to everyone's attention her concerns regarding traffic in the area when turning out of the park entrance and hoped that could be made safer. She also had concerns regarding providing a barrier for the neighbors to the north of the site and hoped that could be taken into consideration as well. She was excited to see a park go into the area and appreciated all the work. Council Member Moore moved to approve the resolution. Council Member Hertzberg seconded the motion. Upon roll call the resolution passed unanimously. Resolution 96-24 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Permit -Ready Building Design Program (Amendment): An ordinance to enact § 166.28 Permit - Ready Building Design Program to provide for the establishment of a Permit -Ready Building Design Program and associated development requirements specific,to the program's residential buildings, and to establish an initial program area. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes March 5, 2024 Page 9 of 12 Senior Assistant City Attorney Blake Pennington read the ordinance. Britin Bostick, Long Range Planning/Special Projects Manager gave a brief description of the ordinance. She stated the program was voluntary for anyone in the program area that wanted to utilize the free plans and spoke briefly regarding the Permit -Ready Building Design Program. Council Member Turk and Britin Bostick spoke briefly regarding the style of the houses, the materials used to build the houses, how the boundary line was formed for the program area and parking. Britin Bostick stated the style of the housing plans had a more traditional appearance and she was working to create guidelines on what could be utilized as building materials. She stated the total program area was around 1200 parcels, which was around 320 acres in total. She gave a brief explanation for the reasoning regarding the boundary lines for the program, which were created to utilize flatter land while staying out of the highest intensity areas of the city. She gave a brief description of how the program was being proposed to be treated as small scale residential parking, which would allow for more housing in the program area. There was brief discussion between Council Member Stafford and Britin Bostick regarding if the designs would fit within the context of a Historic District neighborhood. Britin Bostick believed the designs would fit within a Historic District because they were ultimately the same thing: a context sensitive design. She also stated the Permit -Ready Building Design Program would have the largest selection of building plans available. Council Member Stafford encouraged everyone to look at the designs located on the first floor of City Hall. He was ready to approve the ordinance but would be willing to let the item be tabled so everyone's questions could be answered. There was brief discussion between Council Member Wiederkehr and Britin Bostick regarding clarification that only the individuals that had chosen to voluntarily participate in the Permit -Ready Building Design Program would have the guidelines listed applied to them. There was brief discussion between Council Member Berna and Britin Bostick regarding concerns expressed from citizens of how the building plans only had designs with rear facing garages. Britin Bostick explained how front facing garages did not align with the historic fabric, and therefore did not align with what she had been asked to do with the program. She explained how there could be opportunities to change certain things on the plans, but that would have to be discussed further. Council Member Berna questioned if staff was taking what was found with the process of this program and potentially using it for the community outside of the program boundary line. Britin Bostick briefly spoke of the City of Fayetteville's Building Safety Division and their work on the item. She believed important feedback would be received once the program was customer ready in the next few months and once it was operating, she could review how it could potentially be utilized further. Council Member Stafford clarified that the Permit -Ready Building Design Program was voluntary only. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes March 5, 2024 Page 10 of 12 There was brief discussion between Mayor Jordan and Blake Pennington regarding how an ordinance can only address one subject at a time, and if the City Council wanted to also make changes to § 171.13 of the Fayetteville City Code, that would need to be brought forward at the next City Council Meeting as a separate item. It was clarified that if the City Council wanted this request as well as the change to § 171.13 of the Fayetteville City Code to go into effect at the same time, they would need to leave this item on a reading to hear and vote on both items at the next City Council Meeting. This ordinance was left on the First Reading. Vacation-2024-0001: (N. Bob Younkin Dr. & W. Drake St./Legacy Ventures NWA, 251): An ordinance to approve VAC 24-01 for property located at North Bob Younkin Drive and West Drake Street in Ward 3 to vacate five general utility easements totaling 0.108 acres. Senior Assistant City Attorney Blake Pennington read the ordinance. Jonathan Curth, Development Services Director gave a brief description of the ordinance. He stated the main issue staff found when reviewing the request was that the northern most easement was the lncatinn of an existing sanitary sewer line, which the Utility Department consented to, and included a condition of approval which was summarized in the ordinance, along with the other conditions from franchise utilities Swepco and AT&T. He stated Tim Brisiel was present as the applicant for the item. Tim Brisiel, Owner of Legacy Ventures, LLC was available for any questions. Council Member Berna moved to suspend the rules and go to the second reading. Council Member Stafford seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. Senior Assistant City Attorney Blake Pennington read the ordinance. Council Member Berna moved to suspend the rules and go to the third and final reading. Council Member Stafford seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. Senior Assistant City Attorney Blake Pennington read the ordinance. Mayor Jordan asked shall the ordinance pass. Upon roll call the ordinance passed unanimously. Ordinance 6722 as Recorded in the office of the City Clerk Non -Uniformed Staff (Pay and Benefits Study): A resolution to approve the JER HR Group, LLC's Non -Uniform Staff Pay and Benefits Study, to approve the 2024 Non -Uniformed Staff Pay Plan Structure, and to approve the 6.34% budget for the pay plan. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayeffeville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes March 5, 2024 Page 11 of 12 Missy Cole, Human Resources Director stated she was joined by Blair Johanson of JER HR Group. She stated a presentation had been provided last week regarding the item and that she was available for any questions. There was a brief discussion between Missy Cole and Council Member Moore regarding how the 6.34% increase was for the nonuniformed graded system. It was clarified that there had been no additional percentage included for merit increases. Council Member Moore briefly spoke of issues she wanted to bring awareness to regarding pay scales and inflation. She spoke of crisis budgets and of studies done in other areas of Arkansas regarding wages needing to reach potentially $20 plus dollars per hour. She requested the City Council consider making future adjustments to the pay of city staff. Council Member Berna spoke of his experience in hiring staff for his business and of how he utilized the market to determine what employees should be paid. He questioned what it would cost the city to raise anyone making $15 per hour to approximately $21 per hour. Paul Becker, Chief Financial Officer stated if all employees were raised to $21, that would cost the city $631,000, which would then cause major compression that would have to be address by raising the percentage for the entire study by 31.2% for everyone, which would cost the City of Fayetteville $11.2 million for this year, and $15.3 million on an annual basis. He stated the city did not have the sources to fund that kind of raise. There was a brief discussion between Council Member Berna and Paul Becker regarding ways the city could fund a 31.2% pay increase to all city employees. Paul Becker explained how the City of Fayetteville would have to cut the workforce down, which would result in cutting services provided to the community, or look at raising taxes. Council Member Berna requested that the JER HR Group provide clarification regarding the studies Council Member Moore had referenced that reflected that a two parent, two child household would need to make $21.76 per hour for a living wage. Blair Johanson, JER HR Group stated that amount per hour was for a two earner household with two children, and of how each earner in the household would need to make approximately $14.97 each. He stated their recommendation to the City of Fayetteville was to target a minimum of $15 per hour for city employees, which he believed would meet the objective of being competitive and of meeting the living wage. There was brief discussion between Mayor Jordan and Missy Cole regarding how some city employees were currently making $15 per hour, which would go up to $16 per hour once the 6.34% increase went into effect. There was brief discussion between Council Member Stafford and Council Member Moore on how the studies she had referenced counted one individual as an income earner in a household. Council Member Stafford briefly spoke of how households with two income earners would meet the living'wage, even at the city's minimum pay amount. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes March 5, 2024 Page 12 of 12 Council Member Wiederkehr briefly spoke of how the City of Fayetteville had a benefit loaded salary for its employees that paid vacation pay, premiums toward health insurance and things of that nature that were not subtracted out of employee's hourly wages. Council Member Hertzberg moved to approve the resolution. Council Member Berna seconded the motion. Upon roll call the resolution passed unanimously. Resolution 97-24 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk 2024 City -Wide Employee Compensation (Compensation Package): A resolution to obligate funds in the amount of $2,326,000.00 to facilitate the City -Wide 2024 Employee Compensation Adjustment. Paul Becker, Chief Financial Officer gave a brief description of the resolution and stated the overall impact to the funds for this year would be $2,326,000 and $3,183,000 yearly going forward. He stated there were sufficient funds in the budget to cover the increases. Council Member Hertzberg moved to approve the resolution. Council Member Wiederkehr seconded the motion. Upon roll call the resolution passed 7-0. Council Member Hertzberg, Stafford, Moore, Wiederkehr, Berna, Bunch and Turk voted yes. Council Member Jones was absent. Resolution 98-24 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Announcements: None Cite Council Agenda Session Presentations: Sales Tax Report - Chief Financial Officer and Energy Report - Environmental Director. City Council Tour: None Adjournment: 7:42 p.m. `.t%1IIII flit," TR;'` '• G\I Y ()'`' •G —�, FAYETTEVILLE: Lioneld Jo a , Mayor Kara Paxton, Ci Clerk Treasurer 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov