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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1989-06-06 Minutes178 MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE CITY BOARD OF'DIRECTORS A regular meeting of the Fayetteville City Board of Directors was held on Tuesday, June 6; 1989 at 7:30 p.m. in the Directors' Room of the City Administration Building at 113 West Mountain Street, Fayetteville, Arkansas. PRESENT: Mayor William Martin; Directors Michael Green, Russ Kelley, Ernest Lancaster, Paul Marinoni, Jr., Shell Spivey and Fred Vorsanger; City Manager James Pennington, City Prosecutor Terry Jones, City Clerk Suzanne McWethy; members of the staff, press and audience CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by the Mayor, with seven Directors present. The 178.: Mayor asked those present to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance, and then asked that a brief moment of respectful silence be observed. The Mayor welcomed the public watching the meeting on television, and those present in the audience. He said everyone present would have an opportunity to address the Board on every item under discussion. He asked that those wishing to speak introduce themselves, give their place of residence, keep their comments concise and non -repetitive, and address the entire Board. He said any questions for the Board or staff should be directed to the Mayor. SHIRLEY TSAI RECOGNIZED 178.: The Mayor presented a proclamation and key to the city to Fayetteville High 178.: School graduating senior, Shirley Tsai, who has been designated a Presidential Scholar by the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars. Present with Ms. Tsai was her father, Henry Tsai, and the Assistant Superintendent of Schools, Charles Russell. CONSENT AGENDA The Mayor introduced consideration of items which may be approved by motion, or contracts and leases which can be approved by resolution, and which may be grouped together and approved simultaneously under a "Consent Agenda." The Mayor explained that the Consent Agenda represents items on which there is thought to be unanimous agreement by the Board, but pointed out any Director may request the removal of an item from the Consent Agenda. Director Marinoni requested removal of items 2C and 2F. With those exceptions, the Mayor read the items contained in the consent agenda: 178.8 178:! 178.E 179 L79.1 L79.2 June 6, 1989 A. Minutes of the May 16, 1989 regular Board meeting; B. Consideration of the award of Bid 889-5, for the purchase of sewer cleaning equipment (consisting of a hydraulic bucket machine and power rodding machine); L79.3 The City Manager recommends award to the lowest bidder meeting specifications, Instrument and Supply, Inc., of Hot Springs, Arkansas, bidding $55;219. The budget contains $71,000 to cover the expense. 179.4 D. Consideration of the award of Bid #89-22, for the purchase of two heavy duty backhoe/loaders; 179.5 The City Manager recommends award to the lowest of five bidders, Williams Ford Tractor & Equipment Co. of Fayetteville, bidding $66,524. The budget contains $136,000 to cover this expense. 179.6 179.7 B. Consideration of the award of Bid 889-23, for the purchase of two 3/4 -ton pickup trucks; The City Manager recommends award to the lowest of three bidders, Buddy Warford Chevrolet of Huntsville, Arkansas, bidding $24,547.52. The budget contains $30,000 to cover the expense. 179.8 G. A resolution authorizing award of contract for engineering services for a Caomunity Development Block Grant project for improvements to Block Avenue, from Rock Street south to Archibald Yell Boulevard; 179.9 The City Manager and a Staff Selection Committee recommend award to Milholland Company, one of four firms submitting proposals for engineering services in connection with the project. Improvements are to include paving, sidewalk reconstruction or repair and additional storm drainage. Milholland proposed a fee of $7,655. The budget contains $9,000 to cover the expense. 179.10 179.11 RESOLUTION 50-89 APPEARS ON PAGE OF ORDINANCE AND RESOLUTION BOOK H. A resolution authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to execute a one- year renewal of contract with Jim Black for operation of the Lake Fayetteville Boat Dock; The City Manager recommends approval. Under the terms of the contract, the City would pay the operator a total of $18,400.20 in 26 bi-weekly payments. This represents a 5% increase over the previous year's contract. The term of the contract is from April 6, 1989 through April 5, 1990. $11,660 is remaining in the 1989 f 180 budget: for this expense and will cover the cost of the contract for 80.: the balance of this year. RESOLUTION 51-89 APPEARS ON PAGE OF ORDINANCE AND RESOLUTION BOOK I. A resolution authorizing approval of a Change Order to a contract 180.: with CEI Engineering Associates, Inc., for engineering services for the Davidson Street sewer replacement project; The original contract included engineering services for sewer 180.. replacements on Davidson, Willow, Calvin and Halsell Streets, and in Walker Park, and was approved by the Board on April 4. This change would authorize additional engineering services for the replacement of a 4" sewer main with a 6" sewer main serving the 200 block of East Center. The old line has been identified as contributing to multiple overflows in the system. The original contract price of $17,000 would be increased by $1,500. It is proposed that the expense be covered by Water and Sewer Operating and Maintenance Funds until Water and Sewer Revenue bonds can be issued. RESOLUTION 52-89 APPEARS ON PAGE OF ORDINANCE..AND..RESOLUTION BOOK 180.• J. Consideration of approval of the sale of a 1964 City Fire Department 180. truck; No bids were received in response to the City's advertisements for bids which took place in September and November of 1988. The City Manager recommends acceptance of an offer of $30,000 from Fire Master, Fire Apparatus, Inc., of Springfield Missouri The offer meets the minimum acceptable bid requirement advertised in the City's invitations to bid. It was moved by Vorsanger and seconded by Kelley to approve the Consent Agenda, 180. with the exceptions of Items 2C and 2F. Upon roll call, the motion passed, 7- 0. 180. BID #89-12/POLICE DEPARTMENT SUPPLIES The Mayor introduced consideration of Consent Agenda item 2C, the award of Bid #89-12, for the purchase of remaining police uniforms, equipment, weapons and ammunition on an as -needed basis during the next twelve months He explained that partial award of this bid was approved on May 16, and that, for the remaining items in the bid, the City Manager recommends award to the low bidders in every case, with the following exceptions: Recommend award to third lowest bidder for vest carriers, because equipment bid by first and second low bidders is not compatible; 180. 180. 181 June 6, 1989 .81.1 Recommend award to second lowest bidder for special weapons because low bidder did not meet specifications; and .81.2 Recommend rejection of all bids for five items because bids either did not meet specifications or the items were deemed unsatisfactory upon inspection by the Police Chief. L81.3 L81.4 181.5 181.6 The Mayor said the cost to the City for the entire bid was estimated to be in the range of $35,000 to $46,000, and that the budget contained $46,308 to cover the expense. It was moved by Kelley and seconded by Vorsanger to approve the award of bid as recommended. Director Marinoni expressed concern about the possibiity of overspending of City funds. He said he felt the Board had a charge from the taxpayers to keep an eye on the purse strings of the City. Marinoni said he was not necessarily objecting to the items, but had a few questions. Marinoni said it appeared we were purchasing 46 new pistols, noting there were only about 50 persons employed by the Police Department. Assistant Police Chief Bradley explained the figures were estimates sent to suppliers. He said the purchases would be made on an as -needed basis only. Marinoni noted it appeared we were proposing to purchase 100,000 rounds of ammunition. Bradley explained this would be purchased on an as -needed basis as well, although he said some emergency response team ammunition was included in the bid. He said the Police Chief would ultimately decide what would be purchased. 181.7 Upon roll call, the motion passed, 7-0. BID #89-24/DUMP TRUCKS 181.8 The Mayor introduced consideration of Consent Agenda item 2F, the award of Bid #89-24, for the purchase of two 50,000 GVW truck chassis with dump beds; and a request for approval of a budget adjustment. He said the City Manager recommended award to the lowest bidder meeting specifications, Ozark Kenworth of Springdale, bidding $131,002. He said because the budget contains only $124,000, the City Manager recommends approval of a budget adjustment in the amount of $7,002, to be taken from Police and Animal Control Vehicle and Equipment accounts which have funds available because bids in those departments came in below budget. 181.9 181.10 It was moved by Kelley and seconded by Green to approve the purchase and the budget adjustment. Marinoni said he was concerned for the purse strings of the city and the taxpayers. He said, in his opinion, buying a Kenworth dump truck was like buying Cadillacs for the Police Department to use for patrol cars. He said he didn't think we needed two Kenworth dump trucks. Marinoni said he learned today that a maximum a truck can carry is 46,000 pounds with rear axles and, if you go over 46,000 pounds, you must have three rear axles. He said he was concerned with June 6; 1989 182 the image of the City, commenting that we were in a position where we should be 182. showing an image of austerity, because of the incinerator debt. He said the purchase was $9,000 above the low bid, and was $7,000 above budget. He said he would vote against the motion and, if the motion was defeated, he would make a motion to approve the low bid, Ron Blackwell Ford, bidding $121,925. Director Kelley said he thought it was explained by the staff at the agenda meeting that the expenditure would work towards increasing the longevity of the trucks we are using, and was not to try and waste money. He said for that reason he would support the motion. ' 182. Acting Public Works Director Bob Kelly said the trucks would be used mostly by 182. the Water and Sewer Department for emergency water and sewer breaks. He said the trucks would carry tremendous amounts of gravel and debris, such as asphalt, concrete and extremely wet soil. He said the City has been wearing out their trucks a little quicker than they should, and this was an attempt to overcome that problem. In answer to a question from Marinoni, Kelly said he didn't know whether the trucks had two or three rear axles. Director Vorsanger said he thought it was fair to .inform the public that decisions like these are made when the Board approves the budget, which he said contains an outline of all the items proposed to be purchased. He said he thought the time to questions these things is at the time we approve the budget. He said for that reason he would vote to approve the purchase. Upon roll call, the motion passed, 6-1, Marinoni voting in the minority. R -O -W VACATION The Mayorintroduced a request for an ordinance vacating and abandoning a portion of Leland Avenue located south of W. Berry Street and west of Sang Avenue. He explained that Patrick J. Van Asche, owner of property at 2137 W. Berry, and Richard D. Steele, owner of property at 2201 W. Berry, request the closing of unopened Leland Avenue right-of-way adjoining their properties. He said the portion of Leland Avenue north of W. Berry was closed in 1981. The Mayor said that all utilities concerned concur in the closing; however, the City Engineer requests the retention of a 20' utility easement and Southwestern Electric Power Company requests the retention of a 10' utility easement. He told the Board, however, that property owner to the south, Don Heckathorn,'does not concur in the request for closing the street. The Mayor said the City Manager recommends approval of the request, and it is the opinion of the staff that, although Heckathorn's property would be cut off from access to W. Berry Street, it will still have access to Sang Avenue to the east, to unopened Leland Avenue to the south, and to unopened Lonnie Avenue to the west. The City Prosecutor read the ordinance for the first time. 182. 182. 182. 182. 182. 182. 183 83.1 .83.2 June 6, 1989 Director Marinoni said that all the parties involved in the issue were close neighbors and close friends of his and, for that reason, he would be abstaining from voting. There being no motion to suspend the rules and place the ordinance on its second reading, the Mayor asked if anyone present wished to speak in favor of the ordinance. L83.3 Patrick Van Asche addressed the Board, stating that Richard Steele and other neighbors were present in the audience. Van Asche said that, although they knew there were no plans right away to build a street, he was sure future plans were to build a street. He said, if the street were built, it would end up right in the middle of another street. He presented a petition containing 38 signatures of persons asking that the street closing be approved. L83.4 Director Vorsanger said, upon looking at the property, he noticed the owners on either side of the right-of-way would receive a nice piece of property donated to them by the City. He asked if we donated property to many people, commenting that it seemed strange to him. He added that he was a friend of Don Heckathorn. L83.5 L83.6 183.7 Van Asche said he and Steele have been taking care of the property for many years. Director Green asked if the street had always been platted. Van Asche said, when the other portion of Leland Avenue was closed in 1981, they assumed the portion adjacent to their properties had been closed as well. He said later, in checking, they found it had not yet been closed. Richard Steele clarified that Leland Avenue was platted 25 years ago when he bought his property. Director Lancaster said the City had closed a lot of streets and alleys but said, in most cases it was because of the terrain or because they had never been used for many years, and said he couldn't recall any case where a street was closed when there was a possibility it could be used in the future, or where any property owner objected. 183.8 Van Asche, referring to the point that all property owners should agree to the closing of a street, pointed out the clause in the ordinance which had been read (that the Board had the authority under the law to vacate portions of streets which are not required for corporate purposes). 183.9 The Mayor asked if anyone present wished to speak in opposition to the ordinance. 183.10 Don Heckathorn distributed material to the City Board. He told the Board he purchased the property at two different times, purchasing the large piece of property to the south about 15 years ago and the property now being discussed about three years ago. He said, although the property to the south has been platted for some time, the property in question was not yet platted, although he had a proposed plat. He said his only access to that unplatted property was from Berry. He said, because of a creek running through the property, the long, narrow portion of the property would not be accessible unless he built a 900' street with a bridge or culvert. He said he may not be able to sell the property if it is landlocked. He added that he would have to build a subdivision to the P>; June 6, 1989..4 184 south -before he could ever use or sell the smaller piece. He said he didn't 184.1 understand how the City Manager could make a recommendation to close the stree without consulting him or notifying him. He said all he received from the City was a notice of the Board meeting. Heckathorn asked what the real purpose was of giving the street to the adjoining property owners, other than gaining a yard for them. Heckathorn said he was paying an expensive price for them to gain this yard. He said one of the reasons he bought the property was because he had access to it. Heckathorn said the Board didn't vacate Cedar Street right of way extending east from Stephens Avenue which was a similar issue when College Park Apartments were being built. Heckathorn added that he had no plans for developing either piece of property'"in the near future. He said he was trying to keep the property mowed and did not think he was being un -neighborly, but was trying to protect his own rights and interests. Richard Steele, adjoining property owner, said he was worried about the children on the street and didn't think they needed a flow of traffic from the anticipated project. 184.: `John Crook, neighborhood resident, said right now they get a lot of traffic 184.: coming from the Porter Road exit off the bypass, and there were 15-20 children living on the street, which he said was very narrow. He said a lot of people, also park on the street to use the Sang Senior Center. Crook said the only purpose he could see for leaving the street open was for access to Heckathorn's property. He said the property already had access to Sang Avenue. Crook said he was interested in seeing the street closed for safety reasons, and said he didn't care if the City donated the property to the neighbors or turned it into. a City park. The Mayor said, if there were a large scale development plan for the property, 184. comments which have been made would be important considerations in terms of whether a street were opened. He said, although .the Board and Planning Commission were sensitive to the concerns, they must be careful not to landlock people. Crook said, since the same person now owns both pieces of land, he thought that removed the access problem. Director Green said, in order for the Board to vacate a designated street, there needed to be an offsetting benefit to the citizens. He said he knew this would benefit the two adjoining property owners and the others in,the neighborhood would not be affected unless the street were opened. He said, if the street is never opened, nothing would be degraded from what it is now. He said, if the street is built someday to serve the property owner to the south, it would mean the street is necessary He said he had trouble seeing how we could justify changing conditions which have been existence for 25 years after people had already bought property. He said he failed to see any necessity in trying to take this ordinance past its first reading. - Bill Martin, resident of 2133 W. Berry, said he bought his property in 1964 and was the first owner to live on the street. He said Heckathorn owned a considerable amount of property to the south of the property in question, upon which his home is located ..facing Sang Avenue. He said to the north of Heckathorn's home was a considerable amount of property. He asked Heckathorn if the back of that property met up with the other property being discussed. 184. 184. June 6, 1989 185.1 Heckathorn said that some of the property belonged to another but some of his property did adjoin on the west side. Martin said he thought Heckathorn could access Sang Avenue from the property in question through other property he owned. 185.2 Vorsanger said he thought leaving the ordinance on first reading will give City staff a chance to look at Heckathorn's property and how it could be developed without using the street which has been unopened for 25 years. 185.3 The Mayor explained to the public that the ordinance would be read for the second time at the next meeting. ALLEY VACATION 185.4 The Mayor introduced a request for an ordinance vacating and abandoning a north - south alley east of Vinson Avenue, between Rockwood Trail and Rebecca Street. 185.5 The Mayor said that George Rogers, owner of property at 700 Vinson Avenue, requested the closing of the alley which adjoins his property to the west of the alley. He said that property owner to the east of the alley, Helen Brashears, has no objection to closing the alley. He reported the utility companies had concurred in the request and the City Manager recommended approval. The City Prosecutor read the ordinance for the first time. Director Marinoni, seconded by Kelley, moved to suspend the rules and place the ordinance on its second reading. Upon roll call, the motion passed, 7-0. The ordinance was read for the second time. Director Marinoni, seconded by Kelley, moved to further suspend the rules and place the ordinance on its third and final reading. The motion passed, 7-0. The ordinance was read for the third time. The Mayor asked if anyone present wished to speak for or against the ordinance. No public comments were made. Upon roll call, the ordinance passed, 7-0. 185.6 ORDINANCE NO. 3429 APPEARS ON PAGE ']9 OF ORDINANCE AND RESOLUTION BOOK KXV' PROPERTY CLEANUP/100-104 W CENTER 185.7 The Mayor introduced an ordinance ordering the abatement of unsightly conditions and the razing and removal of an unsafe structure at 100-104 W. Center Street, located at the northwest corner of the intersection of W. Center Street and Block Avenue. 185.8 City Manager Pennington said the City Attorney and City Prosecutor had informed him there is a second owner of the property, making the reading of the ordinance as written inappropriate. 185.9 Al Eason, one of the property owners, said he and his wife were more concerned and more embarrassed about the condition of the building than anyone else in the City. He corrected an error he said was made by the Northwest Arkansas Times in a front page headline. He said, although First Federal of Fayetteville was • June 6, 198944' a tenant in the building, the institution has absolutely nothing to do with the condition of the building. He said the building belonged to his parents and was left to him, his brother and sister and, upon his brother's death, now belongs to him, his sister and sister-in-law. Eason gave the Board some information about his family history and contributions they made to the community over the years. Eason explained his family sold the building in May of 1984 to people in California named Righetti and Simon under an arrangment where the buyers were to pay interest only for three years, and were to restore the building to its original condition and place it on the historical register. He said the buyers did remove the facade and erecteda steel frame inside the building, before getting into financial difficulty. He said, when the balance came due in 1987, the buyers were not able to pay it, at which time foreclosure proceedings were begun. He said, because Righetti is an attorney, he used every legal means to delay the foreclosure and eventually declared bankruptcy, further delaying the foreclosure. He said he wasn't able to get title to the building until the middle of last summer, at which time he entered into another contract to keep the building off the market while an architectural evaluation could be done. He said an engineer advised the building could not be restored. He said, following this, he asked architects in Fort Smith (Mott Mobley & McGowan) for an opinion, who disagreed with the engineer and said the building could be restored. Eason said he then listed the building in December of 1988 with Lindsey and Associates, who have advised him they have several prospects. Eason asked for a reasonable period of time to attempt to sell the property to someone who will restore it. He assured the Board that, if this does not occur, he would have the building demolished. In answer 'to a question from Director Green, Eason suggested September 1 as a deadline date. Vorsanger said Eason was a close, personal friend and he would have voted against demolishing the buiding. Vorsanger said he would like to see the building saved and asked if the Board could hear from Cy Sutherland, who Vorsanger said was an expert on historic preservation. Cyrus Sutherland, Professor of Architecture at the University of Arkansas, said he was very interested in preserving architectural heritage. He said he wished to oppose the proposal to declare the Eason building unsafe for occupancy and to condemn it for demolition. He said, since the building was built shortly before the turn of the 21st Century,. it had anchored the northwest corner of the Square, just as the old Washington Hotel anchored the southwest corner. He said they were almost identical buildings. He said when the'hotel was torn down and replaced unsatisfactorily by the Woolworth Building, the Square as an urban space was damaged. He said the removal of the Eason Building would damage the space further. He suggested the Eason Building not be razed until a contract has been let for its replacement. Sutherland said it had been twelve years since the Fayetteville Urban Planning Office concluded that the Old Post Office, having stood empty for several years, should be razed and the site changed into an open park with fountains and benches. He said opponents organized and it was decided to keep the building which is now a centerpiece of the Square. He said a few people may remember when City Hall was declared unsafe for human occupancy, and the upper floors were said to be condemned. He said the public library moved 186 186. 186. 186: 186.• 186. 187 187.1 June 6, 1989 from the upper floors to its Dickson Street location and thereafter the old building seemed to go downhill. He said he didn't know exactly where the idea to rehabilitate the building came from, but it turned out to be the best municipal idea since the one which saved the Old Post Office. He said Fayetteville now had one of the finest City Halls in the State. He said condemning the Eason Building because it is now an eyesore or becoming unsafe was taking the easy and cowardly way out. He said he was sorry the developer who bought the building went broke, but said his failure proved there were two important ingredients in building rehabilitation - will and money. He said every success story in and around the Square had had that essential combination of ingredients. He said he was convinced that by a collective action, a similar fate for the Eason Building could be worked out that would be far better for the City than would be the demolition of the building. 187.2 Director Spivey said, although he believed the building was an eyesore, he preferred it be restored rather than destroyed. He said he believed now that Al Eason has control of the building, he'll do what's best for the Square. He said he was in favor of giving Eason more time. 187.3 Mayor Martin asked that those who love the building consider what could be done in the meantime, because it doesn't look very nice right now. L87.4 Director Green said he thought this had brought to a head a problem that can keep reoccurring in the community. He said a lot of people look upon historical structures as resources for the community. He said we ought to consider how to prevent something like this from happening again, where an out of town developer walks away from an unfinished project, leaving an historic structure in disarray. Green suggested stipulations could be put on building permits, for example, or bonds could be posted. Spivey agreed something needed to be done, but commented that he wasn't sure anything the City or anybody else could have done anything to prevent a situation like this from happening, because it was tied up in federal bankruptcy court. The Mayor asked if the staff could respond to this suggestion at some other time. 187.5 Vorsanger said it had come to his attention that developers of land who are required to make "green space" payments in lieu of a park, or who are committed to put in a park in a particular development, don't do it or go bankrupt, and have sold the property to people who are then assessed by the City for the developer's commitment. He said we had such a situation in Park Place which was developed by Dr. J. B. Hays who did not pay his committment for green space, and now property owners are being asked to pay for the green space. He said he thought the Planning Commission or staff ought to consider requiring that payments be made at the time of subdivision approval. 187.6 PROPERTY CLEANUP/212 S. WILLOW The Mayor introduced an ordinance ordering the abatement of unsightly conditions and the razing and removal of an unsafe structure located at 212 S. Willow Avenue. June 6, 1989• The ordinance was read for the first time. Director Marinoni, seconded by Martin, made a motion to suspend therules and place the ordinance on its second reading. Upon roll call, the motion passed, 7-0. The ordinance was read for the second time. Director Marinoni, seconded by Martin, made a motion to further suspend the rules and place the ordinance on its third and final reading. Upon roll call, the motion passed, 7-0. The ordinance was read for the third time. The Mayor asked if anyone present wished to speak for or against the ordinance. No public comments were expressed. Upon roll call, the ordinance passed, 7-0. ORDINANCE NO. 3430 APPEARS ON PAGE to OF ORDINANCE AND RESOLUTION BOOK X)( ✓ 181 188. ORDINANCE AMENDMENT The Mayor introduced an ordinance'am_ending Ordinance No. 3409 to amend the City's water rates for Elkins, RDAs, Mount Olive and West Fork. He explained this would amend the ordinance passed on February 21 which increased water rates and water meter service charges by 20%. He said the amendment would apply the increase to wholesale water consumers which, due to an error, were ommitted from the February 21 ordinance. The ordinance was read for the first time. Director Lancaster, seconded by 188 Kelley, made a motion to suspend the rules and place the ordinance on its second reading. Upon roll call, the motion passed, 7-0. The ordinance was read for the second time. Director Lancaster, seconded by Kelley, made a motion to further suspend the rules and place the ordinance on its third and final reading. Upon roll call, the motion passed, 7-0. The ordinance was read for the third time. The Mayor asked if anyone present wished to speak for or against the ordinance. No public coments were expressed. Upon roll call, the ordinance passed, 7-0. ORDINANCE NO. 3431 APPEARS ON PAGE 802- OF ORDINANCE AND RESOLUTION BOOK X X V 188 WARD BOUNDARIES The Mayor introduced a recommendation from the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce Ward Boundaries Task Force. He explained the Chamber Board voted on March 13, 1989 to suggest the City Board of Directors re -draw the city's ward boundaries. Larry Bittle, speaking on behalf of the Task Force, told the Board that ward 188 boundaries were last drawn after the 1970 census. He said the group began studying the situation a couple of years ago. He said even though every voter may vote for every director position, in theory, you should have equal representation from the wards. Bittle said his understanding is a maximum 10% variance (in population) is allowed between the wards, in order to comply with equal representation requirements. He said data used by the Task Force was provided by the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission. 188 1tSU June 6, 1989 .89.1 Referring to percentage of population within the wards, Bittle said, as of the 1980 census, Ward 1 had 20%, Ward 2 had 30%, Ward 3 had 25% and Ward 4 had 23%. Bittle said, after receipt of the 1985 census results, it became apparent we were out of compliance, with Ward 1 having 20%, Ward 2 having 33%, Ward 3 having 23%, and Ward 4 having 23%. L89.2 Bittle said the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning was asked to estimate the current population based on building permits issued in the various wards and the following statistics resulted: Ward 1 - 18% of the population, Ward 2 - 36% of the population, Ward 3 - 23% and Ward 4 - 21%. L89.3 Bittle said the group felt this was a good year to bring this topic to the City Board since no election will be held for any director positions. Bittle noted that the task force was made up of leaders from both the Republican and Democratic parties, the Washington County Quorum Court, and the Chamber. He said all parties agreed unanimously to take this before the Chamber Board, which voted it be brought to the City Board with the suggestion that boundaries be redrawn. 189.4 Bittle displayed a map showing a proposed solution to the problem, noting that it would affect no incumbent in any way. Bittle said, since we were no longer in compliance, it was possible there could be a contested election at some point. 189.5 Vorsanger asked what action the Board should take. City Prosecutor Terry Jones said it didn't matter who drew up the ward boundaries, as long as they represent "one person -one vote" as closely as can be ascertained. He said the Board had the right to adopt an ordinance which would approve new boundaries and if citizens were to oppose it, they could file a petition in Circuit Court within a certain time period, at which time the Chancery Judge would draw his own boundaries. 189.6 Bittle added that the group considered polling places and minimum movement of the boundaries so as not to disturb the existing precincts. 189.7 Martin asked if the question could be voted on by the people if an election were taking place for some other reason, expressing his concern that citizens feel good about the change. Martin asked Bittle if he had received pressure from any Board members to make the changes. Bittle said he had not, noting it was done based on the growth of population in Fayetteville and because some elections in recent times have been contested. 189.8 Jones said any ordinance could be brought about by referendum. He said if there was to be opposition, it would probably be over the accuracy of the extrapolations. He said that question came up in 1970 and there was argument over how the districts should be drawn. He said the Board might want to consider having an ordinance drafted and giving time for public input. 189.9 In answer to a question from the Mayor, Bittle said the proposed new boundary line between Wards 2 and 4 would basically follow the railroad tracks, while the boundary between Wards 1 and 3 would remain South College Avenue. He said they also proposed moving Ward l's boundary to include the University area. He said if the proposed changes were implemented, the new percentages of population are projected to be: Ward 1 - 27%, Ward 2 - 23%, Ward 3 - 25% and Ward 4 - 25%. He June -6, 1989.1- said 989{ said the thinking was that more growth was projected to take place in Ward 2 in the near future. He said the Circuit. Judge Maupin Cummings drew the boundaries we now have. l.i U 190.: Lancaster asked if the Board could draft an ordinance to approve the changes but 190. stipulate 90 days must pass before it would become effective, in order to see if the public has any objections. Director Green thanked the Task Force for their work and said he felt strongly 190. we should do something about thepopulation imbalance in the wards before the next election. He proposed a ordinance be drafted and adequate time be allowed for public input, perhaps through a public hearing prior to making a decision. Martin said, although he thought the proposal was objective, he is always concerned when legislators set the boundaries. Martin suggested the staff bring a recommendation to the next Board meeting about how they think the Board should proceed. 190. Green, seconded by Vorsanger, moved to ask the staff to look into developing an 190. ordinance for the next meeting. Upon roll call, the motion passed, 7-0. OTHER BUSINESS TORNADO SIRENS Julie Mayhue, Fayetteville resident, asked the Board to consider installing tornado sirens in the Fayetteville area, so that victims can have some warning in the event of a tornado. Mayhue presented the Board with a petition containing 125 signatures. Director Kelley asked if the staff had considered anything in this area. City Manager Pennington said the staff had been discussing the idea, noting that at one time Fayetteville had a warning siren system. He said the staff was exploring the idea, and added that it did not work well in the past, because of the terrain. He said he hoped to have a report available within the next two months. STORM CLEANUP Director Vorsanger asked for a report on the City's cleanup efforts, due to the recent storm. Acting Public Works Director Bob Kelly reported the City was in its third week of cleanup efforts which he said involved the entire Street Department, parts of the Water and Sewer Department, the Parks Department and the Traffic Department. He said this week only the Street Department crews are being used. He estimated the major portion of the cleanup should be completed by mid-June, and anticipated continuing further cleanup through most of the Summer. He estimated the cost to the City to be about $55,000 through the end of next. 190. 190. 190. June 6, 1989 .91.1 Kelly reported over 40 trees were either partially or completely lost in City parks, there was damage to tennis courts, picnic tables and bridges in the parks. .91.2 The Mayor said citizens with tree limbs down because of the storm should continue to put them in front of their property and the City will pick them up as soon as they can. Kelly invited citizens to carry these to the City's brush piles if they are able to do so, located at 15th and Curtis across the street from the Industrial Park entrance. L91.3 RETREAT SCHEDULED The Mayor announced that the City Board would meet in a retreat session on June 9 at City Hall from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. He said there would not be an opportunity at this retreat for public input. ADJOURNMENT 191.4 The meeting adjourned at 9:34 p.m. 1