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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-03-19 MinutesMINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL A meeting of the Fayetteville March 19, 1996, at 6:30 p.m., Administration Building, 113 W. City Council was held on Tuesday, in the Council room of the City Mountain, Fayetteville, Arkansas. PRESENT: Mayor Fred Hanna; Aldermen Woody Bassett, Steve Parker (arrived late), Len Schaper, Heather Daniel, Kit Williams, and Cyrus Young; City Attorney Jerry Rose; City Clerk/Treasurer Traci Paul; members of staff, press, and audience. ABSENT: Aldermen Jimmy Hill and Stephen Miller CALL TO ORDER Mayor Hanna called the meeting to order with six aldermen present. ACCESSIBILITY AWARDS It was the Mayor's pleasure to recognize three local businesses which have excelled in their efforts to meet the letter and the spirit of the American's with Disabilities Act. This is the first year for the City's ADA awards. The City has no authority under the ADA to see that places of public accommodations comply with this Federal law; the City's responsibility is to see that we make our programs and services accessible to citizens with disabilities. We do want to recognize good corporate citizens who have done their best to make their businesses accessible. We want to give these businesses well-deserved recognition and to increase public awareness of the ADA. The City has been trying for several years to comply with the ADA but it is hard to convey our programs to the general public. We have had help from our ADA coordinators. Phyllis Rice came aboard nearly three years ago and has worked very hard on this. The ADA Employer of the Year Award for 1995 was given to Walmart Optical Lab on West Sycamore. Mr. Miller accepted the award for Walmart Optical Lab. Mayor Hanna presented ADA Accessibility Awards for 1995 to two businesses which have worked hard to make their premises accessible to persons with disabilities. The first of these awards was presented to Community Bank located on East Joyce Street. Shell Spivey accepted this award. The second ADA Accessibility Award for 1995 was presented to Fairfield Inn of Fayetteville on Millsap Road. Jennifer Fuchs accepted this award. 1 105 106 4 3 1 • et March 19; 1996 NOMINATING COMMITTEE REPORT Alderman Daniel complimented City Clerk Traci Paul for her continuing efficiency in coordinating the Nominating Committee's interviews. Alderman Daniel moved to nominate to. the Library Board Mary Parsons for a full term and Maurice Roberts for an unexpired term, to the Board of Adjustments and Sign Appeals, Mike Andrews and Paul Wilhelms, both reappointments; to the Civil Service Commission, Merlin Augustine; to the. Historic District Commission, Betty Blanton and Sharon Stiles, also reappointments; to the Board 'of Housing & Construction Appeals, Matt Bodishbaugh. Alderman Parker seconded the nominations. Upon roll call, the motion passed on .a vote of 6 to O. TAXI PROGRAM REPORT Elaine Walker began by congratulating the ADA award winners and the City for recognizing these people. Many people who use the Taxi Program have disabilities. The*Taxi.Program has just completed its seventh year. There are -279;participants. The average participant age is 77.6, with -several participants in their 90's. The average annual income is $7,059. Thirty-seven percent of the -coupons are used for shopping. Medical visits account for 22% of the total coupons used. A lot of ,the grocery store trips are also medical related. Personal visits account for 11%. There were 610 trips to the beauty shops, very important to the mental well-being of these people. The months of £travel are affected by the. weather. The days of travel depend on When Social Security checks'arrive. Travel occurs mostly during the mid-day hours, 10-:00 - 2:00. Last year 11,277 coupons were used, for a monthly average of 940. This is 58.1 coupons per -user per year. Very few people use the maximum number of coupons they receive: This is the first'time the ridership. has been down, by 4.8% this year. The City's trolley system expanded its route and: runs every 30 minutes. Many of the elderly from Hillcrest Towers use the trolley now. About 50 of the Taxi Program's approved participants live in Hillcrest Towers. Last year 23% indicated some degree of 'excessive waiting times.. This year this was 25%. This excessive waiting time is a concern and will be addressed in more depth this year. C&H ridership decreased.. -this year by 16.7 while Twin City increased by 172%. Twin City changed ownership and was shut down a short period of time last year. 107 March 19, 1996 The total dollar amount of coupons used in 1995 was $22,554. The participants contributed $4,148.20. The program generated $26,702. The coupons took care of 84% of the fares. Mayor Hanna mentioned he gets more compliments from participants in this program than from any other service the City offers. OLD BUSINESS Mayor Hanna introduced consideration of items that have been brought before the Council but were tabled or no decision made to allow further information to be presented. A. REZONING RZ96-4: An ordinance rezoning 1.73 acres located at 3250 W. Sixth Street from A-1, Agricultural to C-2, thoroughfare Commercial, as requested by Joe Gaspard on behalf of Clyde Widders. This ordinance was left on its second reading at the March 5 Council meeting. Alderman Williams reminded the Council he had suggested at the agenda session that this item be tabled since Alderman Miller was to be absent and this was in their ward. He thought it should be tabled then read on the night it would be voted on. Alderman Williams moved to table this until the next meeting. Alderman Daniel seconded. Upon roll call this motion passed on a vote of 6 to 0. B. GUARANTEES IN LIEU OF INSTALLED IMPROVEMENTS: An ordinance amending the Subdivision Regulations of the Code of Fayetteville allowing for the deposit of U.S. currency or an irrevocable letter of credit for the delay of certain required improvements. This ordinance was left on its first reading at the March 5 Council meeting. Young, seconded by Parker, moved to suspend the rules and go to the second reading. Upon roll call the motion passed on a vote of 6 to 0. City Attorney Rose read the ordinance for the second time. Alderman Young began discussion by saying a question regarding the bonds was brought to his attention by Steve Ward. Young had thought the ordinance gave contractors three options: to put up cash, to put up a bond, or to put up a letter of credit. However, in the ordinance the choice of putting up a bond is not given. 3 riot a March 19, 1996 o Alderman Young asked that the ordinance be held. on the. second reading. . In response to a question from Alderman Williams, Charles Venable, Assistant to the Public Works Director, stated that there has-been a problem with contractors• not being able to come up with the bonds. Alderman Young recalled that bond companies do have problems, part of it being who they write it to, the developer or the City. Steve Ward, Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, .stated that in discussing this with contractors there was a concern that deleting bonding could impact large•scale .developments. The letter of irrevocable credit and cash: deposits would probably be usedon smaller projects. - In answer to a question from Alderman Williams regarding the 270 days for sidewalk improvements, Mr. Ward said this was discussed at the contractors meeting and there was not a strong consensusone way or the other as to whether 270 days was too short or not. Alderman Parker noted the contractors seemed glad there was a provision that would allow them to extend the time if there were extenuating circumstances. Mayor Hanna stated this ordinance will be on its third and final reading at the next meeting with -the bonding provision put back in. CONSENT AGENDA _ X Mayor:Hanna stated Alderman Daniel requested that item D be removed from the Consent Agenda. He then introduced consideration of items which may be approved by motion Or contracts and leases which may be grouped together .and approved simultaneously under a Consent Agenda: A. Minutes of the .March 5 regular City Council meeting. B. A resolution accepting an agreement with Washington County to lease a County -owned building located at 10 S. College Ave. •RESOLUTION 36-96 AS RECORDED IN THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE C. A resolution adding $1,950 to .a previously awarded contract with Larry Fenner construction for housing. rehabilitation of a house located at 154 E. Meadow. RESOLUTION 37-96 AS RECORDED IN THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE 4 109 March 19, 1996 Alderman Williams moved to accept the Consent Agenda. Alderman Daniel seconded. Upon roll call the motion passed on a vote of 6 to O. GREENSPACE WAIVER Mayor Hanna introduced consideration of a resolution waiving the greenspace land requirement and accepting money in lieu of it for the proposed Zion Valley Planned Urban Development. Alderman Daniel addressed the homeowners in the Frazier Street area who want a park. This item is a private development with very nice greenspace built in. A public park is needed in this area and hopefully when the land to the east of this development is developed, there will be a park for the neighborhood. Alderman Young stated he would abstain from voting as the company he works for is involved in this project. Mayor Hanna asked for comments from the audience. There were none. Alderman Williams pointed out that obtaining this money might help in getting a public park in this area as this is a legitimate use of greenspace money. Mayor Hanna noted there is a large petition from Brookhollow residents asking that space be acquired. Alderman Schaper stated this would be like having our cake and eating it to. Though not public, the greenspace would still be there and we would have money to buy public greenspace. Alderman Williams moved to accept the resolution. Daniel seconded. Upon roll call the resolution passed on a vote of 5-0-1, with Young abstaining. RESOLUTION 38-96 AS RECORDED IN THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE FIRE ENGINE PURCHASE Mayor Hanna introduced for consideration a resolution approving, from Bid #95-37, the purchase of another new pumping engine for the Fire Department from KME Fire Apparatus in the amount of $235,826.75. Alderman Parker stated he had requested this item be pulled from the Consent Agenda. Based on discussions last year when the City bought an almost identical fire engine, he had the clear impression that they were locked in for a second year at the same price. He later found out this had not carried through. March 19, 1996 Alderman Parker moved that.the..resolution..be„adopted.= Alderman Bassett,,seconded.. Upon roll call the resolution passed on a vote -of 5 to 0, with Daniel not present.. RESOLUTION 39-96 AS RECORDED IN THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE. HMR TAX EXPENDITURE PROPOSAL Mayor Hanna introduced for consideration a resolution approving a budget establishing the expenditures for the Parks HMR tax recognizing the projected revenue and authorizing 7.3 full-time equivalent positions to provide additional maintenance of.parks,_ greenspace, and athletic fields. Alderman Bassett had two questions about the spending of•money for the senior center at Walker Park. He asked City Attorney Rose for his judgement on any legal risks and then asked the Parks Board why they feel it is important to not shift money .around. City Attorney Rose stated he has written two memos to the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board, copies of which he has, given to the Council. The statutes themselves talk about these expenditures. being for the promotion and development of City parks and recreation areas and for the development, construction,. and maintenance of City parks.' When the question was first presented as to whether or not this money could be spent for a community adult center, Rose's opinion was that there was some substantial legal risk in using.. the proposed HMR tax for that community,adultcenter. After that time; he met with members of the Parks & Recreation Advisory. Board and with people from the Fayetteville Senior Community Center. He had the opportunity. to go over some individualexpensesand examined such specific expenditures as landscape and trail expenses, art rooms, game rooms, exercise areas, restrooms, and the like.. Rather than analyzing it in terms of an entire community adult center, they looked atvery specific projects. They also looked .at additional statutes which sought to. define precisely what a parks. program for a City would normally entail. Having gone over those specific -expenditures listedin the current parks budget, Rose stated he feels confident that the expenditure of-HMRIfunds for those projects is within the definitional limits ;. of the statutes examined and should withstand any legal challenge. However, he cannot guarantee the City will not -be sued. The City would be within the parameters of normally acceptable legal risk The Council must decide what.risks they wish totake. Beyond the legal considerations, the Council is the one to decide, under the 'statute, how the money is to be spent. 6 4. March 19, 1996 Alderman Williams stated he is interested in doing the safest thing possible with this money. He supports the selected projects and hoped to go forward. Mayor Hanna stated he is comfortable with the work City Attorney Rose has done on this question but did not want to do anything that would jeopardize park money. Susan Driver, Parks & Recreation Advisory Board, delineated the State statutes that the Parks Board has been looking at to bring forth its proposals. The specific law authorizing the collection of the HMR tax does specifically empower the City Council to designate those funds for the construction, the reconstruction, the repair, the maintenance, the improvement, the equipping, and the operation of public recreation facilities. Within that definition there are a couple of terms that may shed some light on the projects for this year and future years. State law defines what equipping a recreational facility is. It is very broad and lists equipment down to furniture, machinery, and instrumentalities. In terms of looking at things the senior citizens center is interested in, this is a pertinent definition. State statute gives the City Council the power to designate these funds for facilities of any and every nature whatever is necessary and desirable so as to provide for the recreation and the cultural needs of the inhabitants. The Council's sole limitation is that it sees these projects as necessary and desirable, whether funding it through HMR or a funds transfer. Some of the projects listed under what might be considered necessary and desirable are extremely broad on purpose so a Council can do what is needed in its own community. It includes but is not limited to stadiums; auditoriums; arts and crafts centers; folklore centers; interpretive centers; camping areas; and any facility where there are classes, activities, practice, games or meetings. It is important that we know the standards to go by so that the Parks Board's proposals are in keeping with the laws. In the discussion as to the legality of this money for the purposes delineated here, the only reservation stated is that there is a possibility of litigation, which would be impossible to rule out. However, there has never been any statute or law pointed to as a reason why this would not be a legal use of the funds. In bringing forth this proposal, the Parks Board looked at the master plan adopted by this Council in 1994 and the master plan for recreation of communities as recommended by the State legislature as a means to have a plan for the dispersal of any type of recreational funds. The goals from our master plan are to provide recreational opportunities for all ages and abilities both passive 111 112 March 19, 1996 and active for existing and future populations. Our goal is to provide park lands that are visually and aesthetically pleasing, that protect open spaces and our natural resources, to preserve areas of historical importance, and to emphasize the building of trails to improve access and enjoyment of, these areas. In 1995 we had almost $6 million in deferred capital improvement projects because of the ability of the City to fund Parks & Recreation was impeded by the needs of.allof the,infrastructure of Fayetteville. In looking for additional funding,. the HMR tax was passed. The recommendations -given the Council were prioritized out of the large amount of unfunded projects. Mayor Hanna stated it seemsnb one has a problem with the proposal, but the Council is sensitive to lawsuits. Alderman Williams stated that with the way it has been structured, with the Walker Park senior complex and with the City Attorney's assertion that it seems to meet the law, this is clearly a legal thing to do. . Alderman Bassett acknowledged that the Council is sensitive to lawsuits, which is a good thing. We are talking about shifting money around, not changing priorities to thwart the will of the people. It was a specific 'proposal voted on and the Council would not want to tamper with that. ,His only concern was whether or not there was a legal risk and-he.,is now more comfortable with this after listening to City Attorney Rose and Susan Driver. • Alderman Daniel agreed that it was sold to the public as support for the senior center and the Council needs to follow-through with that. Also, it was mentioned that it is within the Council's jurisdiction to fund upkeep of historic areas and this is an historical area, the old homestead. there. Alderman Schaper pointed out that Park Improvements showed a figure 'of. $1937000 and the total 'of the listed improvements totaled `$.119,000 He wondered if the other $74,000 was allocated for other improvements or not. Susan Driver answered that' the expenditures delineated were examples of the types of projects that do not fall clearly into any other category. There is intentional flexibility in this area to improve the maintenance of all of our parks. The new assistant park director has been involved in an :extensive inventory of all park equipment and has made recommendations as tohowto prioritize the projects. Alderman Schaper wanted tomakesure we are not substituting HMR money fornormal expenditure. • March 19, 1996 In answer to this question, Ben Mayes, Administrative Services Director, stated that in this year's budget parks expenditures have not decreased and some items were added even before the HMR tax was voted for. Alderman Schaper expressed his concern for land acquisition. A major park is needed on the west side of town where there is a lot of growth and no plans yet for a park that size. In general, the preservation of greenspace which is passive recreation is important and we should work toward that in future years using this tax. He agreed immediate needs should be met but long term needs must be addressed, too. Land is disappearing quickly and will get more expensive, so we need to buy land in areas that will develop. If we just rely on developers in subdivisions we will wind up with many small parks but will never amass the amount necessary for a big park. Susan Driver passed along a suggestion to assign a task force to inventory the current agricultural lands within the city limits and to target priorities of areas that would preserve the natural character but would not fall under Parks & Recreation's purview. Alderman Young hoped this would not be limited to just to what is zoned agricultural but would also include a green area or space not being occupied. Susan Driver pointed out that the framers of the statutes for the HMR tax felt parks and recreation were in and of themselves enough of a benefit to tourism to have given Advertising & Promotion a lot of latitude in spending the penny they collect for parks and recreation and another penny specific to parks and recreation. The intent is that there is a big connection between the economic viability of a community and the attractiveness that it has. Alderman Williams moved to approve this resolution approving the budget adjustment. Alderman Young seconded. Upon roll call the resolution passed on a vote of 6 to 0. RESOLUTION 40-96 AS RECORDED IN THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE VACATION VA96-1 Mayor Hanna introduced for consideration an ordinance vacating easements located in Northwest Village east of N. College Ave. and south of Zion, as requested by Second Century Investments. The Planning Commission voted 9-0-0 to recommend the vacation. City Attorney Rose read the ordinance for the first time. 9 113 "114 March 19, 1996 Alderman Schaper moved to suspend the :rules and reading./ Alderman Daniel seconded. Upon roll passed on a vote of 6 to 0. go to the second - call, the motion City Attorney Rose read the ordinance for the second time. Alderman Parker moved to suspend the rules and go to the third and final reading. Alderman Schaper -seconded. Upon roll call, the motion passed on a vote.of.6 to 0. City Attorney Rose read the ordinance for thethird time. • Mayor Hanna asked for comments. There were none. He -then called for the vote. Upon roll call, the ordinance passed on a vote of 6 to 0. ORDINANCE 3954 APPEARS ON PAGE OF ORDINANCE. BOOR IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT NO. 3 Mayor Hanna introduced an ordinance forming Fayetteville Municipal *e Property Owners' Improvement District No. 3 --Bois d'Arc Subdivision Pro�:ect. City Attorney Rose read the ordinance for the first time. Alderman..Williams did not .see an emergency here that affects the public health of the citizens of Fayetteville. It will take effect *-1 30 days anyway.'' Jim McCord stated if the Council has a problem with the emergency clause, it could be deleted In response to a question from:Alderman Young, Mr:'McCord stated the legal description given as exhibit A in the ordinance is -the same legal description for. the Bois d'Arc Subdivision. Alderman Schaper moved to -.suspend the rules and go to the second reading. Alderman Daniel seconded. Upon roll call, the motion passed on a vote of 6 to 0 - - City Attorney Rose read the ordinance for the second time. Alderman -Bassett moved to suspend the rules and go to the third reading. .Alderman Schaper seconded. Upon roll call, the motion passed on a vote of 6 to City Attorney Rose read the ordinance for the third time. 10 11'5 March 19, 1996 In response to a question from Alderman Young, City Attorney Rose stated if the emergency clause is not brought up, it is not part of the ordinance. Mayor Hanna asked for comments. Alderman Williams explained for the benefit of the audience that if property owners come to the Council and suggest the creation of an improvement district, it is the Council's duty to approve it if all the property owners have signed off. Mayor Hanna called for the vote. Upon roll call, the ordinance passed on a vote of 6 to 0. ORDINANCE 3955 APPEARS ON PAGE OF ORDINANCE BOOK TRANSFER OF CABLE FRANCHISE --PUBLIC HEARING Mayor Hanna introduced an ordinance providing for the transfer and assignment of a cable television franchise from Tele-Communications of Northwest Arkansas Limited Partnership to TCA Cable Partners. City Attorney Rose read the ordinance for the first time. City Attorney Rose stated this ordinance was one presented to him to read. It is up to the Council to find if in fact there is an emergency that warrants the emergency clause. In response to a question from Alderman Williams regarding the filing of forms, Rose stated he has reviewed all the whereas clauses, which are the same, except for name changes, as the ones used when Warner Cable transferred to TCA. They have filed a form 394 Alderman Schaper noted this is pro forma because of their corporate structure and has nothing to do with the services they provide or the Council's ability to tell them what channels to provide. Attorney Rose stated this is not a time to renegotiate the franchise, not a time to talk about programming, not a time to talk about rates. It is a transfer from one owner to a new owner. This is a corporate reorganization or a partnership reorganization in which they are adding a 25% partner in Donrey Media. It appears that under the terms of the franchise, the Council's discussion is to be whether or not the new owner of the franchise is capable of running the franchise in a proper and correct manner. It changes no provision of the franchise other than the name and group that now holds it. 11 y 7116 March 19, 1996 Regarding TCA recently dropping a channel to add another, Rose stated he has gone over TCA's "must carry" rules and found theyare under a Federal mandate as to what stations they ,must provide within the immediate area of Fayetteville. There is a new channel they must carry and to do this, one must be removed. It is their decision as to which one is dropped. There is nothing within the franchise agreement that allows the Council to dictate to the cable company what channels to carry. They may be interested in the Council's opinion. The Mayor advised everyone not happy with the cable company's decision to write or call the manager of TCA and voice their opinions. Rose stated negotiations for a new contract effective in the year 2000 could begin in 1997. , Alderman, Schaper moved to suspend the rules and go to the second reading. Alderman Bassett seconded. Upon roll call, the motion passed on a vote of 6 to 0. City Attorney Rose read the ordinance for the second time. Alderman Bassett moved to suspend the rules and go to the third reading. Alderman Schaper seconded. Upon roll call, the motion passed on a vote of 6 to 0. City Attorney Rose read the ordinance for the third time; Mayor Hanna asked for comments from the audience. There were none. He called for the vote. Upon roll call,. the ordinance passed on a vote of 6 to 0. Upon roll call, the emergency clause failed by unanimous vote. ORDINANCE 3956 APPEARS ON PAGE OF ORDINANCE BOOK HOBBS MOUNTAIN LANDFILL Mayor Hanna introduced a resolution supporting the appeal of the Hobbs Mountain Landfill permit and opposing the establishment of a landfill site at that location. - Alderman Parker noted that at the agenda session -changes were made that he has adopted as friendly amendments. The Council had received copies of the revised resolution. - 12 117 March 19, 1996 Alderman Bassett stated some, in particular Stephen Miller, would prefer the Environmental Concerns Committee talk to officials from Sunray and this is slated for some time in April. However, the hearing is scheduled for April 1. Whatever the Council does now would not be considered as any form of evidence. But with a hearing officer present, it might be considered very seriously by the members of the commission which will review the decision of the hearing officer. Alderman Daniel suggested a special session might be needed. Alderman Parker had talked to Stephen Miller and after it was explained that the hearing would take place between April 1 and April 5, Miller agreed the meeting would be like closing the barn door after the horse was gone and supported this resolution and hoped it would pass tonight. Alderman Williams concurred with this regarding Alderman Miller's position. Williams also agreed this was not evidence but was important. When the Council passed a resolution not supporting the beginning of construction, the motion for a stay was withdrawn, so there can be an impact. Alderman Young stated the citizens on the Environmental Concerns Committee are as concerned as he is and their opinions are not being considered. Here we are again with no opportunity to go before the Environmental Concerns Committee and let private citizens have their input. He also wondered what would happen after this hearing. Alderman Bassett answered evidence and he or she commission; the commission appeal that White River has option to appeal to circuit court. that the hearing officer will take will make a recommendation to the will then make a decision based on the lodged; and then whoever loses has the court, and then to the Arkansas supreme Alderman Parker agreed it was a legitimate concern that the Environmental Concerns Committee be involved. The reason it is coming up in this fashion is that we originally decided to kick this up to the 4 -County Solid Waste District and because of transfer of leadership there and the landfill committee not meeting, no decision was made about whether that was an appropriate forum until just a very short time ago. Once they decided that they could not take a position and the entities involved should make the decision on their own and it was more appropriate for Fayetteville to consider this by itself, it came back to us. 13 118 March 19, 1996 Parker stated there are very good reasons to vote on this tonight. The engineering firm that considered it and Beaver Water District have'found fatal flaws in the design and proposed operation of the +.-landfill. He hoped the Council would vote on this and not delay it so that other communities could look at what we have done and decide if they want to take action in the few weeks remaining before the hearing. Maybr Hanna stated this is not intended to be a public hearing. It is'intended to consider a resolution. Randy Holcomb from Sunray stated his concern focused solely on the idea that the Council was considering• this resolution when not fully informed. He had three points to make. First, Mr. Randall Mathis, Director of the.DPC&E, is conducting a meeting on the proposed landfill next Tuesday to address concerns of the citizens. Secondly, the Environmental Concerns Committee has requested a presentation from the permitting official of,the DPC&E and from Sunray, tentatively scheduled for March 27 and April -17. Thirdly, there are numerous alarming reports concerning the landfill but each and every one of those concerns has been addressed in public hearings before the DPC&E and each one has been responded to by the DPC&E in written form. This report is available to the Council and is an important source of information. Alderman Parker moved to adopt this resolution. Mayor Hanna stated that although this was not intended to be a public hearing, there were representatives of White River EPA present who were welcome to make a statement. In the interest of brevity, he asked for one would to speak for all. Leigh Fincher, physician at St. Mary's and Washington Regional who lives in the Durham community and is a member of the White' River EPA, thanked the Council for considering this resolution at this time. She addressed the fact that the Environmental Concerns Committee has not had the chance to review these issues. She stated that many experts have reviewed this information for a period of six years and are still in disagreement; This is a site thatis above our water supply, designed as a plastic bowl with zero tolerance for failure. As long as any doubt exists that this may present a problem, the risk to our water supply is too high. Andrea Fournet, Friends of Fayetteville, stated they had staged a forum to inform the public last summer. Geological research suggests that the proposed landfill on Hobbs Mountain could endanger the quality of water in Beaver Lake. Contamination of our water supply mustbe avoided and she urged the Council to vote yes for this resolution. 14 119 March 19, 1996 John Paschal, authorized to represent the Ozarks Headwaters Group of the Sierra Club, about 600 members, emphasized that people are concerned about the water and the Hobbs Mountain landfill. The slope of the Hobbs Mountain landfill is like the slope from Gibson Hall to Walton Arena. He reminded the Council of the failure of the Parson landfill. After it failed, the DPC&E wanted the City of Fayetteville to clean it up. If the Hobbs Mountain landfill is approved, Fayetteville may be asked to clean that up, too. The Ozark Headwaters Group has opposed the Hobbs Mountain landfill since 1989. Paschal urged the Council to join them in opposing it. Alderman Williams seconded Parker's motion to pass the resolution. Williams stated that even if the risk is small, it is unjustified in this case as it is so near the major tributary to our water supply. This is the time to make the decision. This is a proper resolution to express our concern and our belief that the Hobbs Mountain landfill is unjustified as it is risking too valuable a resource for all our citizens. Alderman Daniel also opposed this landfill and supported the resolution while noting we will be faced with unsavory options. Something has to be done and this is one little part. We will be faced with hard decisions with no happy solution to the waste problem. Alderman Young stated his mind is made up and based his decision on the laws of nature. Landfills leak. Once you get to that point, you know the leakage will go right into our water supply. Mother Nature will break down whatever we put together. Young added that advocating the reversal of the decision and not just agreeing with the appeal was an important change made to this resolution. Alderman Schaper stated this is a difficult issue. As an engineer, though not his area of expertise, he works with a lot of materials and knows that all materials have their failure points. There is no question that landfills leak, and there are lots of other sources of contamination of our water supply besides this particular landfill. That does not mean we should further contaminate our water supply and require that the Beaver Lake Water District figure out how to deal with what would come out of the landfill in addition to what is already in the water supply. We need to remember that the water in Beaver Lake is not pure. Our agriculture puts a lot of stuff into the runoff that goes into Beaver Lake. We do not need to put more stuff into the water we drink. The best thing the Council can do is to err on the side of caution. We must keep in mind we have to get our house in order. 15 120 • • Wermust have waste stream generate the March 19, 1996 an integrated waste management program to reduce -our' and dependence on landfills, to recycle, and to not garbage we do now. Alderman Bassett stated he was appalled by the call for a. grand jury. This was unnecessary and played on the emotions and fears of the people who oppose this landfill. He has struggled with this as he did not want the Council to be a part of any kind of lynch mob mentality. He has concluded that this is not what is going on now. In 1988 the people of Fayetteville decided they did not'want an incinerator. The decision was that we would dispose of our waste and would need a landfill. This is still a need. There is a political, economic, and moral obligation to protect our environment and the same obligation exists in disposing of our waste. This is going to be decided by the -Commission -and perhaps by the courts. Bassett spoke directly to Mr. Holcomb saying Sunray may win the legal battle, but could not win the political battle. We need a landfill but this is the wrong site for it. Mayor Hanna called for the vote for the revised resolution. It was decided the revised resolution did not need to be read. Upon roll call, the resolution passed on a vote of 6 to 0. RESOLUTION 41-96 AS RECORDED IN THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE WATER & SEWER CLAIM Mayor Hanna introduced a resolution approving the settlement of a Water & Sewer claim. David Jurgens, Water & Sewer Superintendent, explained this claim. As a rule, when the City considers claims --which the City does not have the legal responsibility to do --we pay for damages and direct expenses incurred because of whatever went wrong. We do not pay for routine maintenance, additions in value to the property, or homeowner time. In this case, the claim includes payment for waterproofing the basement, which could be considered routine maintenance. We do not pay for fixed assets. In this case there was a shop vacuum. If we pay for an item, the City receives the item even if it is damaged. In response to a question from reason we pay claims is to be used in this decision. At the and he had not recommended an had more "experience with this Alderman Parker,' Jurgens stated the fair. This is the :principle to be time, this was his first water claim amount to be paid. Now that he has type of claim, if he received this 16 March 19, 1996 now he would recommend paying about $800. This claim took almost a year to be made. The City had been in contact with the residents in January or February, four or five months after the incident occurred. The City put in an underground drainage system because we could not find any sign of a leak and thought perhaps normal drainage had been interrupted. Usually, if a claim is received after twelve months we do not consider it at all, as the ordinance which relates to this states. Alderman Williams agreed that we should compensate people when we injure them. There is also a duty to the taxpayers not to be overly generous and to treat all people alike. The $2,000 for waterproofing the wall seemed to be something not caused by anything the City had done. He believed the $3,139.36 being asked for was too much. Alderman Parker agreed with Williams that this amount was too much. The only thing that influenced him to think differently was the fact that the City did write a letter asking the homeowners to respond in writing and asking them to give the amount they expected to be reimbursed. $2,500 was offered along with the option of presenting the full amount to the Council. Because of this letter, Parker was reluctant to give less than $2,500 and urged the City to be more clear in the future as to what is covered and what is not. Mayor Hanna stated he feels the City fumbled the ball on this one by making an offer without having all the bills and without discussing it with the homeowners. We offered them $2,500 and cannot back down on that, though we are paying for part of something we should not pay for. Alderman Young moved to offer $2,500 on a take it or leave it basis. Alderman Daniel seconded. Upon roll call, the motion passed on a vote of 6 to 0. RESOLUTION 42-96 AS RECORDED IN THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE OTHER BUSINESS PARKING LOTS In response to a question from Alderman Young, Ben Mayes stated that the City has been collecting data every day for the last two and a half weeks, since the parking gate was added. This is spring break with few cars parking in the meters this week. The City is continuing to collect that data and plans to present it at the next agenda session. 17 121 .122 March 19, 1996 Alderman Young stated he is working cm a resolution to return the parkings<-lots to the original state. He hopes to have a meeting with the people on Block Street and then not have to bring forward the resolution. Mayor Hanna offered to set the meeting up for sometime next week. The meeting adjourned at 8:37. • 18 4* -'