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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-09-16 Minutes309 A MEETING OF THE FAYETTEVILLE CITY COUNCIL A meeting of the Fayetteville City Council was held on Tuesday, September 16, 1997, at 6:30 p.m., in the Council Room of the City Administration Building, 113 W. Mountain, Fayetteville, Arkansas. PRESENT: Mayor Fred Hanna; Kit Williams, Len Schaper, Heather Daniel, Cyrus Young, Randy Zurcher, Trent Trumbo (arrived late), Donna Pettus, and Stephen Miller; City Attorney Jerry Rose; City Clerk/Treasurer Traci Paul; staff; press; and audience. ABSENT: None Mayor Hanna called the meeting to order with seven aldermen present. NOMINATING COMMITTEE REPORT Alderman Daniel nominated Stephen Jeffus to the Board of Construction Appeals. Alderman Schaper seconded. Upon roll call, the motion carried on a vote of 8 to 0. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Hanna 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. A. Minutes of the September 2 regular City Council meeting; B. A resolution approving a professional services contract with Arthur Andersen, LLP, to provide independent audit services; RESOLUTION 87-97 AS RECORDED IN THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE. C. A resolution approving the fixed base operator's lease agreement with Aero Tech, Inc., dba Fayetteville Air Service; RESOLUTION 88-97 AS RECORDED IN THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE. 1 �r • September 16, 1997 A resolution awarding a contract to the low bidder, Emergency -One, Inc.., for the purchase of an aircraft rescue and fire fighting vehicle included in Federal Grant AIP #23 and authorizing the Mayor to accept the grant. This project will be funded 90% by the ' Department of Transportation/Federal Aviation Administration and 5% by the Arkansas Department of Aeronautics; RESOLUTION 89-97 AS RECORDED IN THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE. Alderman Schaper moved the consent. agenda. Alderman Daniel seconded. Upon roll call, the motion carried on a vote of 8 to 0. OLD BUSINESS EMINENT DOMAIN --HIGHWAY 45 & LAKE SEOUOYAH ROAD Mayor Hanna introduced an ordinance authorizing the City Attorney t� seek possession of certain properties for utility purposes by the power of eminent domain inassociation with the White River Water System connections with the City of Fayetteville along Highway 45 and Lake Sequoyah Road. This ordinance was left on second reading at the September 2 Council meeting. City Attorney Rose announced that the City has reached an agreement with Mr. Coger and Ms. Goodman. He asked the Council to amend the ordinance to remove the property condemnation of Mr. Cogerand Ms. Goodman. Alderman Trumbo so moved. call, the amendment passed Alderman Pettus seconded. Upon roll on a vote of 8 to 0. City Attorney Rose read the ordinance for the third time. There being no comments from the audience, Mayor Hanna called for the vote. Upon roll call, the ordinance passed on a vote of 8 to 0. ORDINANCE 4055 APPEARS ON PAGE OF ORDINANCE BOOK REZONING RZ97-15--CLARY DEVELOPMENT Mayor Hanna introduced an ordinancerezoning2.78 acres located north of Wedington Drive.and;east of Salem Road from C-2, Thoroughfare Commercial, to R-2,, Medium Density Residential, as requested by Brian Ray on behalf of Clary Development. This ordinance was tabled at the August 19 Council meeting. 311 September 16, 1997 Alderman Daniel moved to take this off the table. Alderman Miller seconded. Upon roll call, the motion carried on a vote of 8 to 0. City Attorney Rose reminded the Council that this ordinance was tabled after its third reading and is now ready for voting. Mayor Hanna asked for comments from the audience. There were none. Alderman Schaper asked if there was a bill of assurance that says this is indeed going to be senior citizen housing and how long it will be senior citizen housing. Alett Little, Planning Director, replied she has not received a bill of assurance to that effect. The large scale development for a senior citizens development is going through Planning now. Once the rezoning is in place, the developer can do whatever is allowed under that zoning. Even though this is elderly housing, it is approaching the 24 units per acre that R-2 allows. The only difference between the elderly housing and a typical multi- family development is the amount of traffic that would be generated. The park land is exactly the same. One reason it has not passed Planning at this point is that Planning is working on the circulation issues. Alderman Schaper acknowledged traffic is the major concern. It is in the Wedington Road corridor, which is already way over capacity at peak hours. Little stated a comparison would expect to show less traffic from the R-2 than a C-2. Alderman Schaper stated the traffic pattern is different. The morning rush hour is the real killer. He thought there was some legal guarantee that this would be senior citizen housing for the life of the bonds. Alderman Schaper moved to table this again. Alderman Zurcher seconded. Upon roll call the motion failed on a vote of 4 to 5, with Mayor Hanna and Aldermen Williams, Young, Trumbo, and Pettus voting no. Alderman Young stated he was uneasy about zoning property for a specific development, thinking that is illegal. City Attorney Rose agreed it is illegal, unless it is voluntarily offered by the individual. 3 • 312 September 16, 1997 Alderman Schaper stated that without a bill of assurance and the bond financing fell through, they could turn around and build regular apartments out there with people trying to get to work. Typical C-2, Commercial, with stores that don't open until 10:00., would have traffic after the morning rush hour, which is the biggest concern. There being no further comments, Mayor Hanna called for the vote. Upon roll call, the ordinance passed on a vote of 6 to 2, with Aldermen Schaper and Zurcher voting no, ORDINANCE 4056 APPEARS ON PAGE OF ORDINANCE BOOK APPEAL REZONING RZ97-16--CARLON BASSETT Mayor Hanna introduced an appeal of the Planning Commission's ,decision to deny a.rezoning for property located at 614 N. College Avenue as requested by Alan Reid on behalf of Carlon Bassett. The rezoning failed on a vote of 4-4 by the Planning Commission. City Attorney.Rose.explained.the applicants have a right to appeal. They have done that. The only way to rezone a piece of property is by ordinance. City Attorney Rose read the ordinance for the first time. Alett Little, Planning Director, informed. the Council a bill of assurance has been received. Rose agreed this could be added. Alderman Schaper asked if the legal description refers to the building footprint. Rose replied it does. The legal description provided to him was to cover the footprint, not of the entire building, but of that portion being rezoned. Little agreed. Alderman Young stated the legal description in the bill of assurance appears to be the parking lot. Little agreed. The bill of assurance agrees to not use,the segment of this property that is zoned R -O for ingress/egress to Rebecca Street. 313 September 16, 1997 Alderman Zurcher asked if there is a way to require screening between it and the residential property next to it. Little responded there exists a requirement for screening between any commercial property and any residential use. Alderman Williams moved to suspend the rules and go to the second reading. Alderman Miller seconded. Upon roll call, the motion carried on a vote 8 to 0. City Attorney Rose read the ordinance for the second time. Alderman Schaper asked if they would have to go for the conditional use for the parking on the R -O section. Little replied the conditional use for the parking lot has not been approved by the Planning Commission and it is a requirement for them to have the parking in the R -O. Alderman Zurcher asked if the screening can be moved to the property line, if the footprint of the building is being rezoned and right next to it is an R -O parking lot. Little replied that rezoning just the footprint of the building and having the conditional use for the parking lot in the R -O gives the Planning Commission the ability to prescribe the screening and the location for it. Most agree it needs to be on the property line, between this R -O property and the R-1 property. That will be one of the conditions of the conditional use. Alderman Zurcher moved to suspend the rules and go to the third reading. Alderman Williams seconded. Upon roll call, the motion carried on a vote of 8 to 0. City Attorney Rose read the ordinance for the third time. There being no further comments, Mayor Hanna called for the vote. Upon roll call, the ordinance passed on a vote of 8 to 0. ORDINANCE 4057 APPEARS ON PAGE OF ORDINANCE BOOK CHANGE ORDER 1--RJN GROUP, INC. Mayor Hanna introduced a resolution approving Change Order #1 to the engineering contract with RJN Group, Inc., for sanitary sewer rehabilitation 5 September 16, 1997 Kevin Crosson, Public:Works Director, stated this is a change Order that will affect two different areas, the, University of Arkansas with the addition of a point contract and the scope of work:in the Illinois River Basin • Alderman Zurcher stated he'liked the concept of less rain' water to treat. Crosson stated that when the administrative order was lifted, the City was put on notice that it would be expected to complete the schedule presented at the time. David Jurgens, Water & Sewer Maintenance Superintendent, stated this is the engineering change order for three construction contracts. This will address the manholes and the sewer lines on the University as well as other areas. Alderman Williams moved the resolution. Alderman:Miller seconded. Upon roll call, the resolution passed on a vote of 8 to .0. RESOLUTION 90-97 AS RECORDED IN THE.CITY CLERK'S OFFICE WATER & SEWER RATES Mayor Hanna introduced an ordinance adopting water and sewer rate changes as recommended in the completed water and sewer rate. study with an effective date of November 1, 1997. City Attorney Rose read the ordinance for the first time. Ben.Mayes, Administrative Services Director, stated the City has been working with the Black,& Veatch consulting.firm for the last year to study revenue requirements, cost of services, and rates for water and wastewater service.. Black & Veatch has prepared a .report which is included in the agenda backup and summarized in a Memo also in the. backup. Jeff Walters, Black & Veatch, reported on the methodology used and summarized the study results. -Black & Veatch uses an approved industry standard methodology:: ':They have abided by the American Waterworks Association Water Rates Manual M1 and the guidelines set forth by the Water Environment;Federation`Financing,.and Charges for Wastewater Systems Manual. Typically, they•used the utility approach, an approved methodology...c 315 September 16, 1997 Mr. Walters stated residential users inside Fayetteville who use 5,000 gallons per month will see an $.85 increase per month. Residential customers who use 10,000 gallons a month will see a $1.70 increase. Average commercial class would go up 11.7% and the industrial class would, on the average, see no increase at all. The outside city class will, on average, see a slight increase, under 1%. Wholesale customers will see no change. System -wide, there is a revenue increase of 5%. Mr. Walters stated that on the wastewater side, the residential customer using 5,000 gallons per month will see a $.23 increase. Users of 10,000 gallons per month will see a decrease of $1.42. Commercial class will see an average increase of 7.60. The industrial class will see an average increase of 9.9°%. Outside the city will see no overall increase. The wholesale class, essentially Elkins, will see a decrease of 27%. He explained that when the last cost analysis was done, Elkins was not a customer. Having no historical information, they looked at other customer classes to make an educated guess of what Elkins would use. Now that we have some history, we can predict in a better fashion their future use. System -wide on the wastewater side, there will be an increase of 3%. Alderman Young asked about bond requirements. Mr. Walters replied the debt service is paid annually. The bondholders require a cushion, so after you have total revenues from rates, after you deduct operating costs, excluding debt service, they require the net revenue balance to be at least 1.20 times the annual debt service. There will be no problem meeting that requirement. This is a typical requirement. Alderman Schaper asked if this will change the way the City computes residential sewer rates. Mayes replied this will not change that. Jim Smith, Water & Sewer Services Superintendent, explained there is a separate section in the ordinance that deals with sewer averages. Mayor Hanna asked for comments from the audience. Steve Ward, Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, asked for the reason the rate study reflected zero increase for outside the city users. 7 September 16, 1997 •Mr. Walters, picturing the system, as a pie, replied that over time different classes share the pie. In this case, the assumptions made about growth seven or eight years ago did not materialize. Classes that grew at a greater rate than others share a bigger burden of the total cost. Alderman Williams residential users larger users show referred to Table S-18. The smaller in Fayetteville have a small increase and the a decrease. Mr. Walters explained the volume charge is going down and the service charge is going up. Regarding commercial and industrial increase, percentage -wise the increase from existing rates to proposed rates on a 1" meter is not as large as the percentage increase for a'5/8" meter. Also, the commercial volume rate is increasing. • .Alderman Williams asked Alderman Schaper, Chairman of the Water & Sewer'Cotmittee, if the Committee had considered how sewer rates might affect potential use of our almost overburdened sewer plant. He wondered why we were giving rate reductions to our largest users. ` Alderman Schaper replied the rates have.to be cost based for equity. Punitive rates based on quantity are not cost based. Alderman Schaper did not agree we are giving rate reductions to. our largest users. Our largest users are commercial and industrial, and their rates are going up. The outside of town users, 5/8" water hookups, parallel the inside town residential decreases. Alderman Trumbo added that the last time these rates were set, there was no historical information on usage. Alderman Young stated Elkins maintains its lines. We maintain one metered line going to the sewer plant. The cost is less when they take care of their lines. Alderman Schaper agreed we should look at charging more as an impact fee and look ahead to the fact that Beaver Lake will not be here forever. Alderman Schaper referred to Table W-18. customers will be seeing increases of 13 vs. only 5-6% of the smaller residential the incentive to conserve is. Mayes stated these are based on cost of service. Each customer for this meter size has to pay that increase on the first 5,000 gallons of usage. The average residential usage is, between 5,000 The larger residential -14% in their water bill, users. That is where 317 September 16, 1997 and 6,000 gallons per month. There are very few customers that actually use more than 10,000; but rates have to be established for those who do. The vast majority of residential are in the first step. The overall impact on the residential customer for sewer was zero increase. Water had a 6.46 increase. Mayes stated the cost of a new sewer plant is not included here. It will be done separately. Conservation education material is routinely sent out in water bills. Alderman Young moved to suspend the rules and go to the second reading. Alderman Miller seconded. Upon roll call, the motion carried on a vote of 8 to 0. City Attorney Rose read the ordinance for the second time. Alderman Williams suggested leaving this on second reading. BID WAIVER --A&M RAILROAD Mayor Hanna introduced an ordinance approving a bid waiver for a cost sharing agreement with Arkansas and Missouri Railroad for a crossing upgrade. City Attorney Rose read the ordinance for the first time. Kevin Crosson, Public Works Director, stated the City has done this over the years and always felt it a good practice to have some say in the schedule and the upgrade of surfaces. Alderman Miller moved to suspend the rules and go to the second reading. Alderman Williams seconded. Upon roll call, the motion carried on a vote of 8 to 0. City Attorney Rose read the ordinance for the second time. Alderman Zurcher moved to suspend the rules and go to the third and final reading. Alderman Williams seconded. Upon roll call, the motion carried on a vote of 8 to 0. City Attorney Rose read the ordinance for the third time. There being no further comments, Mayor Hanna called for the vote. Upon roll call, the ordinance passed on a vote of 8 to 0. ORDINANCE 4058 APPEARS ON PAGE OF ORDINANCE BOOK 9 September, 16, 1997 AIRPORT DRAINAGE DITCH CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT- MARINONI Mayor Hanna. introduced a resolution approving a construction contract and Federal AIP Grant for the relocation of a drainage ditch at the Fayetteville Municipal Airport, approving a budget adjustment, and authorizing the Mayor to accept thegrant upon its arrival. Mayor Hanna stated the low bid the amount of $633,384.70.' .Alderman Miller stated it will cost the City Dale Frederick, Airport Manager, stated this improvement. was Marinoni Construction Co. in about $30,000. is a safety Alderman Williams moved the resolution. Alderman Miller seconded. Upon roll call, the resolution passed on a vote of 8 to 0. RESOLUTION 91-97 AS RECORDED IN THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE, ADJOURNMENT There were no announcements. Mayor Hanna adjourned the meeting at 7:30 p.m.