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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-08-06 - Minutes -Council Member Sonia Gutierrez Ward 1 Position 1 Council Member Sarah Marsh Ward 1 Position 2 Council Member Mark Kinion Ward 2 Position 1 Council Member Matthew Petty Ward 2 Position 2 Mayor Lioneld Jordan City Attorney Kit Williams City Clerk Sondra E. Smith City of Fayetteville Arkansas City Council Meeting August 6, 2019 City Council Meeting Minutes August 6, 2019 Page 1 of 19 Council Member Sloan Scroggin Ward 3 Position 1 Council Member Sarah Bunch Ward 3 Position 2 Council Member Teresa Turk Ward 4 Position 1 Council Member Kyle Smith Ward 4 Position 2 A meeting of the Fayetteville City Council was held on August 6, 2019 at 5:30 p.m. in Room 219 of the City Administration Building located at 113 West Mountain Street, Fayetteville, Arkansas. Mayor Jordan called the meeting to order. PRESENT: Council Members Sonia Gutierrez, Sarah Marsh, Mark Kinion, Sloan Scroggin, Sarah Bunch, Teresa Turk, Kyle Smith, Mayor Lioneld Jordan, City Attorney Kit Williams, City Clerk Sondra Smith, Staff, Press, and Audience. Council Member Bunch arrived at 5:36 p.m. Absent: Council Member Petty was absent. Pledge of Allegiance Manr's Announcements Proclamations and Recognitions: Mayor Jordan welcomed University of Arkansas international students from Iraq who were in attendance. City Council Meeting Presentations, Reports, and Discussion Items: Monthly Financial Report - Paul Becker Paul Becker, Chief Financial Officer gave a summary of the Monthly Financial Report. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www fayetteville-ar gov City Council Meeting Minutes August 6, 2019 Page 2 of 19 2018 CAFR Report - Paul Becker Paul Becker, Chief Financial Officer gave a summary of the 2018 CAFR Report. He stated the report is listed on the City of Fayetteville website. Aizenda Additions_ Northwest Arkansas Nutrient Trading Research and Advisory Group (NANTRAG): A resolution to request that the Northwest Arkansas Nutrient Trading Research and Advisory Group (NANTRAG) consider amending the proposed regulation for nutrient trading to more closely conform to the attached proposed revision. Council Member Kinion moved to add Northwest Arkansas Nutrient Trading Research and Advisory Group (NANTRAG) to the agenda. Council Member Smith seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed 7-0. Council Members Bunch, Turk, Smith, Gutierrez, Marsh, Kinion, and Scroggin voting yes. Council Member Petty was absent. Council Member Turk read the resolution and gave a brief description of the item. Council Member Kinion stated it was unanimous at the Water, Sewer & Solid Waste Committee to support the resolution. Fran Alexander, Fox Hunter Road spoke in favor of the resolution. Brian Thompson, 3428 East Wyman Road stated he is a member of the Buffalo River Watershed Alliance. He spoke about how political insiders can take advantage of regulatory loopholes. Carol Christoffel, 1510 East Overcrest stated her best case is that Council will kill the project or next best is to incorporate the changes recommended or more stringent majors. Council Member Marsh thanked Council Member Turk for bringing the item forward. She stated all steps need to be taken to protect the water and health of the community. Council Member Smith: When reading through the original, it looked more like philosophy than policy. It is nice to see a version put forward with numbers and rules that can be followed. Mayor Jordan: We will be taking this to NANTRAG at their next meeting to introduce this. This will be what we will support on that committee. Council Member Marsh moved to approve the resolution. Council Member Smith seconded the motion. Upon roll call the resolution passed 7-0. Council Members Bunch, Turk, Smith, Gutierrez, Marsh, Kinion, and Scroggin voting yes. Council Member Petty was absent. Resolution 173-19 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www fayetteville-ar gov City Council Meeting Minutes August 6, 2019 Page 3 of 19 Consent: Approval of the July 16, 2019 City Council Meeting Minutes. Approved Fleming Electric, Inc.: A resolution to authorize the purchase of four electrical junction boxes and the repair of an electrical conduit for the biological treatment units at the West Side Wastewater Treatment Facility for the total amount of $18,704.00 plus applicable taxes and freight charges, and to approve a budget adjustment. Resolution 174-19 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Jack Tyler Engineering, Inc.: A resolution to authorize the purchase of a pump for the solids handling odor control system at the Paul R. Noland Wastewater Treatment Facility from Jack Tyler Engineering, Inc. in the amount of $10,900.00 plus applicable taxes and freight charges, and to approve a budget adjustment. Resolution 175-19 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Nabholz Industrial Services: A resolution to accept a quote in the amount of $9,423.36 plus applicable taxes from Nabholz Industrial Services for the installation of a fill auger and scrubber - condenser for the thermal dryer at the Biosolids Management Site, to approve a project contingency in the amount of $1,500.00, and to approve a budget adjustment. Resolution 176-19 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Bid #19-36 AVO Multi -Amp Corporation d/b/a Megger: A resolution to award Bid #19-36 and authorize the purchase of water leak detection equipment from AVO Multi -Amp Corporation d/b/a Megger Group in the amount of $60,990.00 for use by the Water and Sewer Operations Division. Resolution 177-19 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Bid # 19-34 Kansas Salt, LLC: A resolution to award Bid # 19-34 and authorize the purchase of bulk crushed rock salt from Kansas Salt, LLC for $50.00 per ton for materials picked up and $95.00 per ton for materials delivered as needed, and to authorize the use of Central Salt, LLC as a secondary supplier. Resolution 178-19 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk American Electric Power: A resolution to authorize a contract with AEP/SWEPCO for utility relocations associated with the construction of the Cedarwood and Glenwood Drainage Improvements Project, with the amount to be paid by the City of Fayetteville not to exceed $30,697.03. Resolution 179-19 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www fayetteville-ar gov City Council Meeting Minutes August 6, 2019 Page 4 of 19 NWA Trailblazers: A resolution to authorize a contract with Bentonville/Bella Vista Trailblazer's Association, Inc. d/b/a NWA Trailblazers for the design and construction of Phase 1 of the soft surface cycling infrastructure for Centennial Park at Millsap Mountain. Resolution 180-19 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Council Member Marsh moved to accept the Consent Agenda as read. Council Member Gutierrez seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed 7-0. Council Members Bunch, Turk, Smith, Gutierrez, Marsh, Kinion, and Scroggin voting yes. Council Member Petty was absent. Unfinished Business: RZN 19-6666 (119 & 127 S. West St./Canfield): An ordinance to rezone that property described in rezoning petition RZN 19-6666 for approximately 0.40 acres located at 119 and 127 South West Avenue from NC, Neighborhood Conservation to MSC, Main Street/Center. At the July 2, 2019 City Council Meeting this item was left on the first reading. At the July 16, 2019 City Council Meeting this item was left on the second reading. City Attorney Kit Williams: I notified the City Council on July 23, 2019 that the applicant has supplied a Bill of Assurance. The Bill of Assurance limits the height structure on the property to three story maximum. It removes Use Unit 17, Transportation Trades and Services, such as automobile sales and car washes. We will need to amend to add the Bill of Assurance. Council Member Marsh made a motion to amend the ordinance to include a Bill of Assurance. Council Member Scroggin seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed 7-0. Council Members Bunch, Turk, Smith, Gutierrez, Marsh, Kinion, and Scroggin voting yes. Council Member Petty was absent. City Attorney Kit Williams read the entire ordinance. The applicant stated he was available for questions. Council Member Turk thanked the applicant for providing a Bill of Assurance and reconciling City Council concerns. Mayor Jordan asked shall the ordinance pass. Upon roll call the ordinance passed 7-0. Council Members Bunch, Turk, Smith, Gutierrez, Marsh, Kinion, and Scroggin voting yes. Council Member Petty was absent. Ordinance 6210 as Recorded in the office of the City Clerk Amend §161.29 Neighborhood Conservation: An ordinance to amend §161.29 Neighborhood Conservation of the Fayetteville Unified Development Code to change the lot width minimum 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www fayetteville-ar gov City Council Meeting Minutes August 6, 2019 Page 5 of 19 for all dwelling types to 40 feet. At the July 16, 2019 City Council Meeting this item was left on the first reading. Council Member Marsh moved to suspend the rules and go to the second reading. Council Member Gutierrez seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed 7-0. Council Members Bunch, Turk, Smith, Gutierrez, Marsh, Kinion, and Scroggin voting yes. Council Member Petty was absent. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Andrew Garner, City Planning Director stated City Council was provided a background of the Neighborhood Conservation zoning district and how it was adopted and amended over the years. Council Member Marsh moved to suspend the rules and go to the third and final reading. Council Member Kinion seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed 7-0. Council Members Bunch, Turk, Smith, Gutierrez, Marsh, Kinion, and Scroggin voting yes. Council Member Petty was absent. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Council Member Marsh thanked staff for bringing the item forward. She stated it is a great way for them to introduce some gentle density into neighborhoods. Mayor Jordan thanked staff for their work. Mayor Jordan asked shall the ordinance pass. Upon roll call the ordinance passed 7-0. Council Members Bunch, Turk, Smith, Gutierrez, Marsh, Kinion, and Scroggin voting yes. Council Member Petty was absent. Ordinance 6211 as Recorded in the office of the City Clerk Amend §72.18, Residential Parking Permit Program for the Entertainment District Parking Zone: An ordinance to amend §72.18, Residential Parking Permit Program for the Entertainment District Parking Zone of the Fayetteville City Code to convert portions of restricted residential -only parking along Locust Avenue and Lafayette Street and portions of paid - only on -street parking along Vandeventer Avenue, Lafayette Street, and Church Avenue to mixed- use parking areas. At the July 16, 2019 City Council Meeting this item was left on the first reading. Council Member Kinion moved to suspend the rules and go to the second reading. Council Member Marsh seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed 7-0. Council Members Bunch, Turk, Smith, Gutierrez, Marsh, Kinion, and Scroggin voting yes. Council Member Petty was absent. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www Fayetteville-ar gov City Council Meeting Minutes August 6, 2019 Page 6 of 19 Justin Clay, Parking Manager gave a brief description of the ordinance. Sterling Hamilton, 118 West Spring Street spoke in favor of the ordinance. Jeremy Hudson, 929 Park Avenue spoke in favor of the ordinance. Council Member Scroggin stated he would be okay with holding the ordinance for another reading to allow more people to talk. He spoke about the bond that recently passed and the money allocated for a parking deck. He stated city's that don't utilize their parking properly get choked by it and can't grow. He stated he is in support of the ordinance. Council Member Kinion stated he has received confused resident calls about what is going on. He spoke about wanting to hold the ordinance on the second reading to allow more people the opportunity to receive information. Don Marr, Chief of Staff stated this was a recommendation made in the parking study and has been out there for some time. He stated holding it for two more weeks would be fine because it isn't an emergency. He stated they have made every effort to have ample involvement from those impacted. Council Member Marsh: I like the intention. I would like us to look at creating one or two, 10 to 15 -minute loading zones in front of the apartment buildings. If someone were unloading a passenger or large parcel, they would have an easy way to unload their vehicle and then walk from half a block away if they need to park down the street. This item was left on the Second Reading. Amend Chapter 157, Notification and Public Hearings: An ordinance to amend Chapter 157, Notification and Public Hearings of the Fayetteville Unified Development Code by expanding the notification requirements for public hearings on applications for developments, annexations, zoning map amendments, conditional use permits, zoning variances, and large site improvement plans. At the July 16, 2019 City Council Meeting this item was left on the first reading. City Attorney Kit Williams: The City Council asked that this be amended to include residents, as well as landowners. In looking at the ordinance that had been drafted with seven sections, I thought we should get that down to three sections. I combined repetitive language. Council Member Marsh made a motion to amend to the new proposed language. Council Member Gutierrez seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed 7-0. Council Members Bunch, Turk, Smith, Gutierrez, Marsh, Kinion, and Scroggin voting yes. Council Member Petty was absent. City Attorney Kit Williams read the entire ordinance. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www Fayetteville-ar gov City Council Meeting Minutes August 6, 2019 Page 7 of 19 Don Marr, Chief of Staff. Garner Stoll asked me to be clear with the Council. This change of this requirement where you are doing something like a zoning or a site improvement, where within the 200 feet was a large apartment complex that could have 300 units and this notification would require each of those individual units to receive this notification. Someone might be doing a small- scale rezoning of a single-family home, not a developer in nature, who would still have to meet this requirement of notification if they were within that perimeter. Council Member Gutierrez thanked staff for their work. She stated bringing more participation, notification, and communication for the residents is a big part of transparency. She stated it does create more work for staff. She spoke about being more efficient and potentially using a bar code system where people could scan to get to the URL to get digital information about all the things going on. Council Member Marsh: This is an important amendment. It's starting to recognize that it's not just homeowners that have a stake in our community. All people who live here matter, not just those fortunate enough to be homeowners. This moves us in the right direction towards better equity in our community. Council Member Turk thanked Council Member Gutierrez and staff for their work on the ordinance. She stated one of the things she hears most often is that residents didn't know about something happening in their neighborhood. She stated this is a good attempt to get more people involved. Council Member Gutierrez moved to suspend the rules and go to the third and final reading. Council Member Kinion seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed 7-0. Council Members Bunch, Turk, Smith, Gutierrez, Marsh, Kinion, and Scroggin voting yes. Council Member Petty was absent. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Mayor Jordan thanked Council Member Gutierrez for bringing this to Council's attention. He stated it is a very good amendment. Mayor Jordan asked shall the ordinance pass. Upon roll call the ordinance passed 7-0. Council Members Bunch, Turk, Smith, Gutierrez, Marsh, Kinion, and Scroggin voting yes. Council Member Petty was absent. Ordinance 6212 as Recorded in the office of the City Clerk New Business: 2020 Employee Benefits Package: A resolution to approve the 2020 Employee Benefits Package. Michele Bechhold, Senior Human Resources Officer gave a brief description of the resolution. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www fayetteville-ar gov City Council Meeting Minutes August 6, 2019 Page 8 of 19 Don Marr, Chief of Staff stated this has been a long time trying to get to an improved utilization rate. He stated years ago, we were at about 126% utilization and as high as 140%. He stated we have been down in the 90% area, but those numbers are looked at on a three-year cycle. He stated you have to have multi-year improvement at a lower number to be able to impact rates. He stated this is the first time in the Mayor's term they have had a zero increase and thanked staff and Council for their commitment to do health screenings to identify health risk earlier. He spoke about the excellent broker who has helped to negotiate a rate structure allowing the employees to have a zero percent increase. He stated the goal is at 85%. He thanked Michele and spoke about her serving as Interim Director of HR most of this year. He stated Council had questions about certain benefit opportunities for alternative medicines. He stated the current carrier does not offer that, even as an add on purchase option and is something that maybe could be considered in future years. Jacob Salinas, City's Broker with Arthur J Gallagher Company stated in the certificate of coverage, alternative medicine is excluded from the coverage. He stated there are circumstances where it could be covered, but it is a totally separate subject and if the city wants, they could look at that in the future. He spoke about employees getting the benefit paid for through IRS Section Code 213, which can be utilized through a flexible Spending account or a Health Savings account. He stated those expenses medically qualify. Council Member Kinion moved to approve the resolution. Council Member Gutierrez seconded the motion. Upon roll call the resolution passed 7-0. Council Members Bunch, Turk, Smith, Gutierrez, Marsh, Kinion, and Scroggin voting yes. Council Member Petty was absent. Resolution 181-19 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk RZN 19-6708 (NW of Rupple Rd. & Faith St./Sloanbrooke Ph. IV): An ordinance to rezone that property described in rezoning petition RZN 19-6708 for approximately 3.08 acres located Northwest of Rupple Road and Faith Street from R -A, Residential Agricultural and NC, Neighborhood Conservation to NC, Neighborhood Conservation and R -A, Residential Agricultural. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Andrew Garner, City Planning Director gave a brief description of the ordinance. He requested for the item to be tabled until the next City Council meeting so that some issues could be talked through. There was a brief discussion about leaving it on the First Reading. Council Member Smith: The circumstances of the request are different now that we are aware of a substantial chunk of city owned land than when Planning Commission considered it. Would it be appropriate to send it back to the Planning Commission to review again? 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www fayetteville-ar gov City Council Meeting Minutes August 6, 2019 Page 9 of 19 Council Member Marsh: I am open to sending it back to the Planning Commission. I'm glad to see these discussions. They are constructive offerings from staff, in terms of how we can deal with this. I drove down Rupple Road and looked at what is there and what we need to be there. It's imperative that we don't have any more privacy fences along that road. It is vital that we build a transportation corridor right because it is a key link in our transportation network. Council Member Smith stated he was willing to discuss with developers on how they can do it. He spoke about the previous zoning and believes this is the start of a bigger conversation in the future. He stated he has ideas about the fencing and wants to work with staff on it. Don Marr, Chief of Staff stated as Council looks at the 2040 Plan and zoning, it's his and Garner Stoll's belief that until they address the residential use by right in this zone, there isn't much that can be done to prevent what's happening until Council is willing to change the policy perspective. Council Member Kinion: There weren't a lot of choices of zoning when this was given initially. Right now, the choices we have do not resolve the problem of the initial zoning because of this residential allowance. If we take it back to the Planning Commission, I hope they can start the discussion about some other zoning with the staff. Rupple Road is going to be a real opportunity for us to have a workshop to get to the way we want future development to be throughout the west side of town. I support this to go back to the Planning Commission. Council Member Scroggin stated the road was talked about a lot at Planning Commission meetings. He spoke about privacy fences. He spoke about developers and form based zoning. Council Member Marsh: The Planning Commission cannot stop development of something that is already allowed by right. In the interest of resolving this and allowing the developer to move forward with something, I recommend they submit a rezoning request for Community Services. I'm not asking for, but I suggest they include a Bill of Assurance that removes single family residential and commits to fronting Rupple Road. It would address our concerns and allow them to move forward, while we go back and put an overlay district on this. Don Marr, Chief of Staff spoke about the legislative session. He stated a senate bill restricted the city's ability to do design standards for single family residential. He stated when talking about fencing and preventing those items, the zoning Council has doesn't allow these kinds of restrictions in the new law that's coming forward. He stated they can have these restrictions in an overlay, commercial, multi family or some of the other form based zones that allow more density. Council Member Smith stated he doesn't believe this is a problem of fences. He stated fences are a symptom of a problem of people turning their back on a big road. He stated this is about a safety issue of having eyes on a road that they are intentionally investing in making a major pedestrian route on the west side of town. He stated he does not have a problem with residential along Rupple. He stated his problem is acquiring land adjacent to a road and then developing as if it were not there. He stated an overlay district does not solve the problem. He stated it might solve the problem for Rupple, but the exact same problem is on Alberta, Salem, Township, and other examples in Ward 4. He stated this is a city-wide problem and needs a city-wide solution. He spoke about buildings needing to front the street that developers have purchased adjacent too. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www fayetteville-ar gov City Council Meeting Minutes August 6, 2019 Page 10 of 19 Council Member Smith made a motion to refer the ordinance to the Planning Commission. Council Member Kinion seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed 7-0. Council Members Bunch, Turk, Smith, Gutierrez, Marsh, Kinion, and Scroggin voting yes. Council Member Petty was absent. This item was left on the First Reading and sent to the Planning Commission. RZN 19-6710 (1520 E. Huntsville Rd./Tamijani): An ordinance to rezone that property described in rezoning petition RZN 19-6710 for approximately 0.80 acres located at 1520 East Huntsville Road from RSF-4, Residential Single Family, 4 units per acre to NS -G, Neighborhood Services -General. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Andrew Garner, City Planning Director gave a brief description of the ordinance. He stated the Planning Commission and staff recommends approval. Council Member Scroggin: Was there anybody against this at any of the Planning Commission meetings? Andrew Garner: There were not. Council Member Kinion moved to suspend the rules and go to the second reading. Council Member Marsh seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed 7-0. Council Members Bunch, Turk, Smith, Gutierrez, Marsh, Kinion, and Scroggin voting yes. Council Member Petty was absent. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Council Member Marsh moved to suspend the rules and go to the third and final reading. Council Member Kinion seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed 7-0. Council Members Bunch, Turk, Smith, Gutierrez, Marsh, Kinion, and Scroggin voting yes. Council Member Petty was absent. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Mayor Jordan asked shall the ordinance pass. Upon roll call the ordinance passed 7-0. Council Members Bunch, Turk, Smith, Gutierrez, Marsh, Kinion, and Scroggin voting yes. Council Member Petty was absent. Ordinance 6213 as Recorded in the office of the City Clerk VAC 19-6712 (155 N. Fletcher Ave./Enlighten Homes): An ordinance to approve VAC 19-6712 for property located at 155 North Fletcher Avenue to vacate a portion of street right-of-way. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www Fayetteville-ar gov City Council Meeting Minutes August 6, 2019 Page I 1 of 19 City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Andrew Garner, City Planning Director gave a brief description of the ordinance. He stated the Planning Commission and staff recommends approval. He stated the Planning Commission recommended the Council to evaluate a broader vacation of Fletcher Avenue because the entire block of Fletcher has some excess right of way. Council Member Scroggin: On the broader vacation, is that something we can do? What would be the process for that? Andrew Garner: It would require a good amount of work. We would have to survey that block of land and get property owners involved. I imagine they would be happy to gain some extra land. Council Member Scroggin: Would that be something we could make a motion on today or a separate issue? City Attorney Kit Williams: It's not on our agenda to extend this vacation beyond what has been requested. At Agenda Session, you could talk to Mayor Jordan and staff, if you felt like it was a good idea for the Mayor to devote some staff time to it. Council Member Smith: Did you say the broader right of way was on Fletcher or Spring? Andrew Garner: Sorry, it is on Spring. Council Member Smith: How wide is the existing sidewalk? Does it meet our current standards? Andrew Garner: The sidewalk is old and is about four feet and probably isn't ADA compliant. It is separated from the street at least. Council Member Smith: The remaining right of way would be sufficient to bring that up to our current standard width? Andrew Garner: Yes, it would. Council Member Bunch: About how many properties do you think this broader easement area would affect? Andrew Garner: It would probably go past Olive and all the way down to the Willow area. It would affect maybe a dozen property owners. City Attorney Kit Williams: This is not a disadvantage to most property owners. It looks like part of their yard. If somebody really needed to do something, they could come forward. We need to look at, do we want to make sure we keep enough right of way that if we want to have an improved sidewalk, there would be plenty of room for it. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www fayetteville-ar gov City Council Meeting Minutes August 6, 2019 Page 12 of 19 Council Member Gutierrez: I use that sidewalk quite a bit and it needs a lot of improvement. How close are we to getting the sidewalk updated? Andrew Garner: I don't believe that's on any plans to improve. Council Member Gutierrez stated she wants to make sure they have everything they need once they are ready for that to be updated. She spoke about the steepness. Andrew Garner: That is a good point. Any time the Council vacates a street, sometimes you can't anticipate how you might need that right of way in the future. For this section, you could put storm drainage and sidewalk in to meet the code. If somebody wanted to widen it out for parking, you could do that, but access right of way for the city's side of it can be beneficial in 50 years down the road. We do feel like it would allow all our current master street plan to be improved. Council Member Smith: The width of the right of way we are talking about now goes all the way down to Walnut, where it jumps back out to the street. It looks like it is in line with the section of Spring Street after the curve. Maybe there had been a dream plan of straightening out that curve. I'm wondering what the broader history of this was. Council Member Marsh: If this parcel was redeveloped, then the developer would be required to construct a new sidewalk. That would be a way for them to bear that expense and improve the sidewalk. It is in bad condition and is steep. The area is too steep for a transit location and not comfortable for parallel parking. It is wise to vacate this, but let other property owners in the future initiate further vacations. Council Member Marsh moved to suspend the rules and go to the second reading. Council Member Kinion seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed 7-0. Council Members Bunch, Turk, Smith, Gutierrez, Marsh, Kinion, and Scroggin voting yes. Council Member Petty was absent. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Council Member Marsh moved to suspend the rules and go to the third and final reading. Council Member Kinion seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed 7-0. Council Members Bunch, Turk, Smith, Gutierrez, Marsh, Kinion, and Scroggin voting yes. Council Member Petty was absent. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Mayor Jordan asked shall the ordinance pass. Upon roll call the ordinance passed 7-0. Council Members Bunch, Turk, Smith, Gutierrez, Marsh, Kinion, and Scroggin voting yes. Council Member Petty was absent. Ordinance 6214 as Recorded in the office of the City Clerk 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www fayetteville-ar gov City Council Meeting Minutes August 6, 2019 Page 13 of 19 Blocker Wallace Service, LLC: An ordinance to waive competitive bidding and accept a quote in the amount of $31,550.00 plus applicable taxes and freight charges from Blocker & Wallace Service, LLC for the repair of two cyclo -blowers for the Westside Wastewater Treatment Facility, and to approve a budget adjustment. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Mark Rogers, Water & Sewer Operations Manager gave a brief description of the ordinance. He stated staff recommends approval. He stated the Water & Sewer Committee voted unanimously in favor to forward the item to City Council for approval. Council Member Gutierrez moved to suspend the rules and go to the second reading. Council Member Turk seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed 7-0. Council Members Bunch, Turk, Smith, Gutierrez, Marsh, Kinion, and Scroggin voting yes. Council Member Petty was absent. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Council Member Turk moved to suspend the rules and go to the third and final reading. Council Member Marsh seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed 7-0. Council Members Bunch, Turk, Smith, Gutierrez, Marsh, Kinion, and Scroggin voting yes. Council Member Petty was absent. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Mayor Jordan asked shall the ordinance pass. Upon roll call the ordinance passed 7-0. Council Members Bunch, Turk, Smith, Gutierrez, Marsh, Kinion, and Scroggin voting yes. Council Member Petty was absent. Ordinance 6215 as Recorded in the office of the City Clerk Washington County Northwest Arkansas Crisis Stabilization Unit MOU: A resolution to approve a Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Fayetteville and Washington County for the city to use the Northwest Arkansas Crisis Stabilization Unit at no cost through 2019 with a fee of $40.00 per day for each individual the city sends for treatment beginning on January 1, 2020. Don Marr, Chief of Staff gave a brief description of the resolution. Mayor Jordan stated he's in support of the resolution because it provides an alternative of taking people to jail when they are having a mental episode. Greg Tabor, Chief of Police: There were some questions asked at Agenda Session about how many CIT Officers we have. The answer is, 13. Our trail person is not a CIT officer, but there is a 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www fayetteville-ar gov City Council Meeting Minutes August 6, 2019 Page 14 of 19 class coming up in September and October for the officer and other officers to attend. We have a plan by the end of October to have twice as many trained CIT officers. City Attorney Kit Williams thanked the state legislature for appropriating the money and enabling Washington County to establish this. He spoke about the benefits of the program. There was a brief discussion about Washington County drafting the Memorandum of Understanding and City Council's choice to approve the resolution or not. City Attorney Kit Williams: It's free now. At the start of the year we will have to start paying a $40 fee, which is very reasonable for this kind of facility. I think they can only do that because the state funded it. We might have concerns in the future because we don't know what will happen. Don Marr, Chief of Staff: We have been talking for years about the need for mental health services here in Northwest Arkansas. Our Police Officers often deal with this scenario and it's a much better situation than having a person sit in the jail at a higher cost to our citizens. This gives us a chance to see it free of charge until January. To look at it moving forward, it requires your budget approval. Council Member Gutierrez stated this provides an opportunity to keep people out of jail and instead receive mental health services. She spoke in favor of the program. Council Member Scroggin thanked everyone who work on the item. He stated he feels like Police Officers will get better at identifying people who would benefit from the program. He spoke in favor of more training and the resolution. Council Member Bunch stated she likes the idea of trying it out and see how it works. She stated this is an opportunity to help someone when they are at the lowest point in their life. She spoke in favor of the resolution. Council Member Smith stated he supports any effort to safely and humanely reduce the incarceration rates. He spoke about his concerns of the Memorandum of Understanding. He stated he is disappointed that a Washington County representative was not in attendance at the meeting to answer questions and go through the details. He requested to know what was the anticipated budget impact for next year. Paul Becker, Chief Financial Officer: We don't have any history so that would be difficult to answer. I suggest we put about $2,000 in the budget to start, which is a guess. We have an out process if it doesn't work right. The good thing is that it's housed right here in Fayetteville. Don Marr, Chief of Staff: We will evaluate how many people we take between now and the end of the year and see if that has any type of guidance to future budgeting. Typically, these people end up at the county jail where we are paying $62.00 for booking fees. If they go for one day we are going to have a savings from what we currently pay. If they are there for the full three days, we have a higher cost. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar gov City Council Meeting Minutes August 6, 2019 Page 15 of 19 Council Member Smith: Do we know the estimated total operating cost of the facility? Don Marr, Chief of Staff. We do not. Council Member Smith: Do we know how much the state grant was? Don Marr, Chief of Staff. We do not. That could be requested under the Freedom of Information Act for these documents from Washington County. Council Member Smith: Residents of the city are residents of the county and they pay taxes. If we had a representative from the county here, I'd ask why city residents are being double charged for the use of a facility they are already financing. When there are partner cities and a four -county region, I'm curious if there will be preference given to Washington County cities over other counties. Don Marr, Chief of Staff: We do not know the answer to that. We have been told that there's 16 beds and they are on a first come first serve basis. Council Member Smith: We will be competing for bed space with all these other counties? Don Marr, Chief of Staff. We will be competing for one of 16 bed spaces if we are taking someone. Council Member Smith: Section 6 talks about the duration and what happens if the state decreases funding. I wish it detailed what happens if the state increases funding. I figure it's not likely, but I'd hope we could get a commitment that there would be a reduction of our cost or expansion of the facility. I would like to know if medical providers were going to bill Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance and if they do, will cities be reimbursed for the cost. I would hate to hear they are now triple charging the residents of Fayetteville and their insurance. Those are important details and I'm disappointed the county is not here to answer questions. Mayor Jordan: Those are all fair questions. Most of those questions are probably county and state questions. Don Marr, Chief of Staff. We have multiple JP's that represent the City of Fayetteville we can reach out to. We will see if they can assist with any information. We are at a point today where we can continue to wait on answers and then have the issue of do we get to partner with this facility long term. Council Member Smith: As much as I support the existence of the facility and our participation in it, do we have to approve this tonight or see if we can get answers to my questions? City Attorney Kit Williams: The agreement says, if a county or city fails to ratify this agreement, that county or city may not participate in a Northwest Arkansas Crisis Stabilization Unit. Even though we might have heard something orally from the County Judge, a writing always controls 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www fayetteville-ar gov City Council Meeting Minutes August 6, 2019 Page 16 of 19 over an oral contact. The Memorandum of Understanding says we can't use the facility unless this is ratified. Mayor Jordan: If they decide to not start taking people, they can do that tomorrow. City Attorney Kit Williams: A lot of your questions have been asked already without any responses. We want to be able to have our Police Officers take someone who needs help to this facility. Therefore, we are recommending that City Council approve this so the Mayor can sign and ratify it. Mayor Jordan: I do not feel comfortable signing it without City Council's approval. Council Member Smith stated he hopes they can approve it. He stated he does not feel comfortable voting for the Memorandum tonight without answers to some of his questions. He spoke about tabling the item. Mayor Jordan: The Judge said over the phone we could use the facility without signing the MOU, but that was a verbal commitment. Council Member Smith: If that verbal commitment turns out not to hold, then in two weeks we'll have an opportunity to ratify it then. City Attorney Kit Williams: There's not a time that says when this must be ratified. It says it should be ratified before we are going to have use of the facility. I would hate to see some person that needed help become a pawn between our two governments. As the City of Fayetteville Attorney, I was not overjoyed with these agreements. I thought it'd be better to have a regional managing facility rather than just one County Judge. I think the other counties should have representatives, but that's not the direction they wanted to go. He's the one who applied for the grant and he has instructed his County Attorney to draft up these agreements. I would not normally recommend an agreement like this, but this is an extraordinary situation. Council Member Smith: I don't want anybody to become a political pawn. I extend faith to the County Judge that he doesn't want that to happen either. I want to table this for two weeks. Council Member Turk stated she agreed with Council Member Smith and would like more answers also. She spoke about her concerns of Fayetteville citizens being excluded from services depending on the criteria and size of the cohort group. She wants to speak to a county representative before voting. City Attorney Kit Williams: There is no guarantee we will get a representative here from the county in two weeks. There was an indication they would send a representative tonight and that did not happen. Mayor Jordan: Last week I talked to the Judge. He said he would send somebody here tonight and that did not occur. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www fayetteville-ar gov City Council Meeting Minutes August 6, 2019 Page 17 of 19 Council Member Bunch: I'm concerned if we wait and don't get a county representative to answer our questions, what will we do then. We should go ahead with this because we have the time to work out any details, even though it's imperfect. It's better than the alternative of someone falling through the cracks. Council Member Gutierrez: Is there a way to amend this contract to say we are interested in trying it out for that trial period? This way we can see what the services are like. I do want to take advantage of the opportunity though while it is available and free. City Attorney Kit Williams: It always takes two sides to agree or to amend a contract. This could be looked at as a trial period. If we decide we aren't getting service, then we can tell our Police to not take anybody there, which is no cost. I don't like a take it or leave it contract, but this is what we have. We are dealing with the entity that has possession, authority, and control over the facility. They are saying this is the contract. We have very little bargaining power. At this point, we would be allowed to have our Police take a person that needed to go to the Crisis Stabilization Unit if we approve this contract. It is possible there could be some changes to that through the contract, but that doesn't mean it will happen if the County Judge does not desire to do that. It's not really the County because the Quorum Court isn't involved in this contract. It is the County Judge only that is making the decisions in this case. I think you should approve this tonight. Council Member Marsh stated she shares the concerns that were raised and they need to look into it. She stated she supports approving the contract tonight. She read the contract and spoke briefly about each aspect. She stated there are people in crisis and requested for Council to move forward. Council Member Kinion stated he shared the concerns mentioned. He stated it is urgent to have this available to anyone who may need it, beginning immediately. He stated he doesn't like being pressured into doing something, but doesn't feel too pressured because there's no cost for the rest of the year. He stated he wants to trust the county, but sometimes any political group might not be as open to things as we think they are. He spoke about approving the contract tonight. Council Member Turk: I don't want to see anyone in crisis denied entry into the unit that has been created. Can we draft a letter to the county addressing all of the concerns and get a response to those? Maybe there was a conflict for the county staff in being here tonight. Council Member Smith stated he will most likely be sending the letter himself because he wants questions answered. He spoke about due diligence for taxpayers. He stated he would still vote for it tonight because the Crisis Stabilization Unit is the right thing to do. Sarah Moore, 400 West Patricia Lane spoke in favor of the resolution. Madalyn Portime, Fayetteville citizen spoke in favor of the resolution. Greg Tabor, Chief of Police: The county has contracted with OGC to provide medical care at the CSU. On a case by case basis, there will be an Ozark Guidance medical provider sitting at the front door making that decision on who they accept. When we submitted our 2020 proposed budget, we 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www Fayetteville-ar gov City Council Meeting Minutes August 6, 2019 Page 18 of 19 put $6,000, which is just a guess. The CSU has been very clear with us that if someone is intoxicated they will not be eligible to go there. If they are having a mental illness episode while intoxicated, they won't be able to go to CSU. Mayor Jordan: They can only stay there for a certain amount of time? Greg Tabor, Chief of Police: My understanding is 3 days maximum. Mayor Jordan: Whoever you take there, has to be willing to go there? Greg Tabor, Chief of Police: That's correct. It is voluntary. Council Member Smith: Voting on the contract tonight requires a leap of faith, when the reason for voting on the contract tonight is because we have expressed a lack of faith in our negotiating partner. Council Member Smith made a motion to table the resolution to the August 20, 2019 City Council Meeting. Council Member Turk seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion failed 2-5. Council Members Turk and Smith voting yes. Council Members Bunch, Gutierrez, Marsh, Kinion, and Scroggin voting no. Council Member Petty was absent. Mayor Jordan: We have been working on this for a while. I agree with the questions that have been asked tonight. We asked a lot of those questions and been in a lot of discussions with this. At the end of the day, the compassion side outweighed any issue about trust or money. It's about taking care of people and doing the right thing. We are looking at 500,000 people in the region and there are 16 beds. It needs to be much larger than what it is. The county could do something different and I had concerns about the committee that was put together. Now, we have an alternative to taking people to jail. They can go to CSU and be treated properly. I encourage you to vote for this. Don Marr, Chief of Staff. The risk today is zero dollars, not $40. It's the ability to access it and see if those area of concerns become real and an ability to negotiate even further. It's about finding additional information when we aren't paying. It gives the Council the ability to not have to renew it in January if we chose not to, which the budget appropriation gives us the ability to change that if we are not satisfied. Mayor Jordan: I could have signed the MOU if I had wanted, but I wanted to have this conversation with you. Council Member Marsh moved to approve the resolution. Council Member Gutierrez seconded the motion. Upon roll call the resolution passed 7-0. Council Members Bunch, Turk, Smith, Gutierrez, Marsh, Kinion, and Scroggin voting yes. Council Member Petty was absent. Resolution 182-19 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes August 6, 2019 Page 19 of 19 Announcements: Don Marr, Chief of Staff spoke briefly about announcements. All information about City of Fayetteville business can be viewed on the city's website. City Attorney Kit Williams stated he will be making an argument, saying that City Council's rezoning of the Markham Hill Planned Zoning District was legal. He stated he would be in Judge Martin's Courtroom at 9 a.m. on August 7, 2019. City Council Agenda Session Presentations: Agenda Session Presentation - Police Department Presentation City Council Tour: None Sondra E. Smith, City Clerk Treasurer 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www fayetteville-ar gov