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Minutes for the City Council meeting on June 18, 2001
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CITY COUNCIL MINUTES - JUNE 18, 2001
The Jonesboro City Council met Monday, June 18, 2001, at 6:30 p.m. A full quorum was in attendance. Present were: Mayor Hubert Brodell, City Attorney Phillip Crego, City Clerk, Donna K. Jackson, and twelve council members. Those members were: Kelton, Tate, McCall, Young, Crockett, Rorex, Rega, Province, Copeland, Moore, Perrin and Roddy.
Councilman Perrin moved, seconded by Councilman Young to approve the minutes of June 4, 2001, as provided. A voice vote was taken resulting in all members voting aye. Those members were: Kelton, Tate, McCall, Young, Crockett, Rorex, Rega, Province, Copeland, Moore, Perrin and Roddy.
Mayor Brodell presented "Certificates of Appreciation" to the individuals involved and responsible for the newly adopted "Zoning Ordinance" and Jonesboro's "Land Use Plan". Past and present council members, along with numerous community leaders were recognized. All were commended for a job well done.
Councilman Perrin offered the following ordinance for first reading:
ORDINANCE TO REZONE PROPERTY FROM RESIDENTIAL (R-1) TO COMMERCIAL (C-3), LOCATED ON THE NORTH SIDE OF JOHNSON AVENUE, WEST OF PLEASANT GROVE ROAD AND SOUTH OF HUDSON DRIVE. (DAVID ABERNATHY)
Councilman Tate moved, seconded by Councilman Crockett to suspend the rules and place on second reading. A voice vote was taken resulting in all members voting aye. Those members voting aye were: Kelton, Tate, McCall, Young, Crockett, Rorex, Rega, Province, Copeland, Moore, Perrin and Roddy. Councilman Tate moved, seconded by Councilman Perrin to further suspend the rules and place on third and final reading. A voice vote was taken resulting in all members voting aye. Those members voting aye were: Kelton, Tate, McCall, Young, Crockett, Rorex, Rega, Province, Copeland, Moore, Perrin and Roddy. Councilman Tate moved, seconded by Councilman Young for the adoption of the ordinance. A voice vote was taken resulting in all members voting aye. Those members voting aye were: Kelton, Tate, McCall, Young, Crockett, Rorex, Rega, Province, Copeland, Moore, Perrin and Roddy. The ordinance was assigned ordinance number 3300.
Councilman Perrin offered the following ordinance for first reading:
ORDINANCE TO REZONE PROPERTY FROM RESIDENTIAL (R-1) TO INDUSTRIAL (I-2), LOCATED ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF C.W. POST ROAD, ON THE EAST SIDE OF COTTAGE HOME ROAD, (CITY OF JONESBORO AND JONESBORO INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION)
Councilman Rega moved, seconded by Councilman Perrin to suspend the rules and place on second reading. A voice vote was taken resulting in all members voting aye. Those members voting aye were: Kelton, Tate, McCall, Young, Crockett, Rorex, Rega, Province, Copeland, Moore, Perrin and Roddy. Councilman Rega moved, seconded by Councilman Young to further suspend the rules and place on third and final reading. A voice vote was taken resulting in all members voting aye. Those members voting aye were: Kelton, Tate, McCall, Young, Crockett, Rorex, Rega, Province, Copeland, Moore, Perrin and Roddy. Councilman Tate moved, seconded by Councilman Young for the adoption of the ordinance. A voice vote was taken resulting in all members voting aye. Those members voting aye were: Kelton, Tate, McCall, Young, Crockett, Rorex, Rega, Province, Copeland, Moore, Perrin and Roddy. Councilman Copeland moved, seconded by Councilman Moore for the adoption of the emergency clause. A roll-call vote was taken resulting in all members voting aye. Those members voting aye were: Kelton, Tate, McCall, Young, Crockett, Rorex, Rega, Province, Copeland, Moore, Perrin and Roddy. The ordinance was assigned ordinance number 3301.
Councilman Young moved, seconded by Councilman Perrin for the adoption of a resolution setting a public hearing for the purpose of vacating and abandoning a drainage and utility easement located in the Craighead Technology Park for July 2, 2001, at 6:00 p.m. A voice vote was taken resulting in all members voting aye. Those members voting aye were: Kelton, Tate, McCall, Young, Crockett, Rorex, Rega, Province, Copeland, Moore, Perrin and Roddy. The resolution was assigned number 2001:24.
Councilman Young moved, seconded by Councilman Perrin to set an appeal hearing for July 2, 2001, at 6:10 p.m. regarding a recommendation by the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission to deny rezoning from Residential (R-1) to Industrial (I-1), located on the western right of way of Airport Road, north of the railroad right of way. A voice vote was taken resulting in all members voting aye. Those members voting aye were: Kelton, Tate, McCall, Young, Crockett, Rorex, Rega, Province, Copeland, Moore, Perrin and Roddy.
Councilman Young moved, seconded by Councilman Crockett for the adoption of a resolution approving year-end receipts for the year 2000, discharging the commissioners, and dissolving the Jonesboro Sewer Improvement District No. 2 (Attorney Charles Frierson). A voice vote was taken resulting in all members voting aye. Those members voting aye were: Kelton, Tate, McCall, Young, Crockett, Rorex, Rega, Province, Copeland, Moore, Perrin and Roddy. The resolution was assigned number 2001:25.
Councilman Perrin moved, seconded by Councilman Moore for the adoption of a resolution authorizing the application for a permit of a Class IV Landfill site located approximately ½ mile northwest of the existing Class IV Landfill for the purpose of disposing of non-putrescible wastes. A voice vote was taken resulting in all members voting aye. Those members voting aye were: Kelton, Tate, McCall, Young, Crockett, Rorex, Rega, Province, Copeland, Moore, Perrin and Roddy. The resolution was assigned number 2001:26.
Under new business, Councilman Tate announced there would be a Street Committee meeting immediately following the council meeting.
Councilman Young moved, seconded by Councilman Crockett for the adoption of a resolution authorizing salary adjustments as recommended by the Personnel/Insurance/Professional Services Committee and funded as recommended by the Finance Committee. A voice vote was taken resulting in all members voting aye. Those members voting aye were: Kelton, Tate, McCall, Young, Crockett, Rorex, Rega, Province, Copeland, Moore, Perrin and Roddy. The resolution was assigned number 2001:27.
Councilman Young moved, seconded by Councilman Rega to accept the recommendation of the Finance Committee to implement ½ of the amount specified by the Jonesboro Salary Survey, effective July 1, 2001, and the second half of the plan to be reviewed for implementation July 1, 2002, exclusive of any cost of living increases on January 1, 2002. Councilman Young further moved, seconded by Councilman Rega to appropriate funds for the July 1, 2001, adjustments from unappropriated general revenues for other than street department personnel, for which funds are to be appropriated from city sales tax funds dedicated to streets and drainage maintenance. It was explained that a cleanup ordinance would be done at the end of the year to correct the budget adjustments. A voice vote was taken resulting in all members voting aye. Those members voting aye were: Kelton, Tate, McCall, Young, Crockett, Rorex, Rega, Province, Copeland, Moore, Perrin and Roddy.
Mrs. Judy Furr addressed Council regarding Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving. Several handouts were provided to Council and the following projects were discussed: Volunteers in Policing V.I.P.; National Night Out 2001; Cell Phone Patrols; Project 365; Healthy Aging Fair; Citizens Police Academy; and Monthly "Special" Events. Mrs. Furr gave credit for the success of the program to the many volunteers. In closing Mrs. Furr introduced Officer McDaniel, the C.O.P.P.S. Coordinator.
Mr. Robert W. Wilford, Executive Director for Crowley's Ridge Development Council was next to address Council. Mr. Wilford informed Council of new construction for a fifty-bed substance rehabilitation facility, which will begin next month. He thanked Council for their past support, and requested they contact him should they have any questions.
The last person to address Council was Mr. Bill Ebbert. Mr. Ebbert congratulated the Council on their efforts regarding salary increases and stated he hoped they would do a survey quickly to see where employees rank relative to the rest of the state. He stated he hoped the salaries would be raised to the fifth in the state, and was bothered by how poorly employees salaries ranked compared to the leadership. Mr. Ebbert stated any citizen should have a right to speak and have the right to his/her opinion. He stated some people feel threats are a way to curtail differences of opinion, but he appreciated anyone's view whether it agreed with his opinion or not. Mr. Ebbert explained he had warned Council several years ago that if not careful the City of Jonesboro was going to get some fines from state agencies, and mentioned a $9,500.00 fine charged to a city employee. Mr. Ebbert stated this was the kind of cost the city needs to stop, since Jonesboro has a full time architect and full time engineer. Mr. Ebbert stated it was the public's money and was important how it was spent, and should not be used to pay fines for breaking state laws. Mr. Ebbert again stated the City of Jonesboro must justify the cost of copies for freedom of information requests. He stated he has requested a justification of Jonesboro's publication costs, but has not received any such justification. He stated in his opinion the price is unreasonable. Lastly, Mr. Ebbert stated if there was anyone who wanted to debate the issue of city employees getting fair pay, he would be willing to debate, as long as he represented the city employees.
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned.