title
Minutes for the special called Public Services Committee meeting on November 15, 2006.
body
Public Services Committee Minutes
Special called meeting
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
3:00 p.m.
Members present were: Judy Furr, Mitch Johnson and Ann Williams. Councilman McCall arrived at 3:08 p.m. Councilman Province arrived at 3:15 p.m. Councilman Ashley was unable to attend. Mr. Tony Thomas from the Mayor’s Office left at 3:56 p.m.
MINUTES
Councilman Johnson motioned, seconded by Councilwoman Furr, for the approval of the minutes for the regular meeting on October 9, 2006, as written. All voted aye. Copies were provided to all in attendance.
CEMETERIES
Report on Perpetual Care Fund: Mr. Jason Wilkie explained he contacted other cities concerning how they handle their cemetery operations. He reported that out of the eleven cities he contacted only five cities have their own cemeteries. He then discussed the cemetery operations in the five cities. Mr. Wilkie noted none of the cities have the full amount of the opening and closing of graves cost and lots sales going towards their Perpetual Care Fund. He explained Mr. Ken Saddler and Ms. Becky Sharp indicated to him that half of the cost of opening and closing graves goes toward the Perpetual Care Fund, while the other half goes towards the burial permits account which is part of the General Revenue. He also stated he was told 100% of the sale of cemetery lots goes toward the Perpetual Care Fund. Mr. Wilkie further explained after researching the city ordinances concerning the Perpetual Care Fund the ordinances do not match with the current practice of the City. Councilwoman Furr questioned how many grave openings and closing the City performs every month and the cost of each. Mr. Wilkie explained they do an estimated 13 to 14 openings and closings a month, with the cost being $250 during the week, $400 on Saturday and $600 on Sunday. Discussion was held regarding what the current ordinances say pertaining to the Perpetual Care Fund. Mr. Wilkie suggested amending the existing ordinance to reflect the City’s current practice. City Clerk Donna Jackson suggested starting over and making a new ordinance that reflects how they want things to work. Mr. Wilkie noted he has not spoken with Finance Director Don Ray yet about making a separate budget for the Cemetery Department. Discussion was then held regarding where the money from the openings and closing should go. Discussion was also held regarding spending some of the principal amount of the Perpetual Care Fund to pay for the improvements to Oaklawn. Ms. Jackson questioned whether the operations would include capital improvements. Mr. Wilkie stated it does not include capital improvements. He explained he thinks the money would go to day to day operations, such as salary. Councilwoman Furr motioned, seconded by Councilman Province, to amend the City’s ordinance to state 100% of the money generated from opening and closing of graves should go in the Cemetery operating budget and 100% of the lot sales remain in the Perpetual Care Account. All voted aye.
Reconsideration of contracting engineering oversight for Oaklawn Expansion: Mr. Wilkie stated he would like the committee to reconsider hiring someone to perform construction inspection for the Oaklawn Cemetery expansion project. He explained he would like to hire an engineer to inspect the work performed by the contractor to make sure it meets the specs as written by the engineers. He added he has spoke with NRS Engineering about the job since they are the ones who came up with the specs. Discussion was held regarding what the engineering inspector would do. Internal Auditor Misty Micenhamer questioned who would pay the engineer, citing a possible conflict of interest if the contractor paid the engineer. Mr. Wilkie explained the City would pay the engineer, so the engineer and the contractor would be working for the City. Councilman Johnson also explained if Mr. Wilkie saw any problems with the construction he would talk with the engineer as opposed to the contractor to keep the City from incurring any possible change order expenses. Councilman McCall motioned, seconded by Councilwoman Furr, to recommend to the Finance Committee moving forward with the project for Oaklawn expansion. All voted aye.
PARKS AND RECREATION
Deed land at Culberhouse and Craighead Forest Road to CWL: Mr. Wilkie explained City Water and Light would like to use some land for a well and pump station. He noted he does not have a problem with the land donation. He further explained he would to take it to the City Council for approval at the second meeting in December. Councilman Province motioned, seconded by Councilwoman Furr, to approve the land donation and recommend it to full Council. All voted aye.
Construction report: Mr. Wilkie noted the ATV parking lot at Craighead Forest and the baseball fields at Joe Mack Campbell Park are done. He added Mr. Bernie Auld has provided some drawings concerning the greenway at Turtle Creek Mall. Mr. Wilkie stated he will provide more details later so they could move forward with it this spring.
TRANSPORTATION
Resolution for public comment policy on fare and service changes for JETS: Mr. Joel Gardner explained the policy is standard issue. Councilman McCall motioned, seconded by Councilman Johnson, to recommend the resolution to the City Council and place it on the agenda. All voted aye.
Resolution to approve a contract with Alvin Crabtree & Sons for construction and installation of JETS shelters: Mr. Gardner explained Alvin Crabtree would install the shelters, but the electrical work is not included in the installation because they are unsure how much the electrical work will cost. He added Alvin Crabtree was the low bidder for the project. He noted City Attorney Phillip Crego approved the contract as to form. Councilwoman Furr noted the contractor should leave ample space for conduit and other future electrical work that is needed. Mr. Gardner explained the conduit is built into the shelters. He added the power sources are behind the sidewalks instead of through the sidewalks. He explained they are not planning to light the shelters next year. Discussion was held regarding the contract not having a penalty for going past the 120 working days. Mr. Gardner stated they have letters from major property owners where the shelters will not be on City of Jonesboro property giving them permission to use their property. Councilman Johnson noted in the bid it states the project shall be completed within 120 days from notice to proceed with a $200 per day penalty past the 120 working days. He also stated the bid is signed by the company owner, so the owner must think they can get the job done within the 120 days. It was suggested for Mr. Gardner to take out the statement in the contract concerning contract time that states “not including delays due to rain days or temperatures below 40 degrees” and to add the $200 per day penalty to the contract so it would more accurately reflect the bid. Councilman Johnson motioned, seconded by Councilman McCall, to approve the resolution with the contract changes. All voted aye.
Resolution to accept bids for a mini van: Mr. Gardner discussed the mini van they would like to purchase. Councilman McCall motioned, seconded by Councilman Province, to approve the resolution. All voted aye.
Resolution to approve the JETS purchasing and procurement policy and procedure manual: Mr. Gardner provided the committee with copies of the manual and asked the committee to review it for approval at the next meeting. Councilwoman Furr questioned whether the manual was compliant with state and federal regulations. Mr. Gardner explained the manual is in compliance and has already been reviewed by FTA. He further explained the manual does not supersede the City of Jonesboro purchasing policy, but the JETS policy is more detailed. Ms. Jackson questioned the statement regarding construction managers. Mr. Gardner stated he will have construction managers for each of the projects and he is allowed to pay for the managers out of federal and state organizations that are construction managers. He noted for the installation of the shelters he is the construction manger.
Mr. Gardner informed the committee that Suddenlink has wrapped a bus and will also use all of the paneling around the bus. He also explained Suddenlink would like to provide a free ride holiday shopping day on Saturday, December 16. He stated the passengers will ride for free and then Suddenlink will reimburse the City for the riders.
Discussion was held regarding the sound and camera system for Channel 24 that is used to broadcast the Council meetings. It was explained at the last meeting it was hard to hear some people speak because they were not sitting close to their microphones. It was also explained the cameras are focused so far out from the Council that viewers watching Channel 24 can’t tell who is sitting at each of the seats. Councilman McCall suggested asking them to put the camera on the floor of the room instead of it sitting in the balcony. It was asked for Mr. Gardner to talk with Suddenlink about the camera work during the Council meetings and to ask if the meetings can be recorded.
Mr. Gardner presented the committee with a line item transfer. He explained he would like to transfer $4,000 from the Fuel account to the Tires account. Councilman McCall motioned, seconded by Councilman Johnson, to approve the transfer. All voted aye.
Mr. Gardner questioned whether something could be done concerning the policy regarding employees purchasing meals while they are away at work-related events. He suggested allowing the employees to have a flat rate per day as opposed to having a per meal limit. It was suggested Mr. Gardner speak with Mr. Ray about the policy.
Discussion was held regarding when the advertising contract with Harpole Phillips would end. Mr. Gardner stated the contract will end December 5th. It was questioned whether the City owes any money to Harpole Phillips. Mr. Gardner explained the City owes nothing to Harpole Phillips. He also stated Harpole Phillips has been paid approximately $61,000 for the year for advertising.
Discussion was then held regarding bills from Occasions Magazine for JETS advertising. Mr. Gardner stated Occasions is owed money, but he is not sure whether Mr. Paul Copeland gave a verbal contract concerning the JETS advertising in Occasions. Mr. Gardner stated it was his understanding the $3,600 should have been paid to Occasions but someone paid it to Mr. Hyde instead. He added the problem for him is that he can’t pay the bill from federal funds because there is no contract.
Mr. Gardner informed the committee the money he had problems locating had been found by Ms. Micenhamer while she was performing another project.
ADJOURNMENT
With no further business, Councilwoman Furr moved, seconded by Councilman Johnson, to adjourn. All voted aye.