title
Minutes for the Public Works Committee meeting on September 30, 2004.
body
Public Works Committee Minutes
Thursday, September 30, 2004
5:15 P.M. (At the Street Department)
Members Present: Farmer, Street, Province, Roddy, and Dover. Councilman Moore was unable to attend.
Others Present: Aubrey Scott, Royce Leonard, Suzanne Hackney, Claude Martin, Ron Shipley, Donna Jackson, City Clerk, Keith Inman, Jonesboro Sun.
MINUTES - Councilman Street moved, seconded by Councilman Dover to approve the minutes for September 7, 2004. All voted aye. Copies were made available to all in attendance.
ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS
Acceptance of Drainage Easements - Councilman Street moved, seconded by Councilman Dover to accept the drainage easement from Agnes McDaniel located at 1508 Frierson Street and recommend the resolution to the full council. All voted aye.
Councilman Dover moved, seconded by Councilman Street to accept the drainage easements from Jeffrey and Ashley Brown - Lot 13 Gott Replat; Michael & Karen Gott - Lot 9 of Gott Replat; James & Georgia Mahon - Lot 17 Marlo Acres 2nd Addition and recommends the resolution to the full council. All voted aye.
Farville Fire Department - Councilman Dover moved, seconded by Councilman Street to recommend to the full council the sale of property, known as the Farville Fire Department to the First Pentecostals of Jonesboro, pending review and approval of the three year old appraisal by Mr. Phillip Crego, Jonesboro City Attorney. All voted aye.
Kid’s Bible Club - Councilman Province moved, seconded by Councilman Street to recommend to the full council the sale of property located at 108 W. Woodrow to the Kid’s Bible Club - Community of Christ. Discussion was held regarding the funds from the sale of the property being placed in a special improvement account. All voted aye.
Jonesboro Tool & Die - Councilman Province moved, seconded by Councilman Dover to recommend to the full council the sale of property located in the Jonesboro Industrial Mini Park (Lot 1) to Jonesboro Tool and Die. The property was appraised at $12,000.00 and the recommendation was to accept the $9,000.00 offer. All voted aye.
Ken Yarbrough - Lawson Road - Councilman Street moved, seconded by Councilman Dover to recommend to the full council a resolution accepting property from Mr. Ken Yarbrough for the extension of Lawson Road around Valley View School subject to review by the City Attorney regarding the documents. Mr. Scott explained Mr. Marriot had revealed to Mayor Brodell that he should be paid interest for his right-of -way since he borrowed the money to put in his sewer line.
It was explained that the right-of-way agreement with W. J. Marriot was contingent on acquiring the right of way and closing of the Yarbrough property and was approved by the committee on March 13, 2003. Mr. Scott explained Mr. Marriot had revealed to Mayor Brodell that he should be paid interest for the right of way since he borrowed the money to put in his sewer line. It was explained that Mr. Larry Johnson had negotiated a deal with Mr. Marriot that the City would cover the cost of his sewer line in exchange for his right of way, however nothing was in writing and the Jonesboro City Council had determined Mr. Marriot should be responsible for his own sewer installation, but they would pay him for his right of way contingent on getting the Yarbrough right of way. All voted aye.
Loft Apartment Ordinance - Councilman Street moved, seconded by Councilman Dover to recommend to the full council an ordinance amending Title 14 allowing for Loft Apartments. All voted aye.
It was explained that this did not include zoning classifications for R-3 zoning. Councilman Street moved, seconded by Councilman Dover to recommend to the full council a resolution to extend the moratorium for R-3 zoning. City Clerk Donna Jackson was asked to prepare the resolution and notify the media of a Nominating and Rules Committee in order to place it on the agenda for October 4, 2004. All voted aye.
PLANNING
City Planner - Mr. Scott reported the City Planner Search Committee was tentatively scheduled to meet next Tuesday in the Mayor’s Conference Room, and Attorney Ralph Ohm was trying to set a second date for the appeal hearing with Glenn Batten.
Traffic Study - It was reported there was no new news to report regarding the Traffic Study, but were hopeful a public hearing would be set towards the end of October. It was also explained Fox Meadow Lane was being delayed due to the traffic study.
Streets & Sidewalks - Mr. Martin stated he had spoken with Cox Cable Company regarding the Matthews Project and a meeting with the contractors was needed in order to resolve the problem. He explained they would have to close the block between Church and Main Street. It was explained to complete the Matthews Project they needed to finish work on Church to Madison and the intersection of Flint to Matthews; and both the Methodist and Baptist Churches.
West Nettleton MATA Project - Councilman Dover moved, seconded by Councilman Province to accept staff recommendation and authorize a Change Order for the West Nettleton Mata Project to include the sidewalk on the east side of Frierson all the way to Nettleton Avenue for an estimated cost of $44,964.00. It was explained the east side of Frierson already contained curb and gutter, but if they went to the west side of Frierson they would have to contend with an open ditch. All voted aye.
MATA Funds - It was explained there was $1,500,000 left in MATA after making Fox Meadow three lanes. Mr. Scott questioned who would make the determination for expending the unexpended MATA funds. It was explained there was an original MATA Improvement Booklet by which some of the projects were not funded through MATA, and the question was asked is the City locked into the MATA Improvements from 10 years ago.
Ferrell Street - Councilman Dover moved, seconded by Councilman Street to extend the sidewalk on Ferrell Street from Wembleton to Matthews and request participation from the school. It was determined that the cost of $32,341 should to come from Capital Improvements for road construction. All voted aye.
Wilkins at McArthur School - Councilman Dover moved, seconded by Councilman Street to proceed with improvements across from Hill Crest Drive, as long as the amount was under $10,000.00. Mr. Martin was asked to report back with an estimate for bringing everything up to code. All voted aye.
Graders / Snow Plows - It was explained that Purchasing Agent , Steve Kent recommended selling the excess graders at auction, but several committee members wanted to try and bid out the graders first. Mr. Teddy Hooton, Street Superintendent recommended keeping two of the graders for bad weather conditions and explained plows were needed. Councilman Street moved, seconded by Councilman Dover to put three of the graders out for bids for sale with the proceeds to go toward the cost of plows for the trucks. All voted aye.
DRAINAGE
Drainage Study - It was explained stream flows had been completed and some recommendations had been made for channel widening. They were in the process of identifying areas for potential detention sites.
Sunnybrook - Mr. Martin stated the estimated cost would be $8,800.00 for widening the ditch and installation of rip rap. He further explained this was a situation where water is getting into structures and will affect other individuals downstream, and recommended the City’s involvement. Councilman Farmer explained they do not want to place pipes in ditches just because citizens wanted them there, and asked Council Roddy his recommendation. Mr. Roddy responded saying he had never experienced this type situation before. Councilman Province stated he did not see anyway around the City not getting involved, but in the future developers needed to be held accountable. It was determined in the future the engineer would be held responsible, but since there is no one to go back on in this particular situation and because water was damaging structures and going to have an adverse affect on other residents the City must become involved in order to correct the situation. Councilman Dover moved, seconded by Councilman Street to accept the recommendation of the Engineering Department for the City of Jonesboro to be responsible for the engineering and rip rap of the ditch, at a cost of $8,800.00. All voted aye.
Joe Mahon Property- It was explained there was neither existing pipe nor an existing ditch and no way to leave an open ditch. It was further explained that water was backing up into Mr. Mahon’s property. The estimated cost was going to be $10,408.60. Councilman Dover moved, seconded by Councilman Street o correct the situation based on staff recommendations with funds to come from the City of Jonesboro. All voted aye.
Merl Worley Property - It was explained that the original plans called for an open ditch, but someone installed a 36 inch pipe which was too small, and then the City of Jonesboro installed a 26 inch pipe parallel to the 36 inch pipe which was still too small, then additional pipe was installed by Wal-Mart and others creating a situation that is out of Mr. Worley’s control. It was further explained that water was getting into his structure. Councilman Roddy stated the City of Jonesboro needed to be consistent when dealing with the individual drainage issues and compared the situation to the Mahon property. Councilman Dover moved, seconded by Councilman Street to correct the situation as designed by Mr. Bernie Auld and the City of Jonesboro should pay for labor and materials. All voted aye.
Landfill - It was explained the useful life of the Landfill is projected to go to the end of 2005 if the final “Closure Plan” is approved, and will not be in compliance until ADEQ approves the final “Closure Plan”.
Downtown Jonesboro Association - Councilman Province provided a letter from the Downtown Jonesboro Association asking for the following to be provided by October 23rd:
• Install lights, currently in inventory, matching those on Main Street
• Allow Downtown Jonesboro Association to have concrete light bases painted in an artistic fashion.
• Appropriate money for the installation of landscaping. A landscaping plan is currently being completed for this lot that calls for approximately $5,000 worth of planting and irrigation.
• Appropriate money for the installation of a low-maintenance ‘water-feature’ and other art pieces that have been estimated to cost an additional $5,000.
Councilman Province stated he was in support of the installation of lighting and some of the landscaping but expressed concern over the painting of concrete light bases, stating it opens the door for other requests in other areas of town. Councilman Province also was concerned the “water-feature” would be a maintenance problem for the city. Mr. Teddy Hooten and Mr. Martin was asked to check with City Water and Light regarding the lights and report back to the committee.
Rental of Council Chambers Councilman Province stated there had been a request made by the Grace Methodist Church to rent the Council Chambers for a 6 month period for Sunday services. Councilman Province was asked to check with City Attorney Crego regarding a leasing policy being “content neutral”. It was explained once the building is rented out to one party you can not refuse to rent it out to others based on their political or spiritual beliefs.
ADJOURNMENT
Councilman Street moved, seconded by Councilman Dover to adjourn. All voted aye.