The City Council of Forrest City, Arkansas, met in regular session on July 7, 2009. The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. Alderman Twillie opened the meeting in prayer. The following answered roll call: Mayor McCoy, Clerk Cochran, Attorney Cline, and City Council Members: Alderman Peacock, Jeffers, Hollowell, Shepherd, Twillie, Fields, Capps, and Oswalt.

Alderman Fields made a motion to approve the minutes of the previous meeting. Seconded by Alderman Shepherd. Roll Call: All Ayes.

Committees

Forrest City Planning Commission
Alderman Capps stated that Mr. & Mrs. Cox were going back before the Forrest City Planning Commission on July 28, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. with another request; the issue with the rezoning of the lot from R-2 to a C-3 was not resolved. They are going back to the planning commission to ask for a re-zoning and a set back

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Humane Society
Mayor McCoy stated since the last council meeting, he and Attorney Cline had the opportunity to visit in depth concerning the Forrest City Humane Society. He also said at the last meeting Attorney Cline asked the council to vote and authorize the both of them to execute section 6 of ordinance 1773 and to bring about a resolution concerning the issue. Alderman Twillie stated it sounded like the right way to start. He also said before a lot of dialogue is done, the council needed to find out who the property belongs too. And once that is established, the owner of the property would naturally have to have some type of dialogue or something. He also said he would like to see the mayor and Attorney Cline follow through with section 6 of the ordinance.

Alderman Twillie made a motion to direct the city attorney and the mayor to precede with section 6 statements as it relates to the animal shelter once it is annexed as soon as possible. Seconded by Alderman Fields. Roll Call: Alderman Peacock, Jeffers, Hollowell, Shepherd, Twillie, Fields, Capps, and Oswalt. All Ayes.

Citizens Concerns
Mayor McCoy asked James Beazley, Director of Forrest City Water Utility, to address two of the concerns Rev. Taylor mentioned during the previous council meeting – (1) Water leaks and (2) Leaky pipes. Mr. Beazley stated the city water utility follows the rules and regulations of the Health Department. The city’s drinking water is safe, if it were not, the health department would issue a “Do Not Drink” order. There has never been any form of bacteria found in the water. The city water is governed by Environmental Protection Agency and Health Department, 90 different chemicals are used to check for contaminates and is checked by EPA quarterly.

He also said the city has extremely hard water, but to build a new plant to soften the water would double the citizens’ water bills. And for the leaks, the system was real old; the service lines are replaced when they leak. He also said the recent major leaks were caused by pressure changes when a water storage tank was taken out of service for cleaning. He also stated that in the summer time there are more small leaks because the ground dries up and it moves. He said 80 percent of the leaks are on small service lines. Rev. Taylor asked if the old system was a potential problem. Mr. Beazley said they fix the leaks and replace lines when they get the chance.

Curfew
Mayor McCoy asked Chief Duch to address the curfew concerns. Chief Duch stated, “Yes there is a curfew.” He also said there are different age curfews hours, from January

2009 until today there are 60 curfew citations on the books. Chief Duch also said the area of Cook and Cherry Streets; the police department has a neighborhood watch for that
area. The president of the neighborhood watch informs and gets the complaints to the police department; they patrol and investigate all complaints on regular basis. Rev. Taylor stated he was on the neighborhood watch and he felt that the police could do more. Chief Duch also stated the police department had rules and laws to follow and they had to be careful not to violate a person’s rights.

Ball Park Fence Bids
There were two bids opened for the ballpark fence:
Kerby’s Home Improvements $ 9,850.00
Jones & Son Fence & Pool Co. 11,610.00

Police Cars Bid
One state bid from Dodge City $259,260.00
12 cars at $21,605.00 each, 2009 Titanium Dodge Chargers

NEW BUSINESS

Presentation
Mayor McCoy presented Tim McMahon with a retirement plaque for 20 years of service with the Forrest City Police Department; and a retirement plaque for Floyd Brooks in his absence. Tim McMahon extended his appreciation to the City of Forrest City and Police Chief Duch for letting his serve as a police officer.

Ordinance
Chief Duch stated that the state enacted a law that took affect July 1, 2009 to allow St. Francis County to levy a bond to adjust their fines. This ordinance allows the city to fine each person that is found guilty or nolo contender, bond forfeiture for misdemeanors or traffic violations up to $20.00 per case. The current ordinance No. 1475 allows $5.00 per fine for jail fees, by state law with the new ordinance fines could be adjusted to $20.00 to help offset the jail bills.

Alderman Jeffers asked would the same person get two charges, one from county, and one from city. Chief Duch stated they would get one charge from whatever jurisdiction they ticketed. Attorney Cline stated up until this year the maximum the state would allow a city to access as part of the fine was $5.00 per case, effective July 1, 2009 it was raised up to $20.00 per case.

Alderman Hollowell stated if the fines were not raised, the taxpayers would have to pay more tax. Alderman Fields stated she could not see fines being raised due to the economy. She also said that they were also taxpayers. Attorney Cline read An Ordinance Amending Ordinance No. 1475 (Section 16-6.1-Code of Ordinances); Authorizing a Levy to Provide Additional Funding To Defray Cost of Incarcerating City Prisoners. Sponsored by Alderman Hollowell.

Alderman Shepherd made a motion to suspend the rules and read the ordinance for the second reading. Seconded by Alderman Hollowell. Roll Call: Alderman Peacock, Hollowell, Shepherd, Capps, and Oswalt All Ayes. Alderman Jeffers and Fields said No. Alderman Twillie was absent, he left the meeting at 6:25 p.m.; motion did not pass.

Resolution of Support
Andre Stephens asked the council for support in a form of a resolution that is necessary to continue to construct their development project for an Assisted Living facility. He also said they were seeking a grant from the USDA Rural Development in order to complete the process, one of their procedures was for them to get a letter of support resolution from both the city and county government; the project would not cost the city. Mr. Stephens read Resoultion The City of Forrest City Renders It’s Support In Favor of the St. Francis County Community Development Corporation, Inc., in Their Quest in Seeking Funds From USDA Rural Development For The Purpose of Constructing An Assisted Living Facility to Serve an Area Lawfully Within It’s Jurisdiction.

Alderman Oswalt made a motion to adopt the resolution. Seconded by Alderman Fields. Roll Call: All Ayes.

STREET FUND BILLS

Alderman Capps made a motion to pay the street fund bills totaling $9,929.01. Seconded by Alderman Jeffer. Roll Call: All Ayes.

GENERAL FUND BILLS

Alderman Oswalt made a motion to pay general fund bills totaling $53,600.93. Seconded by Alderman Jeffers. Roll Call: All Ayes.

Announcements
Mayor McCoy asked the council to consider July 16, 2009 for a retreat date at 5:00 p.m. at the Forrest City Civic Center.

Alderman Fields made a motion to adjourn at 6:59 p.m.

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Gordon McCoy, Mayor

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Derene Cochran, Clerk-Treasurer