Loading...
07-11-06Little Rock Board of Directors Meeting — Minutes — July 11, 2006 MINUTES BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING City Hall — 500 W. Markham July 11, 2006 - 6:00 PM The Board of Directors of the City of Little Rock, Arkansas met in a regular session with Vice Mayor Graves presiding. Nataki S. Blocker, Assistant City Clerk, called the roll with the following directors present: Pugh, Keck, Wyrick, Stewart, Hurst, Cazort, Hinton, Adcock, Kumpuris, and Vice Mayor Graves. Mayor Dailey was absent. Director Kumpuris gave the invocation, which was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Vice Mayor Graves asked the Board to consider the listed modifications. Director Adcock made the motion, seconded by Director Hurst, to accept the modifications to the consent agenda. By unanimous voice vote of the Board members present the modifications were approved. ADDIDTIONS: PROCLAMATION - AAU — Dan O'Byrne, Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau M -1. RESOLUTION 12,306 - To amend Little Rock, Ark. Resolution No. 11,785 (July 13, 2004) to participate in 2006 and 2007 with the Southside Main Street Project, Inc., in the Main Street Arkansas Program to further Downtown revitalization efforts; to appropriate fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000.00) in 2006 and 2007 as part of this participation and for other purposes. Stuff recommends approval. Synopsis: This resolution amends an earlier resolution which appropriated $15,000 to the Downtown Neighborhood Association for the Main Street Arkansas Program for 2004, 2005 and 2006. This amendment would change the payee to the Southside Main Street Project, and pay in 2006 and 2007. (A 2005 payment was made). M -2. RESOLUTION 12,307 - To award a construction contract to Construction Management Maintenance and approving the use of special project funds for signal improvements at Cumberland and 3rd Streets. Staff recommends approval. Synopsis: Authorizes the City Manager to execute an agreement with Construction Management and Maintenance, Inc. and to expend special project funds for the construction of signal improvements to Cumberland and 3rd Streets, Bid No.06 -247. M -3. RESOLUTION 12,308 - To award a contract to LEG Enterprises, Inc. for signal installation improvements at Stagecoach Road & Interstate 430, North & South Bound Ramps Project. Staff recommends approval. Synopsis: Authorizes the City Manager to execute an agreement with L E G Enterprises, Inc. for signal installation improvements Stagecoach Road & Interstate 430, North & South Bound Ramps, and Bid No.06 -232. M -4. RESOLUTION 12,309 - To award a contract to Joyner- Ford -Burke Construction Co, Inc. for University Avenue (19th Street to Park Plaza Drive) AHTD Job #060917 Construction Project. Staff recommends approvaG Synopsis: Authorizes the City Manager to execute an agreement with Joyner- Ford -Burke Construction Co., Inc. for improvements to University Avenue (19th Street to Park Plaza Drive) AHTD Job #060917, Bid No.06 -242. Little Rock Board of Directors Meeting — Minutes — July 11, 2006 M -5. RESOLUTION 12,310 - To introduce a proposed ordinance to establish a schedule of sewer rates for the Little Rock Wastewater Utility; to set August 15, 2006, as the date of public hearing on the proposed ordinance; and for other purposes. -- M-6. RESOLUTION 12,311 - To amend Little Rock, Ark., Resolution No. 12,270 (May 2, 2006) to reflect the correct purchase Price of one (1) high -side dump mechanical street sweeper from Tenant Sales and Service for the Public Works Department; and for other purposes. M -7. RESOLUTION 12,312 - To ratify the reappointment of Mr. Thomas W. Rimmer to a seven -year term on the Central Arkansas Water Board; and for other purposes. DEFERRED: 2. MOTION Deferred until further notice. - Z -7980 - To set the date of public hearing for July 31, 2006, on an appeal of the Planning Commission's decision to grant a Conditional Use Permit at 14250 Colonel Glenn Road, Little Rock, Arkansas. Planning Commission: 9 ayes, 1 nay, 1 recusal. Staff recommends approval of the Conditional Use Permit; denial of the resolution. Synopsis: A record objector is appealing the Planning Commission's action in approving a Conditional Use Permit to allow Entergy Arkansas to construct a utility substation on the property located at 14250 Colonel Glenn Road. DELETED: 10. PUBLIC HEARING & ORDINANCE - Notice was not published; see M -S for new date. - Establishing a schedule of rates for the Little Rock Wastewater Utility with the effective date of August 15, 2006, repealing Ordinance No. 18,752 (9- 17 -02), declaring an emergency, and for other purposes. PRESENTATIONS: PROCLAMATION - AAU — Dan O'Byrne, Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau City of Little Rock Financial Audit — Kevin Kemp, BKD Auditors Central Arkansas Transit Authority - Comprehensive Study Update from McDonald Transit The Vice Mayor requested that the Consent agenda be read. 1. MOTION - To approve minutes for the regular Board of Directors Meeting: June 6, 2006. 2. MOTION - Deferred Indefinitely - Z -7980 - To set the date of public hearing for July 31, 2006, on an appeal of the Planning Commission's decision to grant a Conditional Use Permit at 14250 Colonel Glenn Road, Little Rock, Arkansas. Planning Commission: 9 ayes, 1 nay, I recusal. Staff recommends approval of the Conditional Use Permit; denial of the resolution. Synopsis: A record objector is appealing the Planning Commission's action in approving a Conditional Use Permit to allow Entergy Arkansas to construct a utility substation on the property located at 14250 Colonel Glenn Road. 3. MOTION - Publish - Notice - Z -8045 — To set the date of public hearing for July 31, 2006, on an appeal of the Planning Commission's approval of a Conditional Use Permit for Sewage Peak Flow Pump Station located north of Coleman Creek, east of Mabelvale Pike, south of West 34th Street, west of Anna Street, Little Rock, Arkansas. Planning Commission: 7 ayes, 0 nays, 4 absent. Staff recommends approval of the Conditional Use Permit; denial of the resolution. Synopsis: A record objector is appealing the Planning Commission's action in approving a Conditional Use Permit to allow Little Rock Wastewater Utility to construct peak flow attenuation facilities. 2 Little Rock Board of Directors Meeting — Minutes — July 11, 2006 4. MOTION - Publish - Notice - MSP06 -02 - To set the date of public hearing for July 31, 2006, to appeal the Planning Commission's denial of the removal of Labette Drive from the Master Street Plan. Planning Commission. 1 aye, 9 nays, 1 absent. Staff recommends denial. Synopsis: Master Street Plan Amendment to remove Labette Drive as a Collector Street, west of John Barrow Road. M -1. RESOLUTION 12,306 - To amend Little Rock, Ark. Resolution No. 11,785 (July 13, 2004) to participate in 2006 and 2007 with the Southside Main Street Project, Inc., in the Main Street Arkansas Program to further Downtown revitalization efforts; to appropriate fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000.00) in 2006 and 2007 as part of this participation and for other purposes. Staff recommends approval. Synopsis: This resolution amends an earlier resolution which appropriated $15,000 to the Downtown Neighborhood Association for the Main Street Arkansas Program for 2004, 2005 and 2006. This amendment would change the payee to the Southside Main Street Project, and pay in 2006 and 2007. (A 2005 payment was made). M -2. RESOLUTION 12,307 - To award a construction contract to Construction Management Maintenance and approving the use of special project funds for signal improvements at Cumberland and 3rd Streets. Staff recommends approval. Synopsis: Authorizes the City Manager to execute an agreement with Construction Management and Maintenance, Inc. and to expend special project funds for the construction of signal improvements to Cumberland and 3rd Streets, Bid No.06 -247. M -3. RESOLUTION 12,308 - To award a contract to LEG Enterprises, Inc. for signal installation improvements at Stagecoach Road & Interstate 430, North & South Bound Ramps Project. Staff recommends approval. Synopsis: Authorizes the City Manager to execute an agreement with L E G Enterprises, Inc. for signal installation improvements Stagecoach Road & Interstate 430, North & South Bound Ramps, and Bid No.06 -232. M -4. RESOLUTION 12,309 - To award a contract to Joyner- Ford -Burke Construction Co, Inc. for University Avenue (191h Street to Park Plaza Drive) AHTD Job #060917 Construction Project. Staff recommends approval. Synopsis: Authorizes the City Manager to execute an agreement with Joyner- Ford -Burke Construction Co., Inc. for improvements to University Avenue (19th Street to Park Plaza Drive) AHTD Job #060917, Bid No.06 -242. M -5. RESOLUTION 12,310 - To introduce a proposed ordinance to establish a schedule of sewer rates for the Little Rock Wastewater Utility; to set August 15, 2006, as the date of public hearing on the proposed ordinance; and for other purposes. M -6. RESOLUTION 129311 - To amend Little Rock, Ark., Resolution No. 12,270 (May 2, 2006) to reflect the correct purchase Price of one (1) high -side dump mechanical street sweeper from Tenant Sales and Service for the Public Works Department; and for other purposes. M -7. RESOLUTION 12,312 - To ratify the reappointment of Mr. Thomas W. Rimmer to a seven -year term on the Central Arkansas Water Board; and for other purposes. A motion was made by Director Adcock, seconded by Director Hinton, to adopt the Consent Agenda. By unanimous voice vote of the Board members present, being two- thirds in number, the Consent Agenda was adopted (Items 1 -4, M -1 through M -7). There were no speakers present for Citizen Communication. 3 Little Rock Board of Directors Meeting — Minutes — July 11, 2006 Item 7 was added to the grouped items. The grouped items were read the first time. GROUPED ITEMS: 5 — 6 5 r'nr",`T ^'`Trr RESOLUTION 12,314 - To amend Little Rock, Arkansas, Resolution No. 12, 271 (May 2, 2006) to authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute a revised easement along a portion of University Avenue in the City of Little Rock, Arkansas, to Entergy Arkansas, Inc. for underground electric power facilities; and other purposes. Staff recommends approval. 6. ORDINANCE 19,563 - To amend Little Rock, Arkansas, Ordinance No. 17, 750 (June 2, 1998) to increase the membership of the Community Housing Advisory Board by two (2) At- Large members; to declare an emergency; and for other purposes. Staff recommends approval. 7. ORDINANCE 19,564 - To amend Little Rock, Arkansas Revised Code (22 -213) (1988) to permit members of the Zoo Board of Governors to serve more than two (2) terms, or more than eight (8) years; to declare an emergency; and for other purposes. Director Adcock, seconded by Director Hurst, made a motion to suspend the rules and place the ordinances on second reading. By unanimous voice vote of the Board members present, being two - thirds in number, the rules were suspended and the ordinances were read the second time. Director Adcock, seconded by Director Hinton, made a motion to suspend the rules and place the ordinances on third and final reading. By unanimous voice vote of the Board members present, being two - thirds in number, the rules were suspended and the ordinances were read the third time. By unanimous voice vote of the Board members present, being two - thirds in number Items 5 -7 were adopted. An emergency clause was adopted for Items 6 and 7. SEPARATE ITEMS: 7 —10 7. ORDINANCE 19,564 - To amend Little Rock, Arkansas Revised Code (22 -213) (1988) to permit members of the Zoo Board of Governors to serve more than two (2) terms, or more than eight (8) years; to declare an emergency; and for other purposes. Director Cazort, seconded by Director Adcock, made a motion to amend the resolution (Item 8) to reflect that a public statement as to why the commissioner is being appointed for additional term is made at the time of appointments. By unanimous voice vote of the Board members present, being two - thirds in number, the amendments were accepted. The resolution was read as amended. 8. RESOLUTION 12,313 - To amend Little Rock, Arkansas, Resolution No. 8096 (February 1, 1989) to permit an additional term in certain circumstances on City Boards and Commissions; and for other purposes. Tom Carpenter, City Attorney, read the language for the amendment as follows: Little Rock Board of Directors Meeting — Minutes — July 11, 2006 Section 1. Section 1 of Little Rock, Ark., Resolution No. 8096 (February 1, 1989) is hereby amended to read as follows: In order to ensure broad community participation on City boards and commissions, the policy of the Board of Directors will be to limit an individual's participation to two complete terms of service, provided that in extraordinary circumstances and upon a public statement of the reason for such circumstances, the Board of Directors, by a two - thirds (2/3) vote, may permit a sitting commissioner to serve one additional term. A motion was made by Director Cazort, seconded by Director Hinton, to adopt the resolution as amended. By unanimous voice vote of the Board members present, being two - thirds in number., the resolution was adopted (Item 8). Vice Mayor Graves requested that Item 9 be read for the first time. 9. ORDINANCE - Held on 1St Reading - To authorize the Mayor to enter into an agreement with AT &T of Arkansas for use of the City rights -of -way to provide IP -TV, and similar alternative services, within the corporate limits of the City of Little Rock, Arkansas; and for other purposes. Director Kumpuris declared that Scott Trotter was his brother -in -law and that after discussion with the City Attorney there was a determination that there was no apparent conflict of interest. Director Keck requested a presentation from staff. Tom Carpenter, City Attorney, gave a brief summary on the language that language that had been changed since the last discussion. The changes included: some customer service items, revisiting the agreement if there is a change in law before the agreement expires, AT &T's requirement to pay 5% of gross revenues for non satellite services offered, Public Educational and Government (PEG) channels being offered through the service with a ten (10) cents per customer charge, the area limits for the service within the three (3) year build out plan, an emergency warning system, and other indemnity clauses. He stated that he would prefer a franchise, but he was comfortable with the agreement as it is without demanding a franchise agreement. Mr. Moore stated that this was a temporary agreement with flexibility built in to revisit with the change in federal laws. Mr. Carpenter, in response to a question from Director Cazort, stated that his reasons for wanting a franchise agreement were based on the fact that the law in Arkansas states that once an entity is in a right of way there is no way to remove them from the right -of -way without them abandoning their services. Mr. Carpenter and Mr. Moore answered several questions from the Board of Directors regarding the logistics of the agreement before them. 5 Little Rock Board of Directors Meeting — Minutes — July 11, 2006 The Board took a fifteen (15) minutes recess before allowing the public comment period for Item 9. The meeting was reconvened at 8:01 PM. The Vice Mayor announced that each side in favor or opposition of the ordinance (Item 9) would be given thirty (30) minutes to present their information to the Board. The time spent answering questions from the Board would be counted in the thirty (30) minutes. The time includes presentations from the key people from each side and comments from the public. Eddie Drilling, AT &T Arkansas, gave a presentation about the services they propose to implement in Little Rock on a three (3) year roll -out plan. The presentation included a presentation on the history of AT &T in Arkansas. After the presentation, Mr. Drilling answered questions from the Board of DirQ/ctors. The following listed citizens spoke in favor of the ordinance: Representative Joyce Elliott, Jim McCall, Bob Sells, Clark McCarley, and Ellen Buckley. Some of the reasons sited for supporting the ordinance included the need for competition, lower rates, and the honesty and integrity of AT &T. Len Pitcock from Arkansas Cable Television Communications and Steve White, Sr. Vice President from Comcast, gave a presentation about why they opposed the proposed ordinance and the amendments they would like to have added to the agreement. The major highlight was that Comcast felt like AT &T should be held to the same standards as they were in order to create a level playing field. The points of contention included Comcast being required to provide service to the entire City with the PEG channels and emergency warning system upon implementation of their service; unlike the AT &T agreement which allows them to implement certain items as feasible to their company. The federal law that gives the City the ability to end business with Comcast at the end of their contract was also mentioned as a point of contention because if that happened they would loose their total investment near the amount of $100 million. After the presentation, Mr. White answered questions from the Board of Directors. The following listed citizens spoke in opposition of the ordinance: Representative Linda Pondexter Chesterfield and Annie M. Abrams. Some of the reasons sited for opposing the ordinance included the need for service to be implemented for all the citizens of Little Rock on a specific time schedule and that there was not enough education regarding the services provided to the public. Director Hurst, seconded by Director Cazort, made a motion to suspend the rules and place the ordinance on second reading. Directors Adcock, Hinton, and Pugh voted no. The rules were not suspended and the ordinance was held on 1St reading until the next regularly schedule Board meeting on July 18, 2006. The third reading was scheduled for a reconvened meeting on July 25, 2006. PUBLIC HEARINGS 10. PUBLIC HEARING & ORDINANCE — Deleted - Establishing a schedule of rates for the Little Rock Wastewater Utility with the effective date of July 11, 2006, repealing Ordinance No. 18,752 (9- 17 -02), declaring an emergency, and for other purposes. REPORTS 11. REPORT - Deferred to July 18, 2006 - City of Little Rock Financial Report for May (July 11, 2006 on Little Rock Board of Directors Meeting — Minutes — July 11, 2006 Director Keck, seconded by Director Hurst, made a motion to adjourn. By unanimous voice vote of the Board members present, being two - thirds in number, the meeting was adjourned at 10:26 PM. PASSED: ATTEST: Nancy/Wood, MC City Clerk 7 APPROVED: Ji VrMa