MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING
OF THE OZARK CITY COUNCIL
August 8, 2022

Ozark City Council Meeting Room

The Regular Meeting was called to order by Mayor Roxie Hall and upon roll call, a quorum was declared to exist for the meeting. Present were Alderpersons Rex Anderson, Rusty Cagle, Brandy Flanary, Charlie Meeker, and Randy Melton. Also present were Mayor Hall, City Attorney Kevin Barham, City Clerk Susan Stevens, and Deputy City Clerk/Treasurer Marla Ward. Kevin Barham gave the invocation. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by representatives ofthe Ozark Jr. High School FBLA Kennedy Tedford, Mia Brickley, and Lexi Ellis.

A motion was made by Randy Melton to approve the July Minutes and seconded by Rex Anderson. Upon a roll call, all Alderpersons voted aye and the Minutes were approved. A motion was then made by Charlie Meeker to approve the financial reports and seconded by Rex Anderson. Upon a roll call, all Alderpersons voted aye and the Financial Reports were approved. The Fire Department reported that the vehicle purchase for the City Building Inspector was complete and the Garage Doors had been installed. The Wildland equipment that had been ordered some time ago was finally received.

Under Old Business, the Auction of the property at 205 W. River Street will be held on August 22°d at 6: 00 pm. It was noted that the old Fred Mullins building downtown sold last Saturday and the new owner has some exciting plans for it.

Zoning Commission Chairman David Mahon presented information on a request for a Variance at 305 W. Walnutfor a Home Occupation for a dog grooming business. Requirements were discussed such as no more than 2 rooms of the house may be used, the business owner must live in the house, no day-to-day care, no signage on lawn and if the business closes for more than 90 days then the permit is void. Guidelines are laid out in Zoning Code 14.4.06. The final decision is based on population, traffic and neighborhood. Alderman Rex Anderson pointed out that this will be an encouragement to small business owners to expand their businesses to the downtown area. The Zoning Commission will be voting on this at their meeting, August 11th.

Daniel Elder presented an update for Main Street Ozark, Sandy Key has been named Interim Director for the time being. Jessica Spicer is Vice-President with Shelby Beasley as her secretary. Angela Harris and Chris Brockett are now board members. The weekend of October 8th has been set for the Ozark Square Gathering. Help with painting and signage has been given to the Ozark/Altus Community Thrift Store and the Banana Moon t-shirt shop. A Downtown Revitalization grant has been received. He also reported for the Ozark Pride& Beautification Committee. They have helped to paint the awnings and obtain better lighting for the shop Personal Touch. August 201h is the project date for painting Hillbilly footprints on the road leading to the PAC and re-painting the ones on the road to the stadium. August 270h is the first workday scheduled for trash pick-up on the Adopt- a-Spot stretch of Hwy 64 from Puddin’ Ridge to the bottom of Altus Hill. Volunteers are welcome. The lighting issue downtown is being addressed. Longer lasting, brighter lights are being researched. Picture submissions for the Veteran Banners are open and budgeted along with pictures of this year’s Senior Class. Charlie Meeker asked about the lights being out on River Street. Daniel stated he is in the process of mapping out breaker boxes for city lighting so that it is easier to trace where and what is causing outages.

Resolution 2022- 5 was presented by Randy Melton. He stated that working on the ABPA funding has been and is still a work in progress and thanked treasurer Marla Ward and the committee for all their time and work. The State offices have changed the rules for usage of the funds on a daily basis, but we are trying to stay on top of it. Resolution 2022- 5 is to correct( by line item) a rule change passed down after the fact by the State. A motion to read the Resolution was made by Rex Anderson and seconded by Randy Melton. Upon a roll call, all Alderpersons voted aye and Mr. Barham read the Resolution. After reading, he noted that in Article 1 and 1( a) the word(s) Police Fund should be corrected to General Fund. A motion to approve was made by Randy Melton and seconded by Rex Anderson. Upon a roll call, all Alderpersons voted aye and Resolution 2022- 5 was approved upon corrections.

Resolution 2022- 6 to transfer funds from the General Fun to the ARPA Grant fund was presented. A motion to read was made by Randy Melton and seconded by Rusty Cagle. Upon a roll call, all Alderpersons voted aye and Mr. Barham read the Resolution. A motion to approve was made by Randy Melton and seconded by Brandy Flanary. Upon a roll call, all Alderpersons voted aye and Resolution 2022- 6 was approved.

The LI RWAP program was presented by Water Department Supervisor Tonya Talkington. This is a program to help those who are behind on their bills to the point of being shut off. It is a one-time payment of up to $2000.00 per applicant, not an ongoing bill payment. She noted that most big cities are joining the program, but that some smaller cities are subject to a larger financial hit. They will be discussing the program at the Water Department Committee meeting on Thursday, August 11th so that we are aligned with other cities and policies.

The speaker scheduled for the discussion of a possible motorcycle rally in downtown Ozark called Mayor Hall at 3:30pm and cancelled.

Fire Station# 3 is being asked by the Arkansas State Forestry Commission( Dept. of Agriculture) to lease 2 office spaces from the City. Tom Jeffries from the Ozark office spoke of their need for a better location being needed for equipment( a transport truck w/dozer and 2 vehicles) plus better safety and storage for small equipment. Tonight is just to get the process started. The Fire Department will still have access to an office, bedroom space and bays as well as access to kitchen and restrooms. Mr. Jeffries will send a lease agreement( 2-year renewable). Mr. Barham will draw up a lease agreement/Resolution for the September Council meeting. Any income will go to the Fire Department fund. Leasors are required to be located in Franklin County( Forestry Department). Insurance will still be paid by the City. The Commission will be responsible for utilities and yard work. Kevin will verify how to handle the billing ofthese services.

There was no Public Input.

Under Announcements it was shared that a Ball Tournament, a Disc Golf Tournament, and a Rodeo were all held this weekend and were a great success. Fall Clean-up is scheduled for the week of October Yd through October 8th. Items will have to be taken to the Transfer Station by city residents. They will be open every day from 8 to 4 with lunch from 12 to 1. Saturdays hours are 8 to 12. So far, one local church has volunteered to help with pick-up. Tonya will be putting the announcement on the next water statements. Planning has begun with the Mayor and Council as well as OG& E and Ozark Pride& Beautification on Christmas lighting. The Ozark Christmas parade will be on December 10th. The Mayor made a statement regarding a Tractor Supply business coming to Ozark to be located west ofthe Ford Place. This can be a big plus for Ozark.

A motion to adjourn was made by Randy Melton and seconded by Rex Anderson. Upon a roll call, all Alderpersons voted aye and the meeting was adjourned.

Minutes for the Ozark City Council Meeting held Monday August 8th, 2022 were approved and passed this 12th day of September, 2022.

Mayor Roxie Hall

City Clerk Susan Stevens