MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING 

OF THE OZARK CITY COUNCIL 

February 14, 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, William Heffington, Charlie Meeker, and Randy Melton. Also present were Mayor Roxie Hall, City Attorney Kevin Barham, City Clerk Susan Stevens, and City Treasurer/Deputy City Clerk Marla Ward. The invocation was given by Tonya Talkington and The Pledge ofAllegiance was led by Marla Ward. 

A motion was made by Randy Melton to approve the January Minutes, seconded by Rex Anderson. Upon a roll call vote all Alderpersons voted aye and the minutes were approved. A motion was made by Charlie Meeker to approve the Financial Reports and seconded by William Heffington. Upon a roll call vote, all Alderpersons voted aye and the Financial Reports were approved. 

The Community Center reports that the $ 2 swim on 2/ 2/ 2022 was a great success. Other special days are to follow, and party bookings have picked up enough to have every weekend booked. The Fire Department reports a Wildland Fire Training Class currently in progress with four training classes to be held in March. There are two new volunteer members joining this month. Hopefully, the new rescue tools ordered in January will be delivered in March. The Street Department reported work in progress on installation of the BBQ grills at the parks and getting the old pool filled in. The Police Department has an ongoing full schedule of classes. There is a vacancy in the front desk position and applications may be picked up at the Police Department. Reporting for the Ozark Pride& Beautification Committee was Daniel Elder. The January emphasis was on trash pick- up. The February project is a cleanup of the front of the old Southern Grill restaurant on Main Street. The building is currently empty and potential vandalism needs to be discouraged. LED lights have been installed in the Pocket Park. They have a color change option for Holidays, Ball Games, Special Events, etc. There are plans to repaint the Hillbilly footprints leading to the football field and possibly the Activities Center. 

Under Old Business, a motion for a2nd reading of Ordinance 2022-3 regarding signage 

was made by Rex Anderson and seconded by Charlie Meeker. Upon a roll call vote, all Alderpersons voted aye and City Attorney Kevin Barham read the Ordinance. A3rd reading is scheduled to be done at the March meeting. Mr. Barham also gave an update on the Kimbrough Property at 218 W. Commercial There is no way to tear out the building without damaging the adjoining building. He has not had any good response to inquiries regarding who is responsible for the property. Vernon McDaniel and Rex Anderson volunteered names of older family

members who might be able to help resolve the issue without having to file an Abatement of Public Nuisance and placing a lien on the property. 

Resolution 2022- 1 which amends the Water Department 2021 budget to actual was presented. A motion to read the Resolution was made by Rex Anderson and seconded by Rusty Cagle. Mr. Barham then read the Resolution. A motion to approve was made by Brandy Flanary and seconded by Randy Melton. Upon a roll call vote, all Alderpersons voted aye and Resolution 2022- 1 was approved. 

Resolution 2022- 2 which amends the City of Ozark 2021 budget to actual was presented. A motion to read the Resolution was made by Charlie Meeker and seconded by William Heffington. Mr. Barham then read the Resolution. Upon a roll call vote, all Alderpersons voted aye and Resolution 2022- 2 was approved. 

An update on 205 West River Street. The current occupants are in the process of building a new place on Yd Street and hoping to have the building empty by May. There are two options when the time comes to dispose of the property. One is to take sealed bids and the other is to hold a public auction. Mayor Hall stated that the time allotment for clearing the property would still be in effect. 

Mr. Barham spoke on the issue of Covid pay. The State of Emergency issued by Governor Hutchinson for 14 days of pay ended in October and has not been renewed. As of now, sick and/ or vacation and/ or comp time must be used( it was noted that this is the system that Clarksville and Paris are using). If an employee comes to work noticeably sick, it is up to their Department Head to send them home. 

Alderman Rex Anderson made a motion to add discussion of water bond issue to the agenda, seconded by Randy Melton. Upon a roll call vote, all Alderpersons voted aye and a discussion followed. Mr. Anderson had spoken to an official and was told that we could save 

100, 000. 00 by refinancing the bond, and our payments will not go up. The refinancing of the water department bond was approved last year. A Street& Water Committee meeting will be held in two weeks to get the refinancing started. 

The Housing Authority of the City of Ozark, Arkansas presented a term renewal for Commissioner Melanie Phillips to expire October 1, 2026. A motion to approve was made by Rusty Cagle and seconded by Rex Anderson. Upon a roll call vote all Alderpersons voted aye and the term renewal was approved. Also presented was a term renewal for Commissioner Bettie Jo James to expire October 1, 2025. A motion to approve was made by Rex Anderson and seconded by Randy Melton. Upon a roll call vote, all Alderpersons voted aye and the renewal was approved. 

CARDS presented a letter of notification of rate increases from$ 14. 11 monthly to 14. 87. This is a 5. 4% increase based on the Consumer Price Index. 

Water Department Superintendent Tonya Talkington presented an updated Customer Service Policy. A price increase of 2% will be applied. This amounts to 28 cents on a current water statement. The CARDS increase will be 84 cents per monthly statement. There was a

printed handout ofthe Policy given and it will be available online. Alderman Charlie Meeker made a motion to approve the new Customer Service Policy, seconded by William Heffmgton. Upon a roll call vote, all Alderpersons voted aye and the Policy was approved. 

The State ofthe City address was then presented by Mayor Roxie Hall. From the flood in 2019 through the ongoing Covid- 19 pandemic, City employees have been asked to step up to keep Ozark moving forward. Mayor Hall emphasized that Ozark must change in order to grow. 

There was no public input. 

Announcements: Mayor Hall was able to get an updated city map. Sherry and Marla have been working on the map room, and it looks great. Susan contacted Tim Vahsholtz from Quartzlight Marketing and the map has been added to our website under the Tourism tab. Spring Clean Up is April 4th – 9th. Michael Brasseaux with the Street Department is going to work with CARDS in picking up large items as well as extra trash. Run for the Fallen will be held March 18 at 7: 45am starting from the Community Center. A big thank you to Arkansas Valley Electric for installing another light at the skateboard park. Another big thank you to our street crew for all their work in getting the new protected turn signal at 7`h and Commercial. This has been in the works since 2019. The street sweeper is broken again. Parts have been ordered. 229 business license notices have been mailed. 182 have paid, 27 are unpaid, 12 businesses have closed or sold, 2 businesses are no longer in the city limits, and 6 have been resent due to having been returned. The old pool building has been torn down. The old pool is being filled in with plans to make it into an outdoor Pickle Ball Court. 

A motion to adjourn was made by Charlie Meeker and seconded by Randy Melton. Upon a roll call vote all Alderpersons voted aye and the meeting was adjourned. 

The Minutes for the Ozark City Council Meeting held Monday February 14, 2022, were approved and passed this 14th day of March 2022. 

 

Roxie Hall 

City Clerk Susan Stevens