MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING
OF THE OZARK CITY COUNCIL
January 9, 2023
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 Angela Harris, Argest Hyler, David Mahon, Loren Maier, Charlie Meeker and Randy Melton. Also present were Mayor Hall, City Attorney Kevin Barham, City Clerk Susan Stevens, and Treasurer/ Deputy City Clerk Marla Ward. Rev. Brad Elrod from Ozark First United Methodist Church led the invocation. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by members of the Ozark State Champion Cheerleading Team.

A motion was made by Randy Melton to approve the December minutes and seconded by Argest Hyler. Upon a roll call vote, all Alderpersons voted aye and the minutes were approved. A motion was then made to approve the financial reports by Charlie Meeker and seconded by Argest Hyler. Upon a roll call vote, all Alderpersons voted aye and the financial reports were approved.

Tonya Talkington reports that the Water Department received dozens of calls about shutting off meters to frozen/busted pipes during the Christmas Holidays and that below freezing temperatures had an effect on the water treatment process. On New Year’ s Eve, we repaired a split on a 12″ line. We are fortunate to have a water department crew that always steps up during unexpected events especially during the holidays. The Community Center reports that there will be a$ 5 increase across the board for memberships effective January 1St. This is the first increase since we opened. Day passes will remain at$ 5 per person. They are hoping to finish up the Putt- Putt within the next month. Weekends continue to be very busy with almost every weekend booked. The Street Department reports that Christmas decorations are being taken down. There have been several more ditch clean outs and culverts to fix after the recent heavy rains, and parking spaces downtown are being repainted. The Fire Department reports that the annual ground ladder testing is underway. The Annual Ladder Truck certification was completed in December. All SCBA’ s passed their annual testing in December. Annual inspections on all businesses in the city have begun. Chief Devin Bramlett presented a 2022 Year Ending Report. The Police Department is currently taking applications for open positions. It was also announced that the A&P Commission has voted to fund the completion of the Christmas lighting project.

Old Business:
The auction of property at 107 E. Market has been completed. $ 1100. 00 was the purchase price. After paying the auction company, the City will net$ 900.00 to be used in the city clean-up fund.

New Business:
A motion to read Ordinance 2023- 1 was made by Randy Melton and seconded by David Mahon. Upon a roll call, all Alderpersons voted aye and Mr. Barham read the Ordinance which establishes procedures for regular meeting dates and rules of procedure for the transaction of business by the City Council. A motion was then made by Randy Melton to dispense with the 2nd and 3rd reading and vote by title only. This was seconded by Argest Hyler. Upon a roll call vote, all Alderpersons voted aye and Mr. Barham read the title of the Ordinance. A motion to approve was made by David Mahon and seconded by Charlie Meeker. Upon a roll call vote, all Alderpersons voted aye and Ordinance 2023- 1 was approved. A motion was then made to enact the emergency clause by Randy Melton and seconded by Loren Maier. Upon a roll call vote, all Alderpersons voted aye and the emergency clause was enacted.

A motion was then made by Randy Melton to add Ordinance 2023-2 and Ordinance 2023- 3 to the Agenda and seconded by David Mahon. Upon a roll call, all Alderpersons voted aye the items were added.

Ordinance 2023-3 modifies the salary of the City Clerk. A motion to read the Ordinance was made by Randy Melton and seconded by Charlie Meeker. Upon a roll call vote, all Alderpersons voted aye and Mr. Barham read the Ordinance. A motion to dispense with the 2nd and 3rd readings and vote by title only was made by David Mahon and seconded by Randy Melton. Upon a roll call vote, all Alderpersons voted aye and Mr. Barham read the title of the Ordinance. A motion to approve was made by Randy Melton and seconded by Loren Maier. Upon a roll call vote, all Alderpersons voted aye and Ordinance 2023-3 was approved.

Ordinance 2023- 2 was presented by Planning Commission Chair David Mahon. It is a request from the County to rezone 512 N. 3rd Street from Rl to C2 to house an EMS Station with 3 bays. Entrance would be from 2nd Street with a pull- out onto 3rd Street. A motion to read the Ordinance was made by Argest Hyler and seconded by Charlie Meeker. Upon a roll call vote, all Alderpersons voted aye and Mr. Barham read the Ordinance. A motion was then made by Randy Melton to dispense with the 2nd and 3rd readings and vote by title only. This was seconded by Loren Maier and upon a roll call vote, all Alderpersons voted aye and Mr. Barham read the title of the Ordinance. A motion to approve was made by Charlie Meeker and seconded by Loren Maier. Upon a roll call vote, all Alderpersons voted aye and Ordinance 2023- 2 was approved.

Agenda Item 3c was presented by Councilmember Angela Harris. She would like to have health insurance through the ARML offered to Councilmembers. She presented hand- outs from the” Bylaws of the Health Benefit Program Guidebook for Municipal Officials of Mayor/ Council Cities.”
A. Hyler: Cost to city?
M. Ward: Individual/$457.58. Family/$730.90
R. Melton: The issue was discussed in the Policy& Personnel meeting and he is not for passing as it would open the door for part-time employees to request insurance.
A. Harris: Part-time employees are not listed on the hand- out.
Question to Nick Trotter: Are volunteer firefighters covered? Answer: No
V. McDaniel doesn’ t recall insurance ever being offered to Councilmembers, however it is up to the city.
C. Meeker: He would be for it at the Councilmember’ s expense.
K. Barham: It would be paid directly to the City Treasurer’ s office by the Councilmember, A payment date will have to be strictly adhered to so the City’ s monthly payment timeline is not adversely affected and no one is cut off because of late payments.
D. Mahon: Other than paperwork, what are the other drawbacks? Answer—premiums will go up across the board because of additional people. Response just because we have never made the offer, doesn’t mean change isn’t possible.
A. Hyler: The request is to be allowed to be eligible?
A. Harris: Yes
Comment: Former Councilmember Susan Holman has made the request in the past.
R. Melton: According to the ARML, if you offer it to one, you have to offer it to all.
K. Barham: Whatever is decided, it will need to be done by Ordinance with guidelines pertaining to cost, open enrollment, and method of payment.
C. Meeker: What is our next step?
K. Barham: A motion needs to be made to have the City Attorney draw up an Ordinance offering insurance to Councilmembers.
A. Harris then made the motion, there was no second, and the motion was denied.

Agenda Item 3d was presented by Budget Chairman Charlie Meeker. He projects an income for the City of approximately $3, 446.000. 00 and $2,414, 000. 00 for the Water Department. He believes this to be a conservative estimate as we are going forward with a balanced budget with a$ 6,000. 00 excess. Changes include a 4% (COLA) raise for city employees, 2 new patrol cars for the police department who will be handing down 2 trucks to the street department who will also be purchasing a new mower. Two two-person swings are to be purchased for City Parks. A new truck will also be purchased for the Water Department. A big thank you to Charlie Meeker and Treasurer Marla Ward for all of their hard work on the budget.

Agenda Item 3e: A hand-out was given listing Committee and Commission assignments for the coming year. We still need 2- 3 new members on the Ozark Pride& Beautification Committee. New councilmember David Mahon will be stepping down as Chairman of the Planning Commission but has volunteered to help the incoming chair and members as much as possible. A reminder was given that the Chairman of each Committee or Commission is responsible for sending the time and date of a meeting to the newspaper one week ahead of said meeting.

Agenda Item 3f: Employees of the Quarter
Community Center                   Lynlea Schwartz
Fire Department                        Michael Brasseaux
Police Department                    Levi Ridgeway
Street Department                    Randy Beneux
Water Department                    David Williams

There was no Public Input.

Announcements: City Offices will be closed on Monday, January 16th in observation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The city still has two positions open on the Pride and Beautification Committee. If you are interested, please reach out. Also, the Ozark Police Department is still taking applications for police officers and an animal control/code enforcement officer. If you know of anyone who would be interested, please contact Police Chief Devin Bramlett.

There will be a meeting on Tuesday, January 24th at 5:00 pm to hear presentations from potential IT providers. Everyone is encouraged to attend with questions and needs related to IT ready. Mr. Barham requested pro-forma paperwork in advance of the meeting from each presenter so he can familiarize himself with the contracted services being offered prior to the meeting.

Water Department Supervisor Tonya Talkington asked if her budget needed to be approved by Ordinance or Resolution. Per City Attorney, budgets are approved at the March City Council Meeting. The rate increase also needs to be done by Ordinance. She is to get the information and numbers to him and he will draw up the needed Ordinance(s).

Vernon McDaniel passed out new FOIA booklets to councilmembers (new& old) and city staff with an encouragement to familiarize themselves with FOIA guidelines.

A motion was made by David Mahon to adjourn and seconded by Argest Hyler. Upon a roll call vote, all Alderpersons voted aye and the meeting was adjourned.

Minutes for the Ozark City Council Meeting held Monday, January 9th, 2023 were approved and passed this 13th day of February, 2023.

Mayor Roxie Hall

City Clerk Susan Stevens