MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING
OF THE OZARK CITY COUNCIL
January 8, 2024
Ozark City Council Meeting Room

The Regular meeting was called to order by Mayor Hall and upon a roll call, a quorum was declared to exist for the meeting. Present were Council Members Loren Maier, Angela Harris, Summer Miner, Randy Melton, Charlie Meeker, and Argest Hyler. Also present were Mayor Hall, City Attorney Kevin Barham, City Clerk Susan Stevens, and City Treasurer/Deputy City Clerk Marla Ward. Mayor Hall gave the Invocation and Loren Maier led the Pledge of Allegiance.

A motion was made by Randy Melton to approve the December minutes and seconded by Loren Maier. Upon a roll call vote, all Council members voted aye and the Minutes were approved. A motion was made by Charlie Meeker to approve the financial reports and seconded by Randy Melton. Upon a roll call vote, all Council members voted aye and the financial reports were approved.

Mayor Hall stated that the Police Department are making good use of their facility for outside classes ( shoot house, training room, etc.) There were 48 training classes and several meetings hosted by our Police Department. Dakota Hudson resigned from the department for a position at District Court. Tyler Whitsett filled his position. Jacob Campbell was hired to fill the Code Enforcement/ Animal Control position. Both will be attending the Police Academy in Ft. Smith beginning February 19tn. All Council members have been given a tour of the shoot house. A big Thank You to the Street Department for all their hard work on the Christmas lights. Raegan Harberer is the new Chairperson of the Planning Commission. Former chair Ruth Hoffman has offered to help her with learning the responsibilities of the position. Their first meeting is February 4th.

For December, the Police Department reports 56 reports, 15 accident reports, 1 motorist assist, 12 warrants served, 9 ordinance warnings, 1 ordinance ticket, 20 arrests, 3 juvenile tickets, 1 subpoena served, 78 tickets, and 406 warnings. The Department raised $12,000.000 for Shop With a Cop. The Year End report includes totals of 1, 164 reports, 154 accident reports, 19 motorist assists, 284 warrants served, 343 ordinance warnings, 59 ordinance tickets, 419 arrests, 45 juvenile tickets, 131 subpoenas served, 1390 tickets, and 3, 469 warnings.

The Street Department reports work on Christmas lights. There were also potholes fixed, and work done in the back of City Hall cleaning up the storage area. They also cleaned up the inside of the Anderson Building where the Christmas lights are stored.

The Water Department reports routine repairs and maintenance at the water and wastewater treatment plants and in the distribution system including 32 utility line locates (4 emergency) and leaks repaired on Farm Credit Drive, N. 7th, and N Williams Streets. FEMA repairs were completed at the Wastewater Treatment Plant and the remaining funds were returned to ADEM. A fire hydrant was installed west of East Tank. Inventory was completed for the 2023
audit. The manhole project was completed. There was work on clearing easements with the rotary cutter. Reminders were mailed out to food service businesses about cleaning our grease traps.

The Community Center reports they exceeded the yearly revenue goal for 2023! The pool will be closed for maintenance January 8-12. They will be draining the pool, fixing the gutters, power washing the deck, power washing and deep cleaning the locker rooms and power washing the mats. Applications are still being taken for the Evening Supervisor position. Work is continuing on the 2024 budget. Weekends are mostly booked. Plans are in the works for
Valentines Day / February.

There was no old business.

New Business:

A motion was made by Argest Hyler to add Ordinance 2024-2 to the Agenda. This was seconded by Angela Harris. Upon a roll call vote, all Council members voted aye and the Ordinance was added to the agenda.

a. Ordinance 2024- 1 Authorizes business procedures for City Council and dates and times of meetings.

Randy Melton made a motion to read the ordinance, seconded by Loren Maier. Upon a roll call vote, all Council members voted aye and Mr. Barham read the Ordinance. A motion to suspend the 2nd and 3rd readings and proceed by title only was made by Randy Melton and seconded by Argest Hyler. Upon a roll call vote, all Council members voted aye and Mr. Barham read the title two times. A motion to approve was made by Loren Maier and seconded by Summer Miner. Upon a roll call vote, all Council members voted aye and Ordinance 2024- 1 was approved. A motion was then made to enact the emergency clause by Argest Hyler and seconded by Charlie Meeker. Upon a roll call vote, all Council members voted aye and the motion was approved.

b. City Budget: Randy Melton noted that the COLA raise for the City Clerk must be done by Ordinance. He also recommended a raise for City Attorney Kevin Barham from 37,000.00 to $40,000.00. There were no objections. Charlie Meeker will adjust the budget and send email. A motion was made by Argest Hyler to read Resolution 2024- 3
approving the City Budget. This was seconded by Charlie Meeker. Upon a roll call vote, all Council members voted aye and Mr. Barham read the Resolution. A motion to approve was made by Argest Hyler and seconded by Angela Harris. Upon a roll call vote, all Council members voted aye and the budget was approved.

c. Water Department Budget: A motion was made by Angela Harris to read Resolution 2024- 4 approving the budget for the Water Department. This was seconded by Summer Miner. Upon a roll call vote, all Council members voted aye and Mr. Barham read the Resolution. A motion to approve was made by Randy Melton and seconded by Charlie Meeker. Upon a roll call vote, all Council members voted aye and the Water Department budget was approved.

d. Ordinance 2024-2 Amending Ordinance 2022- 8 regarding sewer rates, tap fees, and customer service policies. A motion to read was made by Argest Hyler and seconded by Angela Harris. Upon a roll call vote, all Council members voted aye and Mr. Barham read the Ordinance. A motion was then made by Angela Harris to dispense with the 2nd and 3 d readings and proceed by title only. This was seconded was Loren Maier. Upon a roll call vote, all Council members voted aye and Mr. Barham read the title twice. A motion to approve was made by Randy Melton and seconded by Loren Maier. Upon a roll call vote all Council members voted aye and Ordinance 2024- 2 was approved. A
motion was then made to enact the emergency clause. This was seconded by Argest Hyler. Upon a roll call vote, all Council members voted aye and the motion was approved.

There was a handout showing new committee assignments and meeting schedules. This will be posted to our website. Mayor Hall asked the committee’ s not to cancel unless unavoidable. Also to be sure and send notice to the media regarding meetings ( Spectator& KDYN) and to contact fellow members. Presently there io set chairperson for the Ozark Pride & Beautification Committee.

There was no public input.

Announcements: Mr. Butler told Mayor Hall that Jordan’ s will start work the last week in January or the 1st week in February. Mr. Steve Woodard stated that he will be getting started on plans in February for his downtown business ( a restaurant next to Rivertowne Barbeque). Notices have been sent to owners of vacant buildings downtown. Nick will be in meetings next week. Regarding the Bridge Lights: this is an A& P project, not the cities and things are still in the works. Unless you deal with ordering parts and getting people to work, you have no idea of the obstacles you run into. Please have patience, it will happen. Think about it every time you drive on 64 through town how long we’ve waited for that. Business Licenses: Please don’ t make this difficult. All you need is a copy of the State ofArkansas Department of Finance and Administration Permit. Either a standard permit or a sales & use tax permit. And/or any license you have from the state showing you have a legitimate business in the City of Ozark. Such as a Health Department permit/license. The 4th of July will be here before we know it. Due to some regulations, we are moving the fireworks show back to the West end of town. Family fun events will be held at Westside Park. The celebration will be held on July 3rd. Be watching the Chamber of Commerce Facebook page for more information about the event. The City of Ozark, Main Street Ozark, the Chamber of Commerce and the A&P will present” Shadow on the Square” April 8, 2024. Be sure to follow Main Street and Chamber Facebook pages for updated information. Ozark could have up to 10,000 visitors in our area! Contact the Chamber at 667-2525 or Main Street Ozark at 667- 5337 for questions or more information. City offices will be closed on Monday, January 15 in observation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In the event of bad weather causing a delay in opening or the closing of City offices, please tune to KDYN and the City Facebook page for updates.

Employees of the Quarter:
Community Center               Tasha Oglesby
Police Department               Donna Kirchner
Water Department               Rick Martinez
Street Department                JD McKeen
Fire Department                   Shane Cooper

A motion to adjourn was made by Argest Hyler and seconded by Charlie Meeker. Upon a roll call vote, all Council members voted aye and the meeting was adjourned. Minutes for the Ozark City Council meeting held Monday, January 8, 2024 were approved and passed this 12th day of February, 2024.

Mayor Roxie Hall

City Clerk Susan Stevens