MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING
OF THE OZARK CITY COUNCIL
October 11, 2021
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 Rusty Cagle, Brandy Flanary, William Heffington, and Randy Melton. Aldermen Rex Anderson and Charlie Meeker were not present. The Invocation was given by City Attorney Kevin Barham and William Heffington led the Pledge of Allegiance. 

A motion was made by Randy Melton to approve the September Minutes, seconded by Rusty Cagle. Upon a roll call, all Alderpersons voted aye and the Minutes were approved. A motion was then made by Randy Melton to approve the Financial Reports and seconded by Rusty Cagle. Upon a roll call, all Alderpersons voted aye and the Financial Reports were approved. 

Under Committee Reports, Tonya Talkington stated that the Water Department Master Plan is underway and will be about an 8-month process. She has gotten several inquiries from companies regarding the bond issue. Rusty Cagle reported for the Parks& Recreation Committee. Regarding the Overlook Park, they are still working on the water leaks and the possibility of having an on-site custodian. There were not enough committee members present at the meeting so they adjourned and left. The Mayor then said that reservations at Westside Park had picked up considerably. Randy Melton pointed out that since the dump truck has been repaired, sand needs to be put under the swing sets as soon as possible. 

Old Business: The deed and the check for the purchase of 2307 West Commercial were exchanged on October 4th and the new owner had the property cleared by October 7th. Police Chief Devin Bramlett is to start looking at other properties that need action taken. The Fall Clean-Up was a great success. A thank you to Ken’ s Towing for providing a trailer for old tire collection. It was packed full by the end of the week. We had 5 volunteers out to help the elderly, disabled, and those who were unable to transport their items. The Spring Clean-Up had 58 participants. Our Fall Clean-Up participants increased to 162. Heather from CARDS would like to set a goal of 200 for next Spring. The Community Center reports that although there was some delay, the padded walking trail has been completed and is a big hit with members. Thank you again to Black Hills Energy and Mercy for the contributions to this project. 

New Business: A motion to read Ordinance 2021- 13 regarding the Tax Levy to support the Firemen’ s Pension Fund was made by Randy Melton and seconded by Brandy Flanary. Upon a roll call vote, all alderpersons voted aye and City Attorney Kevin Barham read the Ordinance. A motion to Dispense with the 2nd and 3rd readings and Read by Title Only was made by Rusty Cagle and seconded by Randy Melton. Upon a roll call vote, all alderpersons voted aye and the

Title was read by Mr. Barham. A motion to approve was made by Randy Melton and seconded by Rusty Cagle. Upon a roll call vote, all alderpersons voted aye and Ordinance 2021- 13 was approved. A motion to read Ordinance 2021- 14 regarding the Tax Levy to support the Volunteer Fire Department was made by Rusty Cagle and seconded by Brandy Flanary. Upon a roll call vote, all alderpersons voted aye and City Attorney Kevin Barham read the Ordinance. A motion to Dispense with the 2nd and Yd readings and Read by Title Only was made by Randy Melton and seconded by Rusty Cagle. Upon a roll call vote, all alderpersons voted aye and Mr. Barham read the Title. A motion to approve was made by Randy Melton and seconded by Rusty Cagle. Upon a roll call vote, all alderpersons voted aye and Ordinance 2021- 14 was approved. A motion to read Ordinance 2021- 15 regarding the Tax Levy to support the General Fund was made by Rusty Cagle and seconded by William Heffington. Upon a roll call vote, all alderpersons voted aye and Mr. Barham read the Ordinance. A motion to Dispense with the 2nd& 3rd readings and Read by Title Only was made by Randy Melton and seconded by Rusty Cagle. Upon a roll call vote, all alderpersons voted aye and Mr. Barham read the Ordinance. A motion to approve was made by Rusty Cagle and seconded by Randy Melton. Upon a roll call vote all alderpersons voted aye and Ordinance 2021- 15 was approved. 

Nabholz Construction is coming in Thursday at 9: 00 to discuss HVAC needs for City Hall. After meeting with County Judge Rickey Bowman it was discovered that with the repairs and modernization going on at the County Courthouse, we will be unable to affix the traditional Christmas lights to the building. Susan Holman of Farm Bureau and Tara Johnson of 5Star Realty have volunteered to decorate the Gazebo. The lighted arch will also be set up along with decorating a Christmas Tree of PVC pipe and the trunks of the existing trees. This year will be different but hopefully better. Mayor Hall provided a handout picture showing the plans for Christmas of 2022. 

Pete’ s Windmill Electric came out the past week to check out the River Bridge lights. It was discovered that the transformer had been changed from 480 to 220 causing the outage. After some delay, OG& E was able to replace the transformer and the lights were back on Thursday night. Pete, John Rogers, Michael Brasseaux, Robert Gresham and the Mayor are meeting to discuss replacing bulbs that are burnt out. Most of them are obsolete and it may not be cost effective or even possible to replace them. Randy Melton and Brandy Flanary asked about possibly going to LED lights which would be color changeable with the seasons. John Rogers is working on a grant with a lighting company to obtain funding for the project. 

On the Modular Homes issue, a 2-part manufactured home was brought into the City 10 days ago. City Attorney Kevin Barham pointed out that there is a state statute prohibiting cities from restricting square feet. A mobile home is defined as having an axle and being on wheels. A modular home ( or manufactured home/Comb’ s Home) is set on a pad with plumbing in place. Cities need to legislate a geographic locale and carve out an area within the city where they are allowed, taking the neighborhoods under consideration. The Planning Commission and the Ordinance Committee will be having a joint meeting on Thursday, October 21st at 5: 30 to discuss a plan of action. Mr. Barham would like to see a moratorium placed on future builds until an Ordinance is passed that clarifies the situation, putting guidelines and specifications in place.

Randy Melton said he does not want to lump all modular homes under one description or category. Mr. Barham stated that he is currently working on such an Ordinance and that he will welcome any emailed questions. 

310 Land Management was brought in to do some city cleanup. They removed some old trees and cleaned out around guard rails by Butterball and on Puddin’ Ridge. This was funded by the money from the sale of the 2310 W. Commercial property. 

Public Input: Mitzi Reano spoke on work being halted on the installation of a new modular home she recently purchased after researching for two years. She had checked in January and in April with the chairman ofthe Zoning Commission and the question of what type of home it was had never been asked. She had also purchased a building permit in July with no questions and thought she had done her due diligence concerning the project. Installation was halted due to concerns over it being a mobile home, stating that the axles and wheels used for transport would be removed and it would be set up as a permanent residence. She stated her disappointment with the city and their enforcement of Ordinance 2020-8 regarding unkempt and derelict property. She asked that the City of Ozark please do the right thing and get the Zoning Ordinances cleared up. 

Next on the Agenda was Employees of the Quarter: 

Fire Department                      Jason Hall 

Police Department                  Taylor Molton 

Community Center                 Tatum Campbell 

Street Department                  Kenneth Rosson 

Water Department                  Roy Sampley 

They will each receive a plaque and a$ 50.00 gift certificate to Workman’ s Travel Center. 

Ozark will celebrate Halloween on Saturday, October 30′ with a Haunted Hillbilly Highway. It will start at the bridge on North 29th and extend around to 18th Street across from Walmart. Everyone is welcome. The Chamber of Commerce will have a booth in the purple softball dugout with handouts for the locations to different Trunk or Treats being held around town. Door-to-door trick or treating will also be on Saturday night. 

The Ozark Christmas Parade will be Saturday, November 27 , followed by an ice-skating rink and activities around the square. Most of them will be free with the exception of fund raisers. 

The Square Gathering held Saturday, October 9th was a great success. Thank you to those who did such a good job with the flower beds. If you are out and about. go and look at the pocket park just off the square. Lights, seating, and decor have made it a beautiful addition to our city. City Attorney Kevin Barham state that he has seen an uptick in clean-up citations being handled in District Court. The Police Department has been doing a good job, and the citations are being followed up on.

There being no further business, Rusty Cagle made a motion to adjourn, 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, October 11, 2021 were approved and passed this 8th day of November, 2021. 

Mayor Roxie Hall

City Clerk Susan Stevens