Minutes Of The Regular Meeting Of The Ozark City Council
September 13, 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 Rex Anderson, Rusty
Cagle, Charles Meeker, and Randy Melton. Brandy Flanary was not present due to Covid
quarantine restrictions. The invocation was given by Mayor Hall and the Pledge of Allegiance
was led by Brooke Rosson.

A moment of silence was observed in honor of City Employee James Hicks who passed
away August 12, 2021. A plaque was presented to family members in honor of his 15 years of
service to the City of Ozark. A plaque was also presented to former Alderwoman Susan Holman
in honor of her 7 years of service on the City Council.

The first order of business was for the Council to appoint a replacement for Alderwoman
Susan Holman’ s position. There were three applicants present for consideration. Alexis
McCartney, Angela Harris, and William Heffington. Rex Anderson made a motion for the
Council to go into Executive Session, seconded by Charlie Meeker. Upon a roll call vote, all
Aldermen voted aye and the Council and Mayor Hall went into session. Upon their return,
Mayor Hall announced that they had selected William Heffington to fill the position and thanked
the other applicants, encouraging them to continue to participate in civic activities. Charlie
Meeker made a motion to approve William Heffington, seconded by Rex Anderson. Upon a roll
call, all Aldermen voted aye and Mr. Heffington was sworn in by County Clerk Tammy Sisson.

A motion was made by Randy Melton to approve the August Minutes and seconded by
Charlie Meeker. Upon a roll call, all Aldermen voted aye and the minutes were approved.
Concerning the Financial Reports, the City has received a letter from ARDOT concerning
overpayment of Federal Aid for the Ozark Riverview Plaza. Transportation Enhancement Project.
The overpayment was in the amount of$2,040.00 and they would like us to repay this amount.
There was discussion as to who should repay, the City or Riverfront Development. It was noted
by Susan Holman that the city spent the money and the account was zeroed out and closed. A
motion was made by Charlie Meeker to approve the financial report, seconded by Rex Anderson.
Upon a roll call, all Aldermen voted aye and the financial report was approved. A motion was
then made by Charlie Meeker to appropriate funds from the General Account under a new line
item ofRiverfront Refund and repay ARDOT. This was seconded by Rex Anderson and upon a
roll call vote, all aldermen voted aye to proceed with the repayment.

The Water& Street Committee met August 17ffi. Chairman Rex Anderson reported that
an amount of$ 185, 760. 00 from Hawkins& Weir was discussed for the updating project for the
Water Department. A motion was made by Rex Anderson to accept this amount and seconded by
Randy Melton. Upon a roll call vote, all Aldermen voted aye and the motion was approved.

The Street department reports that several paving projects are being planned. There has
been a problem with companies coming into town and digging and making street cuts without
the proper permits. A more in-depth City Ordinance is needed. Regarding the flooding in the
alley behind 2nd and 3rd streets, this was caused by there being no gutters or trenching which
caused the water to run directly into the backs ofthe buildings. The Community Thrift Store
almost lost everything. A curb has been placed at City’ s expense and the owners will only be
required to update their gutter systems. Michael Brasseaux from the Street Department stated
that this is the easiest and most cost- effective solution. Chairman Rex Anderson will present to
the committee at their next meeting. Alderman Randy Melton asked if this will be a new
Ordinance or an amendment. City Attorney Kevin Barham stated that he will draw it up as an
Ordinance if a consensus is reached among the Council members who all agreed. A motion was
made by Rex Anderson and seconded by Randy Melton to accept the bid of$99,623. 00 for the
new street project. Upon a roll call, all Aldermen voted aye and the bid was accepted.
The Fire& Police Committee did not meet in August. The Cemetery Committee reports that
there has been an increase in theft and vandalism and security needs to be improved. It was
agreed that gate and fence repairs be completed before open and closed hours are posted.

There was also discussion about improving the entrance gate to the cemetery. Also discussed was the need for a more detailed map and better directions for out-of-town visitors who are trying to locate the graves of family members.

An update on the funds received from the ARPA was given by Treasurer Marla Ward.
The monies were direct deposited into our General Fund, then placed in a new account at Bank
OZK entitled American Rescue Plan Fund and checks have been ordered. Mayor Hall stated that
the Committee will be meeting to develop a spending plan for the funds. The Committee
members are Mayor Hall, Marla Ward, Tonya Talkington, Devin Bramlett, Randy Melton and
Josh Rosson.

Bids were opened( see handout) for the purchase of the property located at 2307 W.
Commercial. A motion was made by Randy Melton and seconded by Rusty Cagle to accept the
highest bid of$ 15, 000.00 from Phillip Terry. His plans are to construct a duplex on the property.
Randy Melton confirmed that Mr. Terry had been informed about the 30- day requirement for
clearing the property. Upon a roll call vote, all Aldermen voted aye and the bid was approved for
purchase. Mayor Hall then stated that Police Chief Devin Bramlett currently has a list of 9
derelict/ neglected properties. In order not to affect the City Budget, she would like to
recommend that a line item be created under the General Fund and the money be used for
expenses incurred in getting these properties up to code. A motion to create a line item was made by Randy Melton and seconded by Charlie Meeker. Upon a roll call vote, all Aldermen voted aye and the motion was approved. Mayor Hall then asked the Council to consider cleaning up some other vacant lots around town at the cities expense. Kevin Barham stated that this was allowed as long as it served a public service. Mayor Hall stated that there have been a few citizens who have volunteered to help with the project. She would like to keep the total expense under$ 2500. 00 and would take bids to keep the expense as low as possible. A list of properties will be sent out to Council Members as soon as possible.

Next on the Agenda was Resolution 2021- 9 to approve purchase of an Excavator. A grant
has been obtained from the USDA to aid in this purchase. The mini excavator that we now have
is a smaller one with a 70001b limit. The new one is larger with an I1, OOOlb capacity. It will
work more efficiently in street and concrete work. The machine retails at$ 91, 000. 00, With state
purchase, the cost is $71, 000. The USDA grant is for$ 53, 000.00, which brings the City’ s cost
down to $ 18, 394. 00. A motion to read the Resolution was made by Randy Melton and seconded
by Rex Anderson. Upon a roll call vote, all Aldermen voted aye and City Attorney Kevin
Barham read Resolution 2021- 9. A motion was then made to approve the Resolution by Rex
Anderson and seconded by Rusty Cagle. Upon a roll call vote, all Aldermen voted aye and
Resolution 2021- 9 was approved. Our thanks to Brooke Rosson and Michael Brasseaux for their
hard work and time spent on obtaining the USDA Grant.

Michael Brasseaux, Street Department Director, then spoke of the bids received for the
new street by the Fire Department. City Attorney Kevin Barham approved the discussion as old
business. $ 140, 000. 00 had been budgeted by the city for the project and the lowest bid was for
the amount of$ 99,623. 00. Rex Anderson made a motion to accept this bid, seconded by Randy
Melton. Upon a roll call vote, all Aldermen voted aye and the bid was accepted.
Next on the Agenda, Charlie Meeker opened the discussion regarding the City Clerk’ s
Susan Stevens) request for more hours, more duties and moving to an office in the front of the
building with everyone else. Randy Melton acknowledged the email and that he had spoken with
the City Clerk and invited her to the next meeting of the Policy and Personnel meeting where
these issues could better be addressed. He deferred to City Attorney regarding the wage situation because working hours cannot be dictated to an elected official. Kevin stated there may be a conflict at present with the Department ofLabor fair wage act, but we are not sure where/how city officials fall under that act. City Clerk stated that it would help if the Administrative Assistant position was filled. Mayor Hall answered that it should be filled within 6- 10 days.

They have been waiting for the Main Street Ozark director position to be filled. There has also
been discussion of combining the A&P duties with those ofthe Administrative Assistant position
with the A&P taking on a portion of the funding, thereby saving the City some money. Mayor
Hall stated that she, Sarah Rodriguez and Ben McCall have a meeting scheduled for this week on
Thursday to work out a final job description. Then all duties can be clarified at the Policy and
Personnel meeting. The issue of moving the City Clerk’ s office was then addressed. As per
email, the City Clerk has spoken to Police Chief Devin Bramlett regarding the security issues
which he believes are negligible. Fire Chief Nick Trotter and a state auditor have agreed that
storing the boxes of old records in the server closet presents a fire hazard. City Attorney spoke
up that the Mayor is the administrator ofthe building and has a say of where employees are
housed. Another concern is that the room is not properly heated or cooled. Nabholtz was brought back in earlier in the year to solve the problem, but did not. Mr. Barham then suggested putting a door in between the room and Marla Ward’ s office to possibly redistribute the air flow. The City Clerk spoke on conditions in the room: both doors to the closet have to be open for cooling issues, the records stored in the closet present a fire hazard, it smells, the server is noisy at times and the outer office door opens up to the warehouse area so all airflow goes out the door. The Mayor spoke of the excessive phone calls taken at City Hall for the A&P plus businesses who need to pay their taxes. Combining the Administrative Assistant and the A& P position and
housing them at City Hall would solve this problem. She would like to use the front office for
maps and pamphlets for tourists to pick up when they come to town. The City Clerk stated that
there is plenty of room in the lobby for a pamphlet rack. Alderman Rusty Cagle then spoke
saying that the City Clerk needs to be treated like an elected official of our city and not put
behind the A&P. The Mayor would like to contact Nabholtz for ideas on how to improve the
current work spaces, then brought up Public Input. The City Clerk then asked if she was stuck in
the current office for almost two more months, stating that she is totally out ofthe loop in being
able to serve the public and answer phone calls properly. She then gave another solution of
cutting a door in the wall leading into the room adjacent to the Mayor’ s office. Deputy City
Clerk/ Treasurer Marla Ward offered to move to the room allotted to the City Attorney and the
auditors. The City Clerk then spoke on the issue that the backroom closet needs to be cleaned
out. Brooke Rosson has done an excellent job purging and labeling old records and when they
are shelved properly in the outer room, they will probably fill the room. All that needs to be
moved out of the office are desks, the lock cabinet and office electronics currently being used.
The Mayor then asked Michael Brasseaux from the Street Department about timing and he stated that it would be a rainy day project.

Announcements:

New Alderman Wiliam Heffington will be replacing Susan Holman on the Fire& Police
Committee chaired by Charlie Meeker and the A&P Commission chaired by Ben McCall.
Water Department Superintendent Tonya Talkington asked that if anyone sees a problem
with their water, to please contact the water department, not just social media. Ifit is after hours,
there is a message line you can reach.

The Community Center will be closed the week of September 13- 17 for pool
maintenance and installation of the padded walking trail. It will reopen Monday, September 20th
and there will be an open house on Thursday, September 231d from 11: OOam until 6:OOpm

Fall Cleanup is scheduled for the week of October 4- 8. CARDS will not do a curbside
pick-up. The transfer station will be open every day with no charge with an Ozark water bill.
They will also be accepting electronics. Ken’ s Towing will have a receptacle for old tires in the
parking lot ofthe Community Center. Volunteers are needed to help with the elderly/disabled
community. Randy Melton then spoke on the need for better communication from CARDS on
holiday pick-up. Citizens are allowed to put extra bags next to their cart if there is overflow, but
if the pick-up date is changed due to the holiday, it is never clear when it is going to be. CARDS
stated that they had given a holiday schedule at the first of the year and people needed to
remember it.

A motion to adjourn was made by Randy Melton and seconded by Charlie Meeker. Upon
a roll call vote, all Aldermen voted aye and the meeting was adjourned.
The Minutes for the Ozark City Council Meeting held Monday, September 13, 2021,
were approved and passed this

11th day of October, 2021.