The Arkadelphia City Board of Directors held a brief meeting Thursday in the Town Hall Boardroom to discuss an amendment to a recent bid, filling a vacancy on the city’s water and sewer committee and to consider increasing the price for dispatching services to the City of Caddo Valley.
Directors Brenda Hagerich, DeDe Baldwin, as well as Vice Mayor Ann Sanders and Mayor Chuck Hollingshead were present to make a bare quorum. Directors Don Hager, Anthony Owen and Director-at-Large James Calhoun were absent.
City Treasurer Glen Beedle spoke to the board about the amendment to the recently approved bid for 10 digital in-car video systems for the city’s newly purchased hybrid police car fleet. He said city staff got a “surprise” when it received an invoice from Kustom Signals in the amount of $51,982, which was $$4,453 more than what directors bid on. The problem: sales tax was not included in the original bid. It was an “oversight,” Beedle said of the “little blurb” at the top of the bid that mentioned state sales tax was not included in the final price.
Hagerich said she wanted to clarify “for the citizens” that, after the amendment was to be made, Kustom Signals still offered the lowest bid, even after sales tax was included. The next lowest bidder was WatchGuard Video at $65,295. Hagerich moved to accept the amendment, followed by a second from Baldwin. The motion carried.
The board also voted in favor of naming Dr. Vernon Miles, who serves as Henderson State’s provost, to the city’s water and sewer committee. Miles was nominated to replace Dr. James Ford, whose term on the panel has expired. Miles’s term will expire Feb. 17, 2014. Hagerich added that, since Miles has moved to Arkadelphia, he has joined Rotary and will be an “excellent addition” to the committee.
Next, Police Chief Al Harris spoke to the board about the contract with Caddo Valley. November is typically the month the two municipalities talk about the dispatching contract, he said. The current price Caddo Valley pays Arkadelphia for dispatching services is $14,400 per year. Harris said his recommendation was to increase that price to $36,000, but City Manager Jimmy Bolt negotiated with Caddo Valley Mayor Alan Dillavou, and the final price arrived at $25,000 — which is “still a sweetheart deal for Caddo Valley.”
Under the written contract, each city would have the opportunity to re-negotiate the price and contract each November.
Baldwin and Hagerich asked for information on how much time Arkadelphia dispatchers spend with Caddo Valley’s work. According to a dispatch activity report included in the agenda’s packet, Arkadelphia Police Department has received a total of 64,137 calls from APD and 10,448 from the Caddo Valley Police Department (along with 1,061 from HSU police, 75 total miscellaneous calls and 217 to Arkansas State Police and others). Broken down on a monthly average, APD deals with 5,848 dispatch logs from APD and 1,001 from CVPD.
Hollingshead added, “I think this is a fair place to start” the contract. The increased price tag for Caddo Valley, though it will be additional revenue for the City of Arkadelphia, will not cover one year’s salary for one dispatcher.
Hagerich entered the motion to adopt the contract, followed by a second from Baldwin. The motion carried. The contract now goes to the Caddo Valley City Council for its approval. That meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 19, at 6 p.m. in City Hall.
In the city manager’s report, Bolt said he attended a meeting with Ouachita Baptist University’s Students in Free Enterprise team about potential projects for the community. “I am hopeful that they develop an education program promoting Zero Waste and other environmental issues in the public schools.”
Bolt also attended two meetings with Henderson’s School of Business mentorship program, whose students want to find ways to improve the experience on the campus. “The sidewalk on the west side of 12th Street is in bad repair,” Bolt said, “and we are working with the students to budget for repairs next year.” Bolt mentioned that flashing pedestrian crossing signs, like the ones on North 26th Street, are another option he would like to pursue for the street.
Recent rains, he said, are “causing havoc on our public and private drainage systems. The street department will do its best to manage repairs on public property or take steps necessary to protect public assets.”
City staff is advertising for Architectural Services and requesting qualification for financial services for the Royal Theatre, fire department and Youth Sports Complex girls’ softball field projects. Funding for the girls’ softball field project is the only project staff has not discussed in detail, he said. “The theory is to secure $250,000 through bond refinancing as we secure funding for the theater and fire station and leverage that money to secure an additional $250,000 through state park grants for a total of $500,000 for development of the girls’ softball area. This is a great way to take 50 cents and turn it into a dollar.”
The Arkadelphia Community Yard Sale will be Saturday. “I want to encourage participation in this event throughout the community.” The yard sale will be at the Arkadelphia Recreation Center from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. For more information about booth spaces call 246-5499.
The city is partnering with OBU and Dr. Tim Knight to run bio-diesel produced from cafeteria grease at the university. The sanitation department is working to reduce its fuel consumption, “and this represents a great green relationship building opportunity for OBU and the city.”
Bolt thanked HSU and its president, Dr. Charles Welch, for sponsoring a meeting to discuss the potential of Arkadelphia’s redevelopment along North 10th Street between the two universities. “The topic of discussion was how to stimulate or excite a private developer to come in and work between the two universities,” Bolt said. The speaker was Paul Esterer, CEO of the Vanadis Investment Group which has been recognized for landmark shopping center projects as well as successful restoration-oriented redevelopment of downtown properties.
City staff is working to deliver the 2010 budget before the next board meeting, which is scheduled Thursday, Nov. 19, at 5:30 p.m.
A group of downtown merchants is working together to decorate and promote the holidays in Arkadelphia, and the city will participate, he said. “I would like to encourage shoppers to take another look at Arkadelphia merchants for their shopping needs before shopping somewhere else. Let us all work to help keep jobs in our community by shopping local.”
The traffic signal projects at the intersections of 10th and Caddo, 10th and Pine and 10th and Henderson streets have been bid out by the state Highway and Transportation Department. The city provided about $38,700 of funding for the project. “I do not know when work will begin.” Staff is also working with AHTD to secure a project to update the traffic signal at 12th and Pine streets.
Bolt said that Calhoun reported a “good dead doer.” David Bost is giving away “green” grocery bags to the policy holders of David Bost State Farm Insurance, as well as others.
In routine business, Hagerich wanted Bolt to clarify an advertisement placed in the Siftings regarding the hiring of an architect for Royal Theatre. She asked if the architecture is open for bid. Bolt said the ad is “not a bid, but a request for qualifications.” Bolt said he wants to see the architect’s “vision” before bidding out the work, but that the request is “not excluding anybody,” including local architects.
Hagerich said she admired Welch and Miles for their commitment the city. The “reciprocal relationship” between the university and the city has been “long over-due.” She also mentioned that the Arkadelphia Food Bank will hold a food drive at Saturday’s Battle of the Ravine, a rivalry game she called a “unique event to us and the United States.”
Baldwin echoed Hagerich’s comments about the Battle of the Ravine, adding that there have been “fun things this week” that stemmed from the game, and reminded people to “keep it all in good fun.”
Sanders revisited Bolt’s comments about improvements to sidewalks on 12th Street. She said the sidewalks on Caddo Street are also in disrepair, and that there are some places on Main Street where there is no sidewalk at all. The problem, she said, has been an issue for 10 years. “It’s fine to do that on their campus, but we’ve got to take care of the city, too ... There are other places in the city other than the campuses.”
Hollingshead noted the Veteran’s Day Parade, which will be held Wednesday at 4 p.m. The parade will begin on Clinton Street across from Sav-U-Mor and travel east to the Clark County Courthouse. He said 100-year-old Dr. Raymond Coppenger, who retired from the NAVY and as an OBU professor, has been selected as the parade marshall.