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21 MAY 20CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULARLY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MAY 20, 2021 6:00 P.M. – 7:39 P.M. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING - CITY HALL - #1 MUNICIPAL DRIVE The City Council of the City of Jacksonville, Arkansas met in a regular scheduled session on May 20, 2021 at the regular meeting place of the City Council. Council Member Bolden delivered the invocation and Mayor Johnson led a standing audience in the “Pledge of Allegiance” to the flag. ROLL CALL: City Council Members: Dietz, Bolden, Blevins, Sansing, Mashburn, Traylor, Twitty, Smith, and Rains answered ROLL CALL. Mayor Johnson also answered ROLL CALL declaring a quorum. PRESENT NINE (9) ABSENT (1). Council Member Ray was absent. Others present for the meeting and by Zoom were: City Attorney Stephanie Friedman, Public Works Director Jim Oakley, Fire Chief Alan Laughy, Police Chief Brett Hibbs, Parks and Recreation Director Kevin House, Theresa Watson, Jim Moore, David Jones, Mike Wilson, Mark Stroud, and Rick Kron. PRESENTATION OF MINUTES: no minutes were presented. APPROVAL AND/OR CORRECTION OF MINUTES: CONSENT AGENDA: REGULAR MONTHLY REPORT/ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT Council Member Bolden moved, seconded by Council Member Traylor to approve the regular monthly report for April 2021. PERMITS/LICENSE ISSUED INSPECTIONS PERFORMED Building Permits 7 Building Inspections 18 Business Licenses Electrical 35 Plumbing 30 HVACR 10 REGULAR MONTHLY REPORT/FIRE DEPARTMENT Council Member Bolden moved, seconded by Council Member Traylor to approve the regular monthly report for April 2021 from the Jacksonville Fire Department, reflecting a fire loss of $85,500.00 and a savings total of $1,101,321.00. REGULAR MONTHLY REPORT/POLICE DEPARTMENT Council Member Bolden moved, seconded by Council Member Traylor to approve the Regular Monthly Report for April 2021 regarding annual crime statistical comparisons. REGULAR MONTHLY REPORT/ANIMAL CONTROL Council Member Bolden moved, seconded by Council Member Traylor to approve the regular monthly report for April 2021. ADOPTION FEES/FINES $ 2,053.00 CONTRIBUTIONS 0.00 TOTALS $ 2,053.00 CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULARLY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MAY 20, 2021 6:00 P.M. – 7:39 P.M. REGULAR MONTHLY REPORT/CODE ENFORCEMENT Council Member Bolden moved, seconded by Council Member Traylor to approve the regular monthly report as presented for April 2021. Assigned Calls 47 Self-Initiated Calls 46 Follow ups 65 Structures Inspected 8 Meetings/Court Hearings 0 Rentals Inspected 0 Tickets Issued 0 Properties Red Tagged 0 Three Day Notice 66 Search Warrants Served 0 Seven Day Letter 27 Structures Rehabbed 0 Vehicles Tagged 6 Structures Condemned 0 Vehicles Towed 0 Houses Demolished by City 0 Lots posted 1 Houses Demolished by Owner 0 Signs removed 75 Parking Violations 2 Trash cans tagged 0 Grass Letters 0 Basketball Goals 1 Grass Mowed 0 ROLL CALL: Council Member: Dietz, Bolden, Blevins, Sansing, Traylor, Twitty, and Rains voted AYE. MOTION CARRIED. WATER DEPARTMENT: WASTEWATER DEPARTMENTS: FIRE DEPARTMENT: POLICE DEPARTMENT: STREET DEPARTMENT: SANITATION DEPARTMENT: PARKS & RECREATION: PLANNING COMMISSION: ORDINANCE 1660 (#10-2021) AN ORDINANCE RECLASSIFYING PROPERTY IN THE CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, ARKANSAS (124 DENNIS LANE); AMENDING ORDINANCE NOS. 213 AND 238 AND THE LAND USE MAP OF THE CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, ARKANSAS; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY; AND, FOR OTHER PURPOSES. Council Member Traylor moved, seconded by Council Member Bolden to place Ordinance 1660 on FIRST READING. ROLL CALL: Council Member Dietz, Bolden, Blevins, Sansing, Mashburn, Traylor, Twitty, Smith, and Rains voted AYE. (0) voted NAY. MOTION CARRIED. Whereupon City Attorney Friedman read the heading of Ordinance 1660. Planning Commission Stroud stated that rezoning from R-0 to R-6 is not something they like to do, adding that he was not happy but the Planning Commission voted to rezone. He related that the property is located in a neighborhood where there are a lot of trailers, but it is isolated all around by R-0. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULARLY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MAY 20, 2021 6:00 P.M. – 7:39 P.M. Council Member Dietz related that the area has a lot of mixed use, and this is vacant property. He then explained that the petitioner’s parents own a lot adjacent and they were planning to put in a manufactured house to be closer to his parents. He stated that in their estimation it was better to have the property occupied and maintaining the property. He acknowledged that the Planning Commission is very cautious in rezoning property but being the area and location it was felt to be the best for the City of Jacksonville. In response to a question from Council Member Sansing, Council Member Dietz noted that the surrounding property is a mix of different uses. He stated that on the front of Dennis Lane there is a vacant commercial lot that has been vacant for 20 years. He then added that all around the area are houses that have become dilapidated and trailers. He stated that the parents of the petitioner live in a trailer and there had been a trailer on this lot. That trailer is gone and it has just been a vacant lot, the son decided to come in and get closer to the parents and put in a double-wide trailer, a fairly nice one. He stated that he would rather have someone living there paying taxes and maintaining the property. Council Member Blevins stated that he has been watching the Planning Commission meetings and changing the zonings of property has been a big point of contention and it seems some people get it and some do not. He stated that in this particular instance after looking at it and also having the Planning Commission Chairman saying that he did not agree with it, I feel that this opens up to more people in the same kind of situation, asking and then using this as a claim to justify their request. Council Member Dietz responded that the Planning Commission looks at each request on a case by case basis. He noted that the Planning Commission is already looking at allowing higher zoning uses in lesser zoning areas, especially in commercial zones. He stated that in this instance, if you are familiar with the property then you will understand the Planning Commission voting to rezone. He stated that it was felt that it would be better to have the property occupied than it being a vacant lot. He then added that there are plenty of lots out, pointing out that there is a subdivision by Homer Adkins School. He noted that there are 31 vacant lots that are less than $10,000.00 a lot. He stated that while the Planning Commission does not like to go down in zoning classification but in this instance, it really was what was best for everybody, the area and the family. Council Member Blevins asked Chairman Stroud if this was a unanimous decision. Chairman Stroud stated that it was not unanimous, Commissioner Jim Moore voted against it. He then added that R-0 is around this house, but inside the parcel that we are talking about, there is an R-5 adjacent and then an R-0 next to that. He stated that it is an R-6 with an R-0 circling it and with an R-5 adjacent. He related that the commercial lot is next to the Hwy. He CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULARLY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MAY 20, 2021 6:00 P.M. – 7:39 P.M. stated that there was a lot that was rezoned from R-6 to R-0 and the owner built a nice house. He stated that his concern is that we would not be helping him by two houses down making an R-6 where it is an R-0 because that guy has taken the initiative to make a nice fencing next to the Hwy. and cleaned up the area and he has a beautiful house. Council Member Traylor confirmed that R-6 would only allow for one manufactured house. Public Works Director Jim Oakley noted that there are other mobile homes on the street. Council Member Dietz concurred saying that there are at least three mobile homes on the street. Public Works Director Jim Oakley then noted that the City owns the front lot to the right on Dennis Lane. Council Member Twitty confirmed with Council Member Dietz that the property previously had a trailer on it, but it became dilapidated and was pulled off years ago. He stated what happens in a lot of these areas on the outskirts of town is the desire to be less regulated, if someone wants to protect house values they usually move into a city subdivision. He noted that in this instance, the vote was unanimous except for Commissioner Moore. Commissioner Moore related that he was the only vote against the rezoning, acknowledging that there are three trailers down next to a house at the end of the Street. He stated that he was the Chairman of the Planning Commission when the first house on the left was approved, saying that he opposed this because he feels that mobile homes and trailers in the designated zone that we have, which is R-7. He continued saying that he can understand someone wanting to live next to their parents if they need help, but there are other ways to do that. He stated that there was a lot of discussion at the Planning Commission meeting, but he stuck to the way he felt about it. Public Works Director Jim Oakley related that the property was posted as required, allowing anyone the opportunity to oppose the request but no one came to oppose the request. He then related that this property is adjacent to a mobile home park to the south which is zoned R-7. In response to a question from Council Member Twitty, Council Member Dietz confirmed that the Planning Commission considered each request on a case by case basis. He stated that this area is a mixed area and a nice modular home will enhance the area 100% compared to having it vacant. He continued saying that a vacant lot brings unwanted activity. He stated that with the current costs of homes, this manufactured housing was their only alternative. He then answered that the petitioner was at the Planning Commission meeting and fully explained his position and desire to move back to Jacksonville. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULARLY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MAY 20, 2021 6:00 P.M. – 7:39 P.M. Council Member Traylor stated that his concern would be for the property in 10 to 15 years and that any continued rezonings from an R-0 to an R-6 because the people coming behind us will have to deal with that same problem. Council Member Dietz responded that there are nice lots in Cloverdale directly in this vicinity for protected subdivision assurances. Council Member Traylor stated that in 10 or 15 years someone may want to come in there and develop Dennis Lane outside of having trailers. Public Works Director Jim Oakley noted that currently it is not a platted subdivision. Council Member Traylor pointed out that the property adjacent to the subdivision he lives in was not platted but it is now and is being developed as a nice subdivision. Council Member Dietz moved, seconded by Council Member Blevins to APPROVE Ordinance 1660 on FIRST READING and SUSPEND THE RULES and place Ordinance 1660 on SECOND READING. ROLL CALL: Council Members Dietz, Bolden, Blevins, and Rains voted AYE (4). Council Members Sansing, Mashburn, Traylor, Twitty, and Smith voted NAY. (5) MOTION FAILED. ORDINANCE 1660 (#10-2021) FAILED THIS 20th DAY OF MAY, 2021. COMMITTEE(S): GENERAL: a. DISCUSSION Opening City Buildings and hours of operation. Council Member Dietz stated that he feels it is time for the City to move forward and get back to the normal standard business hours of Monday thru Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. He related that many of his constituents and others have expressed their belief that the City should be open for business during normal standard times. He stated that it was previously approved by the City Council but was vetoed. Mayor Johnson stated that the decision was not made by just himself but a group of Directors at City Hall. He then added that as of June 1st City Hall will be open at 7:30 a.m. He stated that himself and the Department Heads that are following the day to day operations have watched and observed the calls on Friday afternoons as well as other times during the week. He stated that our goal is always to serve the public the best we can, adding that he wants to make it clear that all employees here at City Hall have worked 40 hours and will continue to work 40 hours a week. He stated that no one gets less than 40 hours and if they do it is because they are taking vacation or sick time. He stated that this is not etched in stone, if 6 months from now we see that we need to be open Friday afternoon then we will and not be open at 7:30 a.m. He related that is when the service people are here and that is when some of the contractors are here to start on their building permits. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULARLY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MAY 20, 2021 6:00 P.M. – 7:39 P.M. Council Member Traylor confirmed with Mayor Johnson that it is his understanding that City Hall is not going to be open on Friday afternoons. Mayor Johnson confirmed saying that City Hall will be open at 7:30 a.m. each morning. Council Member Traylor questioned why not be open on Friday afternoons. Mayor Johnson stated that City Hall has more traffic in the morning than we do on Friday afternoons. Council Member Traylor pointed out that while you may have more business calls in the morning, people still expect to be able to come to City Hall in the afternoons. Council Member Twitty noted that she received a call from a Maumelle resident that came to the Jacksonville Police Department on Friday afternoon and could not get in because it was closed. Mayor Johnson stated that is going to change June 1st. Council Member Traylor asked for clarification. Mayor Johnson stated that it would be 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday thru Thursday and till noon on Friday, which is just City Hall; he added that the Police Department is going to be open 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday thru Friday. He then answered that the Governor is releasing his emergency medical mandate, which we have been operating under. He continued saying this means we will not have Zoom meetings after June 1st, if you are not in person you do not count. Discussion ensued as to other cities operating currently under standard 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday thru Friday times. Mayor Johnson reiterated that they watched and felt they could best serve the citizens this way. He then answered that there is not a phone log or study but just the people that work here watched it and paid attention. Council Member Blevins stated that all government buildings are synonymous with Monday thru Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Mayor Johnson stated that this is not set in stone and is not permanent. Council Member Bolden stated that he comes to City Hall during the week, pointing out that in his supervisory status he always wanted proficiency in work, adding that as long as the job is getting done he is good with everything. He related that as Council Members we need to literally know what areas we have rights over. He asked City Attorney Friedman to offer some idea about what the Municipal League has to say. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULARLY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MAY 20, 2021 6:00 P.M. – 7:39 P.M. City Attorney Friedman stated that she has had a few questions about the powers of Council, citing State Statute 14.43.502. She stated that it basically says that City Council possess all the legislative powers granted under this title and all corporate powers of the city that are not prohibited by ordinance. She stated that some cities have ordinances that limit or prohibit what city council can do; Jacksonville does not have such an ordinance, so the City Council has broad authority. Council Member Sansing stated that he believes the City Council does have the legislative authority to set working hours for City Hall, that being said I am willing to take a wait and see attitude to see what kind of complaints he gets about 5:00 and he would like to know what everybody else has to say about staying open to 5:00 p.m. He stated that he is willing to grant the experiment, since they are up here all the time. He added that if he and the City Council start hearing issues about people needing to get into City Hall Friday afternoon, we need to immediately revisit this issue and exercise our authority to change it back. Council Member Rains stated that there have already been issues brought to our attention tonight, so we are dealing with that now. Council Member Twitty stated that City Council is here to serve the citizens of Jacksonville, not close our doors so they cannot get in regarding certain hours. She stated that as long as she can remember, this building has been open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday thru Friday. She added that if one person comes here at 4:00 p.m. on a Friday, we should be here to serve them. Council Member Blevins stated that the Mayor had made a comment in the local paper saying “he was here to serve the residents and do what is best for the residents and not what the City Council thinks”, adding that he felt that remark was insulting. He said it felt like the Mayor was saying that the City Council Members are not here to do what is best for the residents. He continued saying that when City Council made the vote to reopen, the Mayor was absent at City Council it was not made for them but for the residents of this City and for the people who contacted us letting us know they want to be here and for all the people who know that Government hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Council Member Bolden stated that since we are talking about insults, while he and the Mayor were gone, that when a Council Member comes in – I want you to know I am in the building. He stated that we are not better than the Community, we are servants, that is what our job is, that is why I was elected, to be a servant and that is what I truly believe. He stated that when those comments were made, you are sending a message out to all the employees that we are dictators. He stated that none of us are better than anyone in the Community. Council Member Twitty stated that she does not believe that anyone on the City Council feels that way. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULARLY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MAY 20, 2021 6:00 P.M. – 7:39 P.M. Council Member Bolden responded that is not what he is hearing from the people/workers. He reiterated that we do not want people that work for the City thinking that we think we are better than them. Council Member Rains called for a point of order, questioning what this has to do with the actual discussion at hand. Council Member Bolden answered that I wanted to let you know what is out there since Council Member Blevins brought up being offended. Council Member Blevins stated that he brought up a point about the veto which is relevant to the item of discussion. Council Member Dietz stated that he is not offended, saying that he was trying to get the City Hall back to normal operating hours which are standard business hours Monday thru Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. He stated that the hiring time frame is 8:00 to 5:00 on the website, you hire and then tell them their hours are not 8:00 to 5:00 they are 7:30 a.m. If you sign on to 8:00 to 5:00 then that was what they signed on for. He stated that it is about what is best for all the citizens of Jacksonville not what is best for the employees, the employees signed on for hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. City Attorney Friedman answered Council Member Blevins that to override the Mayor’s veto it would take a 2/3rds vote by the City Council. Council Member Blevins moved, seconded by Council Member Dietz to override the Mayor’s veto and return to operating hours of City Hall from Monday thru Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. effective June 1st. It was noted that the Police Department has the same current hours as City but would return to standard business hours June 1st. Mayor Johnson stated that June 1st is a good date because that is when the Governor is releasing everything. At this time, MOTION CARRIED with Council Members Bolden and Sansing voting NAY. b. DISCUSSION Commitment of City resources (funds or staff) regarding Hospital sale of North Metro by Unity Health Council Member Dietz stated that he agrees this is a big plus for the City of Jacksonville and he does not want to do anything to make Unity feel uncomfortable. He added that his only question was because of the way it was presented to City Council and originally it was believed there was not going to be any cost and now he understands that there will be but feels it may be a justified cost. He stated that the City Council needs to know what is going on in the City if they are going to be City Council members. He pointed out that City Attorney Friedman needs to know everything because that is why we have a City Attorney. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULARLY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MAY 20, 2021 6:00 P.M. – 7:39 P.M. Mayor Johnson stated that we did not have City Attorney Friedman representing the Hospital Board as our counsel, we had two attorneys on the Hospital Board and we had outside counsel as well. City Attorney Friedman noted that she does represent the City and Mayor Johnson concurred. Mayor Johnson stated that as Chairman of the Jacksonville Medical Center, Inc., he signed the necessary documents with Unity Health in hopes of securing quality healthcare for the residents of Jacksonville. He stated that Unity is starting with an emergency room but they plan on doing surgeries, they plan on doing labor deliveries, they are going to be a full-fledged hospital, all the way. He added that they plan on putting about 30 million into the hospital. He then related that on the first day of my term as Mayor, Chief Laughy ask me and expressed the need for an additional ambulance, adding that Chief Laughy stated that we cannot effectively serve the citizens of Jacksonville without one, saying that should the money be available, the position to staff the ambulance – he then injected that he is talking about next year if the money is available for the 2022 budget those six new positions will be in there and it will be the City Council’s decision whether those six positions stay in there or not. Council Member Rains stated that she has a parliamentary inquiry. City Attorney Friedman stated that in the contract there is not a clause that says if the money is available, it says that the City of Jacksonville will staff the ambulance unit. Mayor Johnson stated that it is a nonbinding letter of agreement. City Attorney Friedman disagreed, saying that she has the actual contract, not the letter of intent. Mayor Johnson stated okay. City Attorney Friedman continued saying that she has the actual contract that she has been requesting for weeks. She stated that this is binding and there is no clause that says if we have money for these employees, it says that we will staff the ambulance. Mayor Johnson clarified that she had the asset purchase agreement. City Attorney Friedman confirmed. Mayor Johnson stated that he only signed that as Chairman of the Jacksonville Medical Center, Inc. not as Mayor. He said if the City does not have the money to staff the positions, then they don’t staff the positions. City Attorney Friedman questioned if Unity is aware of that? She stated that based on this contract, that is not what it says. Mayor Johnson said they will be aware of it. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULARLY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MAY 20, 2021 6:00 P.M. – 7:39 P.M. Council Member Rains stated she has a parliamentary question, saying that she does not understand why there is debate going on from the Chair. She added that from her understanding the Chair is not supposed to be in debate, is that correct? Or am I misunderstanding? Mayor Johnson replied that he is not even sure what you are asking. City Attorney Friedman stated typically yes, but because Bob is in the unique position of having signed this contract, that is why he is offering his input. Mayor Johnson asked Chief Laughy to explain why the citizens of Jacksonville need a 4th ambulance. Chief Laughy stated that since 2010, the number of emergency responses have increased 70%, approximately 2,800 in 2010 to last year it was almost 4,800 with a 0% increase in new assets for these EMS responses and personnel to respond to these emergencies. He stated he has talked about this for years, saying that it was a 3 to 5 year plan he had presented to the previous Mayor and then approximately 2 to 3 months into this term, he again presented the 3 to 5 year to Mayor Johnson. He said that they have been in discussions regarding a 4th ambulance and 6 personnel to staff that ambulance. Council Member Blevins asked if Chief Laughy had enough money in his budget to staff six EMTs in perpetuity. Chief Laughy stated that they haven’t, adding that Mayor Johnson and he were in discussions last year about proposing that in the 2022 budget. City Attorney Friedman asked Chief Laughy if he sees any issues with the provision in the contract that limits the use of this ambulance to non-emergent patients going to Searcy? Chief Laughy responded that he has not seen the contract but only the letter of intent that was given to me two days ago. Mayor Johnson stated that the contract is identical to the letter of intent. City Attorney Friedman stated that the contract says that ambulance unit will be allowed to only transfer non-emergent patients to Searcy. Mayor Johnson disagreed, while City Attorney Friedman pointed it out in the contract, he responded saying right, I know it may say that but that is not what we discussed with Unity. Council Member Blevins stated but that is what you signed. He offered a copy to Mayor Johnson and he stated that he has a copy that he got today. Council Member Rains noted that the contract was signed December 2020. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULARLY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MAY 20, 2021 6:00 P.M. – 7:39 P.M. Council Member Twitty questioned why we would send our patients from our hospital to Searcy? Council Member Rains pointed out that Chief Laughy just stated that he has not seen the contract, so he would not be aware of that provision. Chief Laughy stated that when that was originally discussed with him, he and Mayor Johnson had discussions about that and that was something in their preliminary talks. He continued saying that he did have a concern that we may not be able to sustain that because our EMS service right now is strictly emergency response only, meaning that we do not do non-emergency transfers. He related that is not something that we couldn’t entertain in the future, but right now we do not have the man power and the resources to do that. So, when that was brought to my attention, I had concerns not to get locked into a contract where we may have to obligate City funds and tax payer dollars and resources to a private entity. He related that his question to the Mayor at the time was, can I see the contract before that is signed and is that legal. He added that he is not an attorney and was making an assumption. Mayor Johnson asked Chief Laughy if he had discussions with Unity Health on emergency comes first and transfers second. Chief Laughy stated that he, Chief Jones, and Dr. Flamick had a meeting with Unity on November 5, 2020; we had a brief discussion about that and we had concerns about our capacity for non-emergency transfers. He then stated that the discussion was that we couldn’t sustain that so in order for that to happen we have to get other community partners to help us such as MEMS or there was a time when Southern Paramedic Ambulance Service actually staffed one or two ambulances out of one of the buildings here in Jacksonville but added that they are no longer in town. He reiterated that we would have to get community partners to help us do that, we could not do it just on our own. Council Member Dietz stated that we are going to transport people that we can not take care of. He stated that the other side of that is that it is not $360,000 to budget them we are going to get reimbursed some insurance money, which will be a large amount so that does need to be considered. He stated that we get reimbursed by the Hospital or their insurance companies if we have to transport somebody. Chief Laughy concurred that they do get reimbursed but does not have the numbers to be able to tell City Council what that would be. Council Member Twitty questioned who would pay for the gas and vehicle insurance? Chief Laughy stated that the fuel would be paid by the City. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULARLY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MAY 20, 2021 6:00 P.M. – 7:39 P.M. Council Member Dietz said that he would guess that is a substantial amount of money that they are giving us with that fully stocked ambulance, which is an A+, that is helping the City for better service. He stated that it is going to cost the City some money down the road but it is really going to be a great benefit for the City of Jacksonville. He cautioned so let’s keep that in mind when we are discussing it because we have wanted a hospital here for a long time. He then added that he is just uncomfortable about the way it went about for us to get it, saying not with Unity, but with the information that was not fully explained to us. He stated that is his problem, saying that he wanted City Attorney Friedman and Mayor Johnson to explain it to us and keep us informed and let us know what is going on. In response to a question from Council Member Traylor, EMS Chief Jones responded that an emergency is when someone calls in 911. By law, as far as, he is concerned anyone who dials 911 is considered an emergency and we have to respond immediately right then. He then stated that an interfacility transfer would be going from one hospital to another. He then stated that with Unity in Jacksonville, Jacksonville would be a subset of Unity in Searcy and some of their specialist would be in Searcy, so they would want to route people back to Searcy but not every patient leaving this hospital would be going back to Searcy, they would be going to Little Rock because some of these patients could not be handled in Searcy they would have to go to another specialist in Little Rock. Council Member Traylor confirmed that all transports would start in Jacksonville, proposing that 90% of all transports would be a citizen of Jacksonville. Council Member Blevins questioned who get the money when we take them to Searcy. Chief Jones said the way it that works is that we have a billing fee schedule that was revised in 2018 and not knowing what was coming, we added the non-emergency transport fees just in case. He noted that they are required by Arkansas State Law that if there is a trauma patient in that facility and they need to be transferred immediately, we have to do that transfer so it is kind of an emergency transfer so we went ahead and put those fees in there. He then stated that depending on the requirement of the patient at the time, depends on how much the fee would be. He then agreed that the majority of the patients would be Jacksonville residents. City Attorney Friedman questioned if there is a separate contract with Unity where they have agreed to these terms because it is not outlined in this contract. Chief Jones answered that there is not. He then answered that their ALS non-emergency rate would be $550.00 by City ordinance adopted in 2018. He then informed the City Council that they have plans to return at a later date about those prices because of COVID. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULARLY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MAY 20, 2021 6:00 P.M. – 7:39 P.M. In response to a question from Council Member Mashburn, Chief Laughy stated that the salary for six EMTs with benefits is going to be $370,788.00 annually. He then answered Council Member Traylor that they also serve in fire protection. Mayor Johnson stated that in those ambulance runs we will get reimbursed some of those salaries. Council Member Blevins stated that there would be times when we would be down people because they are making a two hour round trip to Searcy. Council Member Traylor questioned if someone called and requested, would we do that type of transfer now if we had a facility? Chief Laughy agreed, if we had a facility. Council Member Traylor questioned the difference. Chief Laughy stated that it depends on the language. Mayor Johnson stated that we are getting a free ambulance. Chief Laughy concurred saying we are getting a free ambulance, it is a great deal. Council Member Traylor stated that what we are getting is a hospital. Mayor Johnson stated that they are going to be a full-fledged hospital, they are going to do out-patient surgeries, they are going to see if there is a need for labor and delivery. He then stated that it is about a 4-year plan for it to get fully. City Attorney Friedman stated that the contract says a reasonable time, which is subjective. Mayor Johnson concurred, yes, a reasonable time. How long does it take, is it going to take 9 months to get the first phase done, is it going to take 11, you don’t know. He said if you go look over there now, there is nothing on the bottom floor. Council Member Twitty asked Mayor Johnson why he did not run the contract past City Attorney Friedman so she could look at it and then bring it before us. Why was all of this done behind us? Mayor Johnson stated that because he was under a non-disclosure agreement and the Hospital Board has no public funds. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULARLY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MAY 20, 2021 6:00 P.M. – 7:39 P.M. Council Member Twitty stated we have a City Attorney we pay, elected City Attorney that needs to know. I think it is great but I wish we had known all the terms. She then noted that you are disagreeing with what City Attorney Friedman is telling you so, are we going to get an up to date contract. Council Member Rains stated that with a non-disclosure agreement …. City Attorney Friedman stated that does not exist with a municipality. She stated that because we are a Government agency, the FOIA laws are pretty broad for Arkansas. She stated that she does not see how this would preclude her from being able to look at a contract. Chief Jones stated that since he has taken EMS over in 2015, one of the first documents he sent to Chief Laughy was the need for a 4th ambulance to run 24 hours a day, seven days a week. He added that it is not just on the Hospital side, we were seeing that upward trend of run volume in 2015 and that was when we had a contract service in the City to assist us with those calls. When North Metro closed, that contract service moved out of the City. He stated that there has been a trending pattern with that, we no longer have two extra ambulances in the City to help with emergencies, you no longer have the luxury of having someone here so when we have multiple calls at one time, we are having to call around and see who can come into the City and help us. He stated that right now we are losing an ambulance on average 47 minutes from the scene until that ambulance gets back into the City going to whichever hospital it goes to; whether it is Springhill, UAMS, or Arkansas Heart Hospital. So, in that we have increased the run volume, we have been looking at needing this and it has gotten to the precipice point that if we don’t do it right now it is really going to hurt the citizens. He stated that they have a 2011-year model ambulance that has 186,000 miles that needs to be replaced. He stated that they had to abandon the ambulance during the last snow but they have a four-wheel drive ambulance ordered. City Attorney Friedman stated that to be clear she is not trying to dissuade getting a new ambulance, saying that she is more concerned with the way this was executed and that she found out 2 hours before City Council about a contract that was signed in December 2020. Council Member Twitty expressed dissatisfaction with not being told about the contract or it going before the City Attorney or the City Council. She stated that the City Council wants to have the knowledge of what is going on before it happens, like it should be. Council Member Rains stated that the City Council appreciates the service of the EMS group and that they will be looking forward to having this ambulance because we are contractually obligated now as of December 2020. She stated that she would have been in favor of getting an ambulance without having a contract signed without our acknowledgement, or knowing of or even our City CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULARLY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MAY 20, 2021 6:00 P.M. – 7:39 P.M. Attorney knowing about it. That is the issue at hand. She stated that she is not okay with the Mayor signing a contract without our City Attorney’s knowledge and us getting it half a year later. Mr. Mike Wilson stated that he would like to make it as clear as he can that all of the deliberations of the Hospital Board have been open to every member of the public at all times and even though notices were given to the newspapers, we were never covered by the local or State papers. He stated that he could go into great detail regarding all the efforts that were made by the Hospital Board over the last two years. He stated that it was delicate, lengthy, drawn-out, and difficult. He related that when the letter of intent from Unity was executed in September 2020, it was followed by the asset purchase agreement all in public sessions and open to the public as any other public record would be. City Attorney Friedman stated that as an attorney, the last place you want to hear about your client’s actions is in the paper. Mr. Wilson reiterated that every document that has anything to do with the sale of the Hospital is there for the whole world to see. City Attorney Friedman countered that Mayor Johnson said he was bound by a non-disclosure agreement, so which is it? Mayor Johnson stated that Mr. Wilson is mainly talking about their finances. City Attorney Friedman restated her question. Mayor Johnson answered saying that the Hospital Board’s discussion was open to the public but the financial records he got to see, he was not able to discuss. Mr. Wilson stated that as far as the Hospital Board is concerned every document that is generated through minutes, papers, letters is a public document, it uses taxpayer’s funds for the taxpayer’s public health benefit. He stated that we are all concerned about how we can accommodate Unity in the operation in what to us, is a brand-new hospital that we, the community, got for a bargain price. He stated that anyone is welcome to see that and have the numbers. He stated that he felt the ambulance provision was relatively minor, we are talking about many millions of dollars invested by us and will be invested by Unity in this operation. We don’t want anyone to think that we are not completely supportive of what those folks are doing. He stated that the members of the Hospital Board are public servants too and anything they do is open to the public. He added maybe we didn’t do such a good job in communication at times but we were more concerned about closing that transaction and making public health improvements better and available for Jacksonville. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULARLY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MAY 20, 2021 6:00 P.M. – 7:39 P.M. Council Member Blevins referred to the asset purchase agreement, noting on the front cover that it is by and between Jacksonville Medical Center, which is the Hospital Board and White County Medical Center which is Unity Health. He then stated that in this there is a provision for this contract between only Jacksonville Medical Center and White County Medical Center obligating the City of Jacksonville to spend funds for a private entity. He asked Mr. Wilson that as a lawyer, do you feel this is legal to say that another entity that is not even involved in this contract will spend their money and their services. Mr. Wilson stated that he believes a good deal of the confusion and maybe some of the disagreement regarding this project, is that it is a three-way agreement; Unity, the City, and the Hospital Board. He stated that it is complicated but in order for Unity to make this transaction work and to pay the debts that had to be paid of the former hospital operator, the Hospital Board had to put cash money into it, it took outside money to be put into it and it required that to satisfy some of the debts, in order that Unity could receive good title to the property. He stated that the biggest part of the Hospital Board’s efforts had to do with satisfying the debts, which we did. He related that the Mayor went to the Department of Work Force Services, they had a huge claim in this, the Mayor went to Department of Welfare Services and DF&A and an assessor. He stated that it took a tremendous amount of time and effort to get all of this done. He stated that we, the Hospital Board, understood that we needed to provide another ambulance but it did not dawn that it would mean salaries and benefits. He continued saying in the larger scheme of things, in the Hospital Board’s view point, that was not a major concern, perhaps we should have, but we did not dwell as deeply as the City Council has. Council Member Blevins related that he just learned that the Mayor was the Chairman of the Hospital Board and when there were a lot of questions asked, we were told to ask the Hospital Board not knowing he was the Chairman. He questioned who is the CPA for the Hospital Board. Mayor Johnson answered BK&D is who files the tax returns. He related that the Hospital Board pays the City for Finance Director Cheryl Erkel keeping the records and they paid Parks and Recreation to do the upkeep and for City Public Works to do the maintenance at our buildings that we (Hospital Board) rent. City Attorney Friedman stated that she understands that the Hospital Board had to jump through a lot of hoops, pointing out that her issue from the City Attorney side is that because City assets are involved, and because the budget is going to exponentially change, that should have gone through the City Council, again the issue is the lack of follow through. Mayor Johnson stated to City Attorney Friedman that they did ask her to represent the Hospital Board and she said “no, the Hospital Board doesn’t pay me, I’m not going to represent you”. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULARLY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MAY 20, 2021 6:00 P.M. – 7:39 P.M. City Attorney Friedman responded that she cannot represent an entity that does not pay the City for those services. Mayor Johnson related that the Hospital Board hired an outside attorney. In response to a question from Council Member Rains, Mayor Johnson stated that the Hospital Board pays the City for Finance Director Cheryl Erkel’s time. Council Member Rains clarified with Mayor Johnson that he has Finance Director Cheryl Erkel work for an outside entity but does not pay her. It was contributed by several Council Members that Finance Director Cheryl Erkel works for the City. Council Member Rains noted that the City and the Hospital Board are not the same entity. Mayor Johnson stated that it is not always just Finance Director Cheryl Erkel, he added that it is other people in the Finance Department. Council Member Traylor clarified that the City gives the Hospital Board an invoice for services and the Hospital Board reimburses the City. Mayor Johnson stated that the Hospital Board agreed to $15,000.00 annually for accounting services by the City. Council Member Twitty asked Mayor Johnson if he agrees that he should have went to City Attorney Friedman with this and then bring it to the City Council? Mayor Johnson stated that he went to her once and City Attorney Friedman told him that she did not recognize… City Attorney Friedman corrected that the Hospital Board and the City are different. Mayor Johnson responded that he understands. Council Member Twitty asked if Mayor Johnson doesn’t think that it should have been brought before the Council? Mayor Johnson answered that the six EMT employees should have, yes. Council Member Twitty stated that the whole thing should have, saying, you go into a contract with the City, the Council needs to be aware of what is going on. Mayor Johnson stated that the City didn’t sell anything. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULARLY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MAY 20, 2021 6:00 P.M. – 7:39 P.M. Mr. Wilson stated that being aware is one thing but having 10 or 15 Council Members and Board Members negotiate with a buyer is impossible. City Attorney Friedman stated that by State Statute, the Council has to approve expenditures over $25,000.00; this change to the budget would have had to be approved by Council. Mayor Johnson stated that it is going to have to be. City Attorney Friedman stated that it is already signed and executed. Mayor Johnson stated that it can be unexecuted, if it has to be. City Attorney Friedman stated not without a lawsuit. Mr. Wilson stated that transactions of this nature; once they are formulated and reduced to writing should be made available to City Attorney Friedman, the City Council, and as far as the Board is concerned, the whole world. He stated that there is nothing secret about this, it was difficult, but once it was reduced to writing, and we had a time to close, then the time is there. Council Member Traylor stated had the Mayor came to us in November with a Resolution, for us to authorize him to enter into negotiations with Unity, we would have signed off on it. We would not be having this discussion right now. Council Member Bolden offered his appreciation to Mr. Mike Wilson for coming before the City Council with his information; adding that we understand as Council Members about what has been done but we do not need this negativity out here. Council Member Dietz stated that we want them to buy the building, we want them in Jacksonville and we are all for what is better for the citizens of Jacksonville. He added that he agrees that the City needs this ambulance. He stated that we need to have a state-of-the-art ambulance, saying that the City Council would like to know what is going on all the time. He continued saying we want Unity here because they are going to be a great asset to help move Jacksonville forward. Council Member Blevins moved to enter Executive Session. Mayor Johnson stated that we can not enter Executive… we can not do it in a Zoom. Council Member Blevins stated that he has a personnel H.R. issue. Mr. Wilson stated that he would make sure that City Council is invited to the information event that is being hosted by Unity next Thursday. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULARLY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MAY 20, 2021 6:00 P.M. – 7:39 P.M. Mayor Johnson stated that he would entertain a motion to suspend the rules and place an appointment to the Jacksonville Housing Authority on the agenda. APPOINTMENTS: Council Member Bolden moved, seconded by Council Member Sansing to suspend the rules and have an appointment to the Jacksonville Housing Authority placed on the agenda. Council Member Blevins question the status of his motion he just made, he then told Mayor Johnson to proceed. At this time, MOTION CARRIED. Mayor Johnson read the letter from the Jacksonville Housing Authority. Council Member Dietz moved, seconded by Council Member Blevins to approve the appointment of Greg Bollen to fill the unexpired term of David O’Dell for a term to expire 03-17-2025. MOTION CARRIED. Mayor Johnson stated that he wants to make it clear that we have trouble going into Executive Session Zoom, adding that June 1st the Governor has released, we can only meet in person, if you are not here in person; you’re not present you’re are absent. So, then we could easily go into Executive Session after June 1st. Council Member Blevins moved to enter into Executive Session. He then stated that he does not want to wait another week or another time, saying we need to finish what we did a month ago. Council Member Bolden and Council Member Blevins offered differing views regarding Executive Session and Zoom. Council Member Twitty seconded the motion to enter into Executive Session. Council Member Smith offered to sign off on Zoom, suggesting someone could call her on their cell phone. Discussion ensued as to how to conduct Executive Session regarding the Zoom Members. ROLL CALL: Council Members Blevins, Twitty, Smith, Rains voted AYE (4). Council Members Dietz, Bolden, Sansing, Mashburn, and Traylor voted NAY (5). MOTION FAILS. Council Member Blevins moved to suspend the rules and place the personnel matter on the agenda for open discussion. Mayor Johnson stated that it would have to be addressed in an Executive Session. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULARLY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MAY 20, 2021 6:00 P.M. – 7:39 P.M. Motion dies for lack of a second. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: ANNOUNCEMENTS: Council Member Sansing stated that a citizen, Ms. Susan Hibbs would like to address the City Council, answering the Mayor that he has sponsored Ms. Hibbs to speak. Ms. Hibbs stated that she lives on Warren Street, next to the Library between Main Street and 161. She related that people are driving down that street 50 to 60 mph, noting that there is not even a speed limit posted. She stated that the residents need a speed bump on Warren Street, saying that it is a very dangerous situation in a neighborhood with children. She stated that she has called City Hall without any response. Police Chief Hibbs responded that he has made some personnel changes, citing that Captain Washington is now over patrol. He stated that traffic has been horrific since the beginning of the pandemic, saying that it is everywhere. He said that with Captain Washington in his new position, we are going to start some heavy traffic enforcement, Main Street, and a speed sign was put on Ray Road yesterday. He stated that he and the Department are working on several areas through town to curb the bad traffic problems. Ms. Hibbs stated that at the end of Warren near 161 a stop sign was taken out during the heavy snow and a tire with a stop sign has been put up but it is in the ditch most of the time. She requested a new stop sign be erected. Public Works Director Jim Oakley stated that it is under State Highway jurisdiction but he would do his best to have that addressed. Council Member Mashburn stated that she is aware of the problems on Warren Street, which have been an ongoing situation for the last eight to nine years. Chief Hibbs stated that they have applied for a grant to assist with officers doing traffic control. He stated that after the speed sign that is collecting data on Ray Road has completed its study in a few weeks, he could move it to Warren Street so they could evaluate the traffic there. Council Member Blevins stated that during a previous City Council meeting where the Council went into Executive Session, one of the comments made by Council Member Bolden was that “we can’t go into Executive Session because you’re not here, adding if you wanted to go into Executive Session, you should have come here.” He said that he wanted to state for the record that Bob Johnson had sent out an email that said that the City Council chambers was limited to 10 people, adding that since he knew that there were not a lot of people technologically advanced and did have the computers, microphones, or cameras to assist with that, he opted to stay at home to allow CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULARLY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MAY 20, 2021 6:00 P.M. – 7:39 P.M. that seat to go to somebody that did have that equipment. He then stated that he has been a part of hundreds of Zoom meetings that have been privatized where no one can see it even after being streamed online. He stated that the whole idea about not being able to go into Executive Session because we are streaming is definitely irrelevant. He stated that we absolutely have the technology to do that here now and we could do it. He stated the reason he wants to go into Executive Session is the same reason he wanted to go into Executive Session one month ago, that kept getting put off. He stated that he does not feel right being on a City Council with someone who is supposed to be our leader but continues to misinform the City Council. He continues to keep things from the City Council and continues to do things wrong. He related that he made a statement during the special City Council meeting, where he said that he asked twice and Mayor said no. He related that what was actually said was that he stated that he did not see an appraisal, asking if there was one done to which the Mayor said I don’t know, which was not true because he had one done on February 2nd and then he said that he thought there was one that was for more but then he stated again that the City did not have an appraisal done, which is fundamentally not true. He added, and from that, every single rock I have overturned has yet something else that is not right. He stated that he got on the City Council to do what is right for the people, and having statements in the news paper from the Mayor saying “I make the decisions what is best for the residents and not the City Council”; adding that he has looked for decisions to be made and he has not seen any, except for a veto; which was to slap the City Council. Mayor Johnson asked everyone to go back and listen to that meeting, saying he did not say that there wasn’t one; “I said there is and it’s higher than what we had but I just don’t remember when we got it”. Council Member Blevins reiterated that the Mayor said the City did not do one. He agreed that there was one that was more than $300,000 but the City did not do it. Mayor Johnson stated that he is not going to argue, this is enough. Council Member Blevins stated that you cannot argue with facts. He added that the truth of the matter is, he does not understand how the other Council Members can be on here and be okay with knowing all the things that we have uncovered just in the last month. Mayor Johnson stated “you are speaking for other people and I think this has gone on far enough”. Council Member Bolden addressed Council Member Blevins saying if you want an Executive Session, you can have it June 1st but what you are putting out here in the public right now is not a good thing. So, you need to stand down and then we will just have a meeting June 1. He stated that you all may disagree with what I am saying, but it is fact. We are a city entity. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULARLY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MAY 20, 2021 6:00 P.M. – 7:39 P.M. Council Member Blevins stated “I definitely know the difference between facts and not facts.” Council Member Bolden stated that he does as well. Council Member Twitty stated that she was willing to go into Executive Session but it was voted down. Council Member Traylor stated that the next City Council meeting is June 3rd and if you bring it up again when everybody is here, or everybody that can be here, we don’t have to do anything on the phone, I will vote for it. Council Member Bolden stated that he would vote for it as well. An argument ensued over Council Member Blevins bringing this information out in public instead of saving it for Executive Session. Several City Council Members joined in. Council Member Dietz reminded everyone that the City Council represents Jacksonville and when we proclaim that we can not get along that is still going backward. He offered that we all get along and go into Executive Session June 1st. He urged everyone to get along. Council Member Rains stated that after that has been said at this meeting as well as everything that has been said since the Emergency meeting, she wanted to make herself clear. She explained that she knows that Mayor Johnson is a kind person who wants to make his family proud and leave a legacy that will last in our community. She stated that there is nothing wrong with that, it is a universal human feeling and she is glad we have people like Bob, who take pride in what they do. She added that unfortunately, with several other prior instances including what has been brought to us tonight, as well as finding out that after the Emergency Meeting he contacted the Municipal League trying to find a way that he could enter into a legal contract of more than $20,000.00 without presenting it in front of this Council. The Council who represents the citizens that he works for, that universal feeling is not enough; I do admire his relentless desire, as well as his ingenuity but this is no way to run a transparent city. We have rules, code, and proper procedural guidelines for a reason; there should not be double standards when it comes to this. To my constituents, I understand your frustrations but that means that we have a lot of work ahead of us. We must exercise our civic duty everyway we possibly can. When I was asked what I would do to help my hometown to move pass the drama; I said that the truth will set us free; and I meant it. Now, we face something seldomly discussed but with great opportunities in the future. Madison’s sorrow is a conservative argument based on principals set forth by our Founding Fathers on how to face the illiberal who have taken our Government hostage. Jacksonville is no exception and for the record, an illiberal Democracy is a governing system in which although elections take place, citizens are cut off from the knowledge about the activities of those who exercise power, just like what we CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULARLY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MAY 20, 2021 6:00 P.M. – 7:39 P.M. have been dealing with. VO Key study and southern politics state a nation cited in this book was based on hundreds of confidential interviews with southern elites and just goes to show that the elites reel people in by informal talk and informal talk breeds trust, trust breeds candor, candor breeds subjects seldom discussed like the Hospital. And, we will never discuss attributions or who worked on what presented to us, this is what we face here and now in Jacksonville, even including several voting members meeting about family business, like the Mafia, before the Emergency Meeting. Kevin O’Leary continued with how the people with an elitist mindset, no matter the city, maintain the feudal like rule and encourage political passivity, they opposed any political program that tended to elevate and excite the masses, black and white. Well, despite everything, I’m here, Mayor Johnson. Democracy is within our hands but we cannot be politically passive if we want change. Anyone who has an interest, Internet access, and a smartphone, or a library card for that matter can watch and see for their own eyes how the Mayor and members are representing the community and make sure that there is accountability. We are facing the elitist mindsets of those who don’t think we rightfully have a seat at the decision-making table, so let them know that what they want to sell, that there was no appraisal done, that there was a nondisclosure agreement, I’m sorry, I don’t know what else you want me to say, it was open to the public, or I didn’t lie, or whatever sales pitch that they have coming out of their mouth that day. If you are frustrated then let them know loud and clear that there are no buyers here when it comes to that load of malarkey. We must be a governing body of the people, not over the people; which means that we must do our civic duties if we want “with liberty and justice for all” to mean anything. Everything that we experience is universal, every feeling that we have are human, including the feelings that I and many members on this Council have been vocal about. Last Emergency meeting on a Wednesday and today, speak up when they try to silence you, stand up when they shove you down. No one gets to define you, you do. Never stop fighting for what we all deserve and please keep voting, keep using your voice and start running. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain. ADJOURNMENT: Without objection, Second Vice Chairman Dietz adjourned the meeting at approximately 7:38 p.m. MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully, ________________________ _________________________ Susan L. Davitt MAYOR BOB JOHNSON City Clerk-Treasurer