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22 JUL 7 CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 7, 2022 6:00 P.M. – 6:52 P.M. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING - CITY HALL - #1 MUNICIPAL DRIVE The City Council of the City of Jacksonville, Arkansas met in a regular session on July 7, 2022 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, Ray, Traylor, and Twitty answered ROLL CALL. Mayor Johnson also answered ROLL CALL declaring a quorum. PRESENT SEVEN (7) ABSENT (3). Council Members Mashburn, Smith, and Rains were absent. Others present for the meeting were: City Attorney Stephanie Friedman, CDBG Director Benita Bosier-Ingram, IT Director Emily Osment, Lieutenant Ryan Wright, Jim Moore, and Rick Kron. PRESENTATION OF MINUTES: Mayor Johnson presented the minutes of the regularly scheduled City Council meeting of June 2, 2022 for approval and/or correction at the next regularly scheduled City Council meeting. APPROVAL AND/OR CORRECTION OF MINUTES: Council Member Bolden moved, seconded by Council Member Sansing that the minutes of the regularly scheduled City Council meeting of May 19, 2022 be APPROVED. MOTION CARRIED. CONSENT AGENDA: REGULAR MONTHLY REPORT/ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT Council Member Bolden moved, seconded by Council Member Twitty to approve the regular monthly report for May 2022. MAY PERMITS/LICENSE ISSUED INSPECTIONS PERFORMED Building Permits 14 Building Inspections 21 Business License Electrical 37 Plumbing 34 HVACR 17 REGULAR MONTHLY REPORT/ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT Council Member Bolden moved, seconded by Council Member Twitty to approve the regular monthly report for June 2022. JUNE PERMITS/LICENSE ISSUED INSPECTIONS PERFORMED Building Permits 49 Building Inspections 35 Business License Electrical 45 Plumbing 38 HVACR 26 REGULAR MONTHLY REPORT/FIRE DEPARTMENT Council Member Bolden moved, seconded by Council Member Twitty to approve the regular monthly report for May 2022 from the Jacksonville Fire Department, reflecting a fire loss of $10,000.00 and a savings total of $490,000.00. 1 CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 7, 2022 6:00 P.M. – 6:52 P.M. REGULAR MONTHLY REPORT/POLICE DEPARTMENT Council Member Bolden moved, seconded by Council Member Twitty to approve the Regular Monthly Report for May 2022 regarding annual crime statistical comparisons. REGULAR MONTHLY REPORT/CODE ENFORCEMENT Council Member Bolden moved, seconded by Council Member Twitty to approve the regular monthly report as presented for May 2022. Assigned Calls 77 Self-Initiated Calls 150 Follow Ups 100 Apartment Complexes Inspected 0 Three Day Notices 10 Red Tags Issued 0 Seven Day Letters 183 Search Warrants 0 Citations Issued 1 Rehabbed Structures 1 Vehicles Tagged 11 Structures Condemned 9 Vehicles Towed 3 Demolition by City 0 Garbage Cans Tagged 2 Demolition by Owner 0 Basketball Goals 0 Parking Violations 0 Structures Inspected 327 Grass Mowed 134 REGULAR MONTHLY REPORT/ANIMAL CONTROL Council Member Bolden moved, seconded by Council Member Twitty to approve the regular monthly report for May 2022. ADOPTION FEES $ 0.00 SPAY/NEUTER FOR ADOPTED DOGS 0.00 FINES 915.00 CONTRIBUTIONS 220.00 TOTALS $ 1,135.00 REGULAR MONTHLY REPORT/ANIMAL CONTROL Council Member Bolden moved, seconded by Council Member Twitty to approve the regular monthly report for June 2022. ADOPTION FEES $ 0.00 SPAY/NEUTER FOR ADOPTED DOGS 0.00 FINES 1,190.00 CONTRIBUTIONS 210.00 TOTALS $ 1,400.00 ROLL CALL: Council Member: Dietz, Bolden, Blevins, Sansing, Ray, Traylor, and Twitty voted AYE. MOTION CARRIED. WATER DEPARTMENT: WASTEWATER DEPARTMENTS: FIRE DEPARTMENT: STREET DEPARTMENT: POLICE DEPARTMENT: SANITATION DEPARTMENT: 2 CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 7, 2022 6:00 P.M. – 6:52 P.M. PARKS & RECREATION: PLANNING COMMISSION: COMMITTEE(S): GENERAL: a. Approval of CDBG 2022 Annual Action Plan CDBG Director Benita Bosier-Ingram stated that the booklet details the annual plan for FY2022, informing Council that the City was awarded $219,338.00 this year. She detailed that this is an increase of $11,000 from FY2021, which equals to being a 5.5% increase. She pointed out that on pages 17-19 it demonstrates the specific categories of how they are breaking out the money this year. She listed that $43,868.00 will be budgeted for Administration, which is strictly supplies, part of her salary, etc., adding that this section has a specific cap and she cannot go over a certain percentage under this award. She noted that under the Public Service section they are allocating $32,901.00 to Public Facility or Infrastructure Activities, adding that there are plans in the works with facilities to help the City with some infrastructure issues. She shared that for Public Facility/Improvements they are allocating $15,000.00, adding it will also be for infrastructure and low/moderate income housing individuals. She explained that to create a suitable living environment, they are dedicating $7,569.00 to the Sunnyside area. She related that for Economic Development they have allocated $5,000.00, which has been standard across the board. She lastly listed that Housing was allocated $115,000.00, explaining the reason why this is a bulk of the money is because in CDBG, one of many programs they do is provide handicapped low and moderate income individuals wheelchair ramps and help modify bathrooms to make them wider. She noted that another portion of her salary comes out of that section as well. Council Member Blevins pointed out that it is great the City received $11,000.00 more than last year and asked what changed to allowed them to get more, rather than less, like they were expecting. Director Bosier-Ingram responded that it was less money overall at the Federal level and then noted there is a separate organization that lobbies on behalf of HUD that was able to get an increase. She explained that this funding has seen a dramatic decrease within the last ten years on the Federal level, but because of COVID and other factors, it ended up becoming a slight increase. When Council Member Blevins asked if there will be any additional money available to the City, she responded yes and affirmed that she is actively looking at other funding sources to help supplement what we have, however, in doing that, we have to have infrastructure things in place. She pointed out that some funding comes with matching requirements and if the City budget does not have it to match, then we will not be able to apply for the grant. She mentioned the scope of different projects, adding that some things being proposed may not meet the level of certain funding in competing with other cities. When Council Member Twitty requested more information on what is being planned for Sunnyside, she replied that one of the things that she is looking at is possibly sidewalks, lights, and other simple things. She affirmed that she was open to ideas that Mayor Johnson may have for homes in that area and suggested helping them paint, clean up, etc. She stated that 3 CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 7, 2022 6:00 P.M. – 6:52 P.M. stated that the people they are serving with this money are chronically poor and with that comes lack of understanding and education, among other things. She stated that she would try to help them to clean up their own area and some of that is what she is intending to do, but she has to get this plan approved to get more into that community. Mayor Johnson added that just prior to COVID, he, Theresa Watson, Habitat for Humanity, and the Air Base were getting resources to go there and rehab whatever people needed. He pointed out that Habitat for Humanity has the Resale Store and they were going to bring materials and provide labor, with the Air Force providing labor as well. He explained that they were looking at doing back porches, kitchens, etc., noting that they cannot do roofs. He surmised that when Habitat for Humanity gets back, post-COVID, they are still looking at doing that and mentioned that Billie Ann Myers helped him work on it. Council Member Twitty recognized that there is a great need in that area and not a whole lot will get done with just $7,000.00. Director Bosier-Ingram assured that she is able to shift money and reallocate as needed, adding that money under the Housing category can also be spent in the other category for Sunnyside. She related that there are a lot of people in Sunnyside that are asking for wheelchairs, so it is really based on history of need and the previous data that shows what those specific needs are. She detailed that when the data was looked at, it looked more so for specifics under wheelchair accessibilities or emergency roofing and a lot of these people are in that community. She noted that it was a better way of putting it under a category. When Council Member Traylor requested clarification if this would apply to homeowners and not landlords, she replied that if a tenant called her and said for example, a tree fell through, the tenant would call her but she would look to the landlord to fix it. She affirmed that everyone must meet the HUD income guidelines, emphasizing this is not for landlords, but for homeowners. She recalled there are several homeowners who have been serviced by this 20 years ago and assured that it is not for the landlords to be able to fix up a rental house because they are servicing a low-income person. When Council Member Blevins mentioned COVID rollover money that did not get used, she mentioned that she has done Federal grants management for 16 years and one of the things she noticed that was a little off is that Jacksonville starts the program year in January, which coincides with your fiscal year. She assured there is nothing wrong with that, however, it does not coincide to when Jacksonville actually get its award letter, so basically, we are working a whole year in arrears until the award money comes. She stated that is one of the things she has already had a conversation about with our Federal project officer and next year she will be moving the project year from January to when the actual award comes, typically around June. She noted that because HUD is obligated under the Federal budget appropriation, they cannot give an award until the Federal budget is approved. She affirmed that they are subject to that, pointing out it is not like CDC, MIH, or DHHS who are not subject to a budget since they already have money in their coffers that rolls over. She explained 4 CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 7, 2022 6:00 P.M. – 6:52 P.M. that every time there is a budget season where Congress does not do their budget, that money gets delayed, but there is money the City is using now that is prior money and they are using the COVID money to provide citizens rental assistance and utility payments. She told how a woman had her lights turned off and they paid it and replaced her food that had spoiled, adding that her son got COVID and was sick for two months. Responding to a question from Council Member Blevins, she replied that the $219,338.00 does not include the previous COVID money. Council Member Bolden moved, seconded by Council Member Ray to approve the CDBG 2022 Annual Action Plan as presented. MOTION CARRIED. b. PUBLIC HEARING ORDINANCE 1696 (#15-2022) AN ORDINANCE AMENDING AND REVISING VARIOUS JACKSONVILLE MUNICIPAL CODES CONCERNING BUSINESS LICENSES, PROPERTY MAINTENANCE, AND BUILDING CODES; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY; AND, FOR OTHER PURPOSES. Mayor Johnson opened the public hearing at approximately 6:14 p.m. With no one presenting to speak, Mayor Johnson closed the public hearing at approximately 6:15 p.m. Council Member Ray moved, seconded by Council Member Twitty to place Ordinance 1696 on FIRST READING. ROLL CALL: Council Member Dietz, Bolden, Blevins, Sansing, Ray, Traylor, and Twitty voted AYE. (0) voted NAY. MOTION CARRIED. Whereupon City Attorney Friedman read the heading of Ordinance 1696. When Council Member Traylor asked if the Ordinance at their station is different from the one in the packet, City Attorney Friedman replied there were only minor formatting issues, the Engineering Department asked to add the International Mechanical Code 2018, and they added that Engineering Department will be issuing building permits. Lieutenant Wright stated that he has had Code Enforcement now for a little over two years and started this project about a year in. He explained that in reviewing the Codes, he noticed a lot of them were ambiguous, hard to understand, or conflicted, noting there was a whole Chapter that conflicted with another Chapter, making it hard to determine what Code was being followed or what they were supposed to enforce. He pointed out that they started to compare Codes and the first thing they wanted to do was get rid of Chapter 8.08 Nuisance and Abatement because they already had Chapter 8.03 Nuisance and Abatement that said the exact same thing but conflicted one another with different things. He mentioned apartment community’s business licenses, explaining they have had issues with several different apartment complexes when Code Enforcement has requested, cited, begged and pleaded for them to fix properties, so implementation of an apartment complex/management company business license gives them a last resort recourse if they do not do what they are asked to do and fix the properties as requested, Code Enforcement can pull their business license and shut them down until they fix what needs to be fixed. He clarified when Mayor Johnson asked, that this will 5 CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 7, 2022 6:00 P.M. – 6:52 P.M. not pertain to businesses such as Bart Gray Reality who are real estate agencies that already have business licenses. He assured those type of agencies are not typically the ones with properties that they have problems with, adding that it tends to be the bigger apartment complexes that are managed by an out-of-state company or ones who are self-managed. He explained they moved things around from Chapter 8.08 that were necessary, such as personal liability for Code Enforcement Officers and Citations, and moved them from 8.08 to 8.03 and 8.01. He noted they adopted the 2021 International Property Maintenance Code and also changed items under Nuisance Abatement that detailed specific exterior and interior structure requirements, breaking it down to where people can look at the Code and if they are having violations, such as security of the building or a hole in the floor, the citizen can understand what they are reading versus trying to dig through and figure out what kind of violation is there. He mentioned that Code Enforcement Officers could say a Code is subjective and have one officer think it would be okay while another one would say that it is not, but this now gives them specific guidelines they are supposed to follow. He related that they changed the noise ordinance because it was very long and almost impossible to enforce, comparing it to Pine Bluff’s to get rid of the decibel levels and based it off of feet and how far away you can hear how loud it is. He detailed that it was changed to where if you can plainly hear what is being said or played from 75 feet away, it would be too loud between the times of 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., making it easier for the citizen to talk about and easier for Code to enforce. He added that there are exceptions regarding youth sports or athletic leagues, because with them out playing they have received complaints, but you have to have sports for those young children to be able to play. He concluded that the purpose for these changes were for our lower income renters who are subjected to some landlords, now forcing them to fix needed repairs, such as a hole in the roof. He assured that they will not be going door-to-door asking to see anyone’s air conditioner or the inside of their house, but if a complaint is generated they would have recourse to go help them versus telling them the Code does not really say that. He agreed when Mayor Johnson stated that they will not be out looking for landlords, but will wait for people to report issues. He pointed out that when they are proactive, they drive around looking at grass or outside storage and are not going to knock on citizen’s doors saying they need to look inside their house to inspect it to see if there is a wire hanging down. He shared that when they are proactive, they are looking for things they can visibly see from the outside, complaint generated things are on the inside. He confirmed that this makes it easier, more enforceable, and more understandable by Code Officers and the public. Council Member Dietz related that the Code Committee spent many hours on this and then asked, is there any way we can let residents know we might have some money to help them if they qualify. He shared that he went by a few houses today that were not in Sunnyside, but was on North James Street. 6 CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 7, 2022 6:00 P.M. – 6:52 P.M. Lt. Wright replied that they would need to know the qualifications on what a person would need to be able to do that and mentioned that CDBG is typically lower income or for houses in Sunnyside, so he knows there are certain areas that the CDBG Director works on. He confirmed that they could suggest it if it were a homeowner. Council Member Dietz shared what he is seeing a lot of are things such as a married couple where the husband was active duty military retired, adding that people do not realize when they die, the spouse does not get any of that money unless they sign up for it, forcing them to live on one third of what they were used to. He detailed that their property starts to go down fast and he spoke to one today that has a window out, but she cannot afford to fix it with the cost of everything. He surmised with what she makes she would qualify and we need to try to help those types of people as well because everyone in the City of Jacksonville is a citizen whether they make a million dollars or a little, reiterating that we need to do what we can to help. He stated that Code Enforcement does a perfect job and even got him last week where he had to mow. Lt. Wright reiterated that unless it is something visibly obtrusive, such as having four or five front windows busted out or the roof falling down, they will not walk up to your door and ask to look inside the house. Council Member Dietz detailed that this house had two windows busted out and an eave hanging down. He surmised that it would qualify, but a lot of people do not realize that there is money. Council Member Bolden wanted to make sure that the aroma of money is not misguided, adding that the funds for CDBG are very strict and not everyone will qualify for them. Council Member Sansing affirmed that the appearance of the town as a whole is very important to people and applauded Lt. Wright for what he is doing, adding that they are going to try to get him more support. Council Member Bolden moved, seconded by Council Member Twitty to APPROVE Ordinance 1696 on FIRST READING and SUSPEND THE RULES and place Ordinance 1696 on SECOND READING. ROLL CALL: Council Member Dietz, Bolden, Blevins, Sansing, Ray, Traylor, and Twitty voted AYE. MOTION CARRIED. Council Member Ray moved, seconded by Council Member Bolden to APPROVE Ordinance 1696 on SECOND READING and SUSPEND THE RULES and place Ordinance 1696 on THIRD AND FINAL READING. ROLL CALL: Council Member Dietz, Bolden, Blevins, Sansing, Ray, Traylor, and Twitty voted AYE. MOTION CARRIED. Council Member Bolden moved, seconded by Council Member Ray to APPROVE AND ADOPT Ordinance 1696 in its entirety. ROLL CALL: Council Member Dietz, Bolden, Blevins, Sansing, Ray, Traylor, and Twitty voted AYE. MOTION CARRIED. 7 CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 7, 2022 6:00 P.M. – 6:52 P.M. Council Member Bolden moved, seconded by Council Member Sansing that the EMERGENCY CLAUSE be approved and adopted. ROLL CALL: Council Member Dietz, Bolden, Blevins, Sansing, Ray, Traylor, and Twitty voted AYE. MOTION CARRIED. th ORDINANCE 1696 (#15-2022) APPROVED AND ADOPTED THIS 7 DAY OF JULY, 2022. c. ORDINANCE 1698 (#17-2022) AN ORDINANCE AMENDING JMC § 6.04.045 LIFTING THE BAN OF THE BULL TERRIER BREED OF DOG, COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS PIT BULLS; AND, FOR OTHER PURPOSES. Council Member Blevins moved, seconded by Council Member Traylor to place Ordinance 1698 on FIRST READING. ROLL CALL: Council Member Dietz, Bolden, Blevins, and Traylor voted AYE. Council Member Sansing, Ray, and Twitty voted NAY. MOTION CARRIED. Whereupon City Attorney Friedman read the heading of Ordinance 1698. Council Member Blevins stated this ordinance was put together to lift the Pit Bull ban to allow citizens to have that breed of animal in the City of Jacksonville. He explained that breed specific legislation is something that is actively attempted to being eliminated across the United States and currently people do not have a way to register their animals. He noted that we obviously have Pit Bulls in the City limits, but this would give them the ability to be legal and have a way to keep the pets that they love within the City. He recalled that there was a large public hearing a few weeks ago where the City of Jacksonville came out and had a resounding voice of people who wanted this to be repealed to allow people the opportunity to have the pets they love. He added that there were even other businesses that offered free services to help train the animals, eliminating a lot of the comments that were being made about them being vicious or other misinformation that has been given out. He affirmed that this is just an amendment that has been brought up due to that overwhelming, resounding response from the citizens of Jacksonville. Mayor Johnson shared that he has looked at this and spoken to the head of Animal Control in Cabot where not everyone is following the rules, but he wished we had more teeth in this. He acknowledged that we have Pit Bulls here and good dog owners should not be banned from living here so he does think this is something that needs to be addressed at some point, but he does not know if we have enough here tonight. He is unaware if anyone does not live here because of it, but they have had some people leave Cabot because they did not like the rules that are in this Ordinance. He detailed that what we are missing are the repeat offenders and in Cabot, if you get two violations you can never register a Pit Bull there again. He reiterated that we need to do is put more teeth into this and get those repeat offenders to quit being repeat offenders. Council Member Traylor mentioned that we have formed committees regarding Code and asked if we had one for this or did Council Member Blevins come up with this Ordinance. 8 CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 7, 2022 6:00 P.M. – 6:52 P.M. Council Member Blevins replied that over a year ago when he brought this up, he initially had contacted a lot of people in the community including the head of Animal Control, the Police Chief, and Code Enforcement. He explained that everyone was on board with it and when they came to the City Council he thought all of his t’s were crossed and I’s were dotted, but apparently there were situations behind the scenes that made it so ideas were changed by the people who were originally in support of it. He assured he has looked into this and there are a lot of things that can be done, but right now we do not have the action to take, explaining if we were to pass this and there were issues that arise, we could pivot, change, and adjust. He affirmed that we do not know what to expect or how many people will register their animals. He questioned what if all of them register their animals, adding that people are saying it is not going to happen, but that is not known. He confirmed that he is the one that brought this issue forward, but the Ordinance is modeled from Cabot and Maumelle. Council Member Traylor suggested they form a committee to look at this and bring it back to the Council, stressing, as a committee, not as one person. Council Member Sansing disagreed. Council Member Traylor assured that he is not necessarily saying that the committee would bring an ordinance to City Council since the committee might decide that they do not want to bring one, but he believes they should do it that way since there are several things in the Ordinance that he can see working along with some things he believes are too strict. Mayor Johnson agreed. Council Member Sansing stated just because they had quite a few people here for the public hearing, he does not consider it a representation of the whole City of Jacksonville. He affirmed that the whole City cannot fit in here and what was in here were the people who were fired up from Facebook. He shared that he has spoken with and had texts from people, noting that we have a large retirement community in town where many of the older people like to get out and walk. He pointed out that they are terrified of the idea of encountering a loose Pit Bull or a leashed one where someone cannot control them. He mentioned that if you go to Facebook you will see plenty things of various Pit Bull attacks and rightly or wrongly, and he thinks rightly, they have a reputation that people are aware of. He noted that the people who have them in town are breaking the law now and if they are breaking the law now, what will make him believe that they are going to follow it in the future. He sees no reason to lift the ban because he believes it will terrify a large part of the population that he has heard from; not the people who get on Facebook, but the ones you talk to while you are out at restaurants, social clubs, or various meetings. He believes this would be detrimental to the City and he does not want it on his conscience if something tragic were to happen. 9 CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 7, 2022 6:00 P.M. – 6:52 P.M. Council Member Blevins clarified that what he said was that regarding the people at the public hearing, there was a resounding agreement that they wanted the Pit Bull ban lifted. He affirmed that he did not say that he spoke for the whole entire City of Jacksonville. He mentioned that the fact there is a road block with no give of any kind for good people to do something is a horrible way to live life. He understands there are people who do not want this because they are scared to walk the streets, but there are people scared to walk the streets for way bigger reasons than Pit Bulls. He reiterated this is an opportunity to give these people a chance to have Pit Bulls and eliminate another reason for people to not want to be in Jacksonville; also eliminating a reason for people to want to break the law. He believes this far exceeds a personal bias or something similar. Mayor Johnson mentioned that Council Member Traylor suggested a committee to look into this and bring forth an amendment that may be workable. Council Member Blevins confirmed that he would be interested in having a committee, but he thinks the Ordinance has been thoroughly comprised where if they are lenient on some of it, it has to be hard on another. He believes that would convolute the whole idea of what was already working in other cities, but he is completely okay with doing whatever it takes to try to give this opportunity where it is needed. He reiterated that he would be okay with a committee, but he does feel that the Ordinance is not something that was just created but is something that multiple cities have done. Council Member Traylor pointed out the $150.00 registration fee and how they want everyone in town to register, but to him, that is a deterrent because some people are not going to pay $150.00 a year. He suggested to have it be more reasonable because the goal is to get everyone to register their dogs so you know where they are. He noted that there are small things throughout the Ordinance that he believes can be corrected through a committee if we are going to bring it to the Council. Council Member Blevins pointed out that there was a conversation about allowing a one-month timeframe for people who have Pit Bulls in the City to register their animals for free. He explained it would get the people who are already here; there was something like that discussed, but he did not follow up with it. He confirmed that he did not ask the City Attorney Friedman to put it in there but it was something he had mentioned before. Council Member Ray brought up concerns regarding the rules of order and requested clarification. 10 CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 7, 2022 6:00 P.M. – 6:52 P.M. Council Member Blevins related that he does not want to make a split-second decision to do a committee then this issue get delayed again. He surmised how the votes were going to go and he knows there is a secondary vote to see about placing it on the ballot to allow the citizens to vote on it in case this did not go through. He stated if he said no to that and they vote no, he would go to the Ordinance asking for it to be placed on the General Election offering citizens a chance to vote on it. He surmised if he were to say yes to the committee, it would make the point of putting it on the ballot moot. Council Member Ray called for a question to the motion and was seconded by Council Member Bolden. Council Member Blevins replied yes when Council Member Traylor requested a response regarding forming a committee. ROLL CALL: Council Member Dietz, Bolden, Sansing, Ray, and Twitty voted AYE. Council Member Blevins and Traylor voted NAY. MOTION CARRIED. Council Member Blevins moved, seconded by Council Member Traylor to APPROVE Ordinance 1698 on FIRST READING and SUSPEND THE RULES and place Ordinance 1698 on SECOND READING. ROLL CALL: Council Member Blevins and Traylor voted AYE. Council Member Dietz, Bolden, Sansing, Ray, and Twitty voted NAY. MOTION FAILED. d. ORDINANCE 1699 (18-2022) AN ORDINANCE TO PLACE ON THE NOVEMBER GENERAL ELECTION BALLOT THE QUESTION OF AMENDING JMC § 6.04.045 TO LIFT THE BAN OF THE BULL TERRIER BREED OF DOG, COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS PIT BULLS; PRESCRIBING OTHER MATTERS PERTAINING THERETO; AND, DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. Council Member Blevins moved, seconded by Council Member Traylor to table Ordinance 1699 and create a committee regarding Ordinance 1698. MOTION CARRIED. Council Members Blevins, Traylor, and Twitty volunteered to be on the committee. Council Member Dietz recommended having citizens be involved in the committee while Council Member Traylor requested Animal Control, Police Chief, and Code Enforcement’s participation. Mayor Johnson asked City Clerk Davitt to see if the absent members of Council would like to serve on the committee as well. Regarding Ordinance 1699, Council Member Dietz asked how much it would cost and who would pay for it to be up on the ballot. City Attorney Friedman was unsure of the exact cost but noted that it is not as much as a special election and the City would pay for it. When Mayor Johnson asked what is the latest date they can pass Ordinance 1699 th to get it on the November ballot, Council Member Blevins replied August 30. 11 CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 7, 2022 6:00 P.M. – 6:52 P.M. APPOINTMENTS: UNFINISHED BUSINESS: ANNOUNCEMENTS: Next scheduled Council Meeting plans Mayor Johnson announced that City Attorney Friedman will not be at the next Council meeting, adding that Rock Region has asked to make a presentation, which will last approximately an hour, allowing 40 minutes for a slideshow presentation with 20 to 30 minutes for questions. He hopes that our financial audit will be finished and presented then. He shared that the Senior Center wants to give out an award and have asked to be on that agenda. He pointed out that they are going to have an hour and a half meeting already with no City Attorney present, so they may not get a whole lot done outside of those presentations and wanted to make everyone aware of that. Land appraisal regarding lot for new Fire Station 2 Mayor Johnson stated that Council had the appraisal in their packets for the 4 acres on Graham Road. He explained that they have offered to sell to the City for $150,000.00 and the City is to share closing costs. He affirmed that he wanted Council to see this before he got the paperwork going with purchasing it. He noted that the appraisal was $176,000.00. City of Jacksonville awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association Mayor Johnson stated he is tabling this item until the audit is presented. Request to purchase lot in Sunnyside Mayor Johnson stated that Mr. and Mrs. Forrest have asked to purchase a City owned lot next to their house on Jaxon Circle, noting there are some difficulties with the deed. He added that it was once with the State Land Commissioner so the City has to get the deed worked out, therefore, they do not have a resolution available tonight. He related he did not want Mr. and Mrs. Forrest to have to come back, so he wants them to explain how much they are willing to pay. He assured they can pass the resolution without them present and he could notify them by phone of the results. Mr. Forrest related that they are wanting to purchase 106 Jaxon Circle and he owns 104 Jaxon Circle. He agreed when Mayor Johnson asked if they are just wanting to expand their yard. Mayor Johnson pointed out that the City would not have to mow it anymore and Mr. Forrest has offered $750.00, like the other lots that have sold in the area. He shared that he wanted Council to meet them and say hello so that they do not have to come back. Mrs. Forrest stated that there is a lot of leftover siding materials on the property that they will have cleaned up themselves. 12 CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 7, 2022 6:00 P.M. – 6:52 P.M. Chamber of Commerce Casino Night Mayor Johnson announced that the Chamber of Commerce Casino Night will be th August 5. Planet Fitness Council Member Bolden announced that Planet Fitness had their ribbon cutting today, saying if anyone needs to get in shape or get their cardio up they can go to Planet Fitness. He added that Planet Fitness donated $5,000.00 to the Friends of the Animal Shelter for Jacksonville, noting that he is excited about that and sure those funds will go into the budget of the Animal Shelter. Mayor Johnson shared that they have a donation box set up there for bleach, dog food, etc. ADJOURNMENT: Without objection, Mayor Johnson adjourned the meeting at approximately 6:52 p.m. MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully, ________________________ _________________________ Susan L. Davitt MAYOR BOB JOHNSON City Clerk-Treasurer 13