Loading...
01 OCT 04.doc CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 4, 2001 7:00 P.M. – 7:29 P.M. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING - CITY HALL - #1 MUNICIPAL DRIVE The City Council of the City of Jacksonville, Arkansas met in Regular Session on October 4, 2001 at the regular meeting place of the Council. Mayor Swaim delivered the invocation and led a standing audience in the “Pledge of Allegiance” to the flag. ROLL CALL: Aldermen: Elliott, Smith, Lewis, Sansing, Ray, Wilson, Fletcher, Stroud, Twitty and Howard answered roll call. Mayor Swaim also answered ROLL CALL declaring a quorum. PRESENT ten (10), ABSENT (0). Others present for the meeting were: City Attorney Robert E. Bamburg, Deputy City Clerk Teresa Carter, Director of Administration Murice Green, City Engineer Jay Whisker, Director of Public Works Jimmy Oakley, Computer Systems Administrator Barbara Daniel, Finance Director Paul Mushrush, CDBG Director Theresa Watson, Police Chief Hibbs, Fire Chief Vanderhoof, Parks and Recreation Director George Biggs, Parks Assistant Administrator Patty Walker, Mrs. Judy Swaim, Mrs. DeAnna Swaim Carpenter and Emma Carpenter, Mrs. DeDe Hibbs, Mrs. Edith Smith, Mrs. Lindy Lewis, interested citizens and members of the press. PRESENTATION OF MINUTES: Mayor Swaim presented the minutes of the Regular City Council Meeting of September 20, 2001 for approval and/or correction at the next Regular City Council Meeting. APPROVAL AND/OR CORRECTION OF MINUTES: Alderman Wilson moved, seconded by Alderman Howard that the minutes of the Regular City Council Meeting of 06 September 2001 be APPROVED. MOTION CARRIED. CONSENT AGENDA: REGULAR MONTHLY REPORT/ANIMAL CONTROL Alderman Wilson moved, seconded by Alderman Elliott to APPROVE the monthly Animal Control Report for September 2001. Report reflects the following: REVENUES……………………………………………$ 599.50 CONTRIBUTIONS………………………………$ 0.00 ADOPTIONS/FINES…………………………$ 599.50 TOTAL……………………………………………………$ 599.50 ROLL CALL: Elliott, Smith, Lewis, Sansing, Ray, Wilson, Fletcher, Stroud, Twitty and Howard voted AYE. (0) voted NAY. MOTION CARRIED. WATER DEPARTMENT: WASTEWATER DEPARTMENT: FIRE DEPARTMENT: POLICE DEPARTMENT: SANITATION DEPARTMENT: 1 STREET DEPARTMENT: CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 4, 2001 7:00 P.M. – 7:29 P.M. PARKS & RECREATION: Dedication of Baseball Field at Dupree Park th Item will be held for the October 18 City Council Meeting. PLANNING COMMISSION: GENERAL: a. ORDINANCE 1164 (#18-01) AN ORDINANCE CONDEMNING THE STRUCTURES AND REAL PROPERTY AT THE VARIOUS UNINHIABITED LOCATIONS LISTED BELOW LOCATED WITHIN THE JACKSONVILLE ARKANSS, FOR STRUCTURAL DEFECTS, CODE VIOLATIONS AND PUBLIC HAZARD CONDITIONS, DECLARING AN EMERGENCY; AND, FOR OTHER PURPOSES. Mayor Swaim related that the ordinance addresses the condemnation of two houses in the Sunnyside Areas located at 105 West Avenue and 117 Joiner Street. Alderman Smith moved, seconded by Alderman Lewis that Ordinance 1164 be placed on FIRST READING. ROLL CALL: Aldermen Elliott, Smith, Lewis, Sansing, Ray, Wilson, Fletcher, Stroud, Twitty and Howard voted AYE. NAY (0). Motion received ten (10) affirmative votes, (0) negative votes. MOTION CARRIED. Whereupon, City Attorney Bamburg read the Ordinance title. Alderman Elliott moved, seconded by Alderman Wilson to approve Ordinance 1164 on FIRST READING. ROLL CALL: Aldermen Elliott, Smith, Lewis, Sansing, Ray, Wilson, Fletcher, Stroud, Twitty and Howard voted AYE. NAY (0). Motion received ten (10) affirmative votes, (0) negative votes. MOTION CARRIED. Alderman Wilson moved, seconded by Alderman Stroud to place Ordinance 1164 on SECOND READING. ROLL CALL: Aldermen Elliott, Smith, Lewis, Sansing, Ray, Wilson, Fletcher, Stroud, Twitty and Howard voted AYE. NAY (0). Motion received ten (10) affirmative votes, (0) negative votes. MOTION CARRIED. Whereupon, City Attorney Bamburg read the Ordinance title. Alderman Howard moved, seconded by Alderman Smith to further suspend the rules and place Ordinance 1164 on THIRD AND FINAL READING. ROLL CALL: Aldermen Elliott, Smith, Lewis, Sansing, Ray, Wilson, Fletcher, Stroud, Twitty and Howard voted AYE. NAY (0). Motion received ten (10) affirmative votes, (0) negative votes. MOTION CARRIED. Whereupon, City Attorney Bamburg read the Ordinance title. Alderman Smith moved, seconded by Alderman Lewis to APPROVE AND ADOPT Ordinance 1164. ROLL CALL: Aldermen Elliott, Smith, Lewis, Sansing, Ray, Wilson, Fletcher, Stroud, Twitty and Howard voted AYE. NAY (0). Motion received ten (10) affirmative votes, (0) negative votes. MOTION CARRIED. 2 CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 4, 2001 7:00 P.M. – 7:29 P.M. Alderman Wilson moved, seconded by Alderman Smith that the EMERGENCY CLAUSE be ATTACHED to Ordinance 1164. ROLL CALL: Aldermen Elliott, Smith, Lewis, Sansing, Ray, Wilson, Fletcher, Stroud, Twitty and Howard voted AYE. NAY (0). Motion received ten (10) affirmative votes, (0) negative votes. MOTION CARRIED. TH ORDINANCE APPROVED, ADOPTED AND NUMBERED 1164 THIS THE 4 DAY OF OCTOBER 2001. In response to a question posed by Alderman Smith, City Engineer Whisker related that the first twelve condemnations, which began approximately four months ago, have been completed. He added that additional letters were recently mailed and he has already begun to receive feedback. He estimated that in approximately forty-five to sixty-days he would present a new list to the City Council. b. CITY NETWORK PRESENTATION BY CLEAR POINTE Systems Administrator Barbara Daniel introduced herself, saying that she is excited about the new system setup. She stated that the Bob Longo and John Joiner from Clear Pointe Technology Group will conduct the presentation. Mr. Bob Longo related that Clear Pointe (formally Custom Micro Systems) is based from Little Rock. He stated that Clear Pointe has supported the City’s network for approximately seven years. He pointed out that Clear Pointe has other municipal accounts, saying that they have taken the various different networks and combined them together, putting them on the Internet securely using the latest technologies. He presented a diagram of the network for the various offices, making City Hall the focal point of secure Internet access. He stated that Jacksonville has a state of the art system setting the standards for moving forward, spending the dollars now for a quality solution in the future. He introduced Mr. John Joiner the senior most enterprise engineer in charge of the City’s project. Mr. John Joiner presented a PowerPoint presentation, saying that it was his privilege to design the network and bring it together for the City of Jacksonville. He presented the Council with a Microsoft Case Study prepared by Clearpoint, which will be showcased at the Microsoft Website featuring the newest technologies as part of the City of Jacksonville system. He stated that it should generate good publicity for the City to be recognized by Microsoft as a leader in adopting the new technologies. He related that Clearpoint is the only “Gold Certified Partner” for Microsoft in the State of Arkansas, adding that this was accomplished through hard work and growing the company with good people and good ideas. He stated that Clear Pointe is a formal training center for Microsoft, and a partner with Cisco, Novell and APC (manufacturer of backup power system), pointing out that Barbara Daniel has taken those classes. 3 CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 4, 2001 7:00 P.M. – 7:29 P.M. He went on to say that before being connected the City of Jacksonville did not have a data communications network Citywide, using only the conventional ways of communicating between offices such as the telephone, fax and radios for the Fire and Police. He pointed out that Internet access was modem dial-up on individual computers in the various offices, adding that there was no E-Government because there was nothing tying the government together electronically. He also stated that E-Mail was not standard, and each department was left to establish some sort of E-Mail if it was necessary to their job. He stated that because the City of Jacksonville lacked accessibility to the various sites, Barbara could not reach them in a practical manner and had to physically drive to the different sites. He stated that Internet security, and anti-virus protection was on an individual departments basis, which left the departments vulnerable. He presented a diagram of the “wide area network” put in place for the City including the Police, Central Fire Station, Community Development and the Community Center; pointing out that each locations now has their own small network connected to hubs and routers going into Century Tel which is the City’s frame network and connecting those branches with City Hall to the file server, E-Mail, and firewall providing secure access to the Internet. He presented system characteristics saying that now the City is a connected government with a continuously available high-band width data connection between the departments. He pointed out that this allows the Police, Fire and City Hall to use any communication medium that rides networks, such as voice collaborative data, whiteboard, and real-time database. He then related that Internet access is now provided in a single secure consolidated line for all City departments, which is saving the City over $10,000.00 annually in telephone dial-up lines and individual internet service provider accounts. He stated that the single line is not only faster but offers better security and control because it goes through the firewall. He stated that E-Mail is available to City employees and that Ms. Daniel is in the process of deploying the base structure. He stated that Clear Pointe has implemented some highly refined automation that allows Barbara to do a very effective job administering all computers around the City. He pointed out that the City is ready for teleconferencing, telecommuting, and E-Government initiatives. He stated that Governor Huckabee is very proud of Arkansas being an E- Government pioneer, adding that the City of Jacksonville is better qualified than any other city in the State for e-government. He stated that City employees now have a full featured e-mail system with group scheduling capability regarding meetings, create shared task list, shared 4 list of contracts, fast internet access to each desk top, and excellent security. He stated that the system is a pro-active security system that is not just defensive but offensive as well. He noted that the tower equipment features an excellent tape back up library that requires no human intervention for weeks, backing-up all the data in the City. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 4, 2001 7:00 P.M. – 7:29 P.M. Mr. Longo stated that as director of technology at Clear Pointe he has the opportunity to meet with all the customers and that it has been a real pleasure working with Barbara throughout the project. He stated that he watched the City analyze every step before purchases were made, train at the appropriate times to embrace a quality solution. He concluded saying it was real pleasure working with the City. In response to a question posed by Alderman Wilson, Mayor Swaim related that the total cost of the project including new hardware and software is not final, pointing out that $100,000 plus was budgeted. Finance Director Paul Mushrush stated that costs currently are approximately $116,000, which includes all elements outside the initial set-up. Mr. Longo pointed out that the City had different phones lines and different internet service providers, world links, MSN, AOL, plus the phone lines associated, but now has one centralized high-speed connection that is saving the City over $10,000 annually. Mayor Swaim related that the City then negotiated with CenturyTel to cut the phone bill an additional $20,000 by going to a dial 9 service, pointing out that the City is saving on a regular basis the monthly cost for the operation. In response to a question posed by Alderman Elliott, Mayor Swaim stated that the City is working with Municipal League regarding an Internet home page plus the City is hooked directly to the web. He related that this allows for information retrieval from the Municipal League or the National League of Cities. He referred to a handout provide to the Council, saying that the top story explains that E-tax is going to be 13.3 billion dollars and that municipalities and states are loosing out on revenues for items sold on the internet. In response to a question posed by from Alderman Smith, Mayor Swaim related that the Internet tax moratorium expires October 21, 2001, but added that is support for not making the Internet pay tax permanently. He stated that as Internet sales grow, city sales taxes would decrease, which will drastically affect revenues. Discussion ensued regarding effective lobbing, Mayor Swaim stated that municipalities have made presentations in Washington each year in March and have met with legislators. He related that one problem is states 5 such as Oregon that do not charge sales, California and some other large states (New York State) that support not ever charging tax for the Internet sales which makes it very difficult for the remaining states to convince congress that the Internet should be taxed. He related that the Internet is becoming more and more important to the public, including use to the Internet to augment employee jobs regarding access to information and E-Mail. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 4, 2001 7:00 P.M. – 7:29 P.M. Mr. Longo agreed saying that employees with a valid account on the system have the ability at home to get on line and into the system set up by Barbara to access their business E-mail account. Secondly he stated that the system is hosting multiple E-mail sites and has the ability to build different E-mail sites on the network. He clarified that the system is designed for multiple websites to be hosted opening the door for to create E-government information sites. He presented the Council with handouts including a network diagram. Mayor Swaim related that eventually the City would like to have more information available on the Internet regarding information for utility bills, garbage pick and municipal questions. Director of Administration Murice Green stated support for the year plus project worked by Barbara and Paul, adding that with Mr. Longo and his group, they have done a great job pulling the system together. He stated that secondly training by Barbara will be the next consideration regarding the effective use of the new technologies. He explained difficulty regarding previous web sites for City of Jacksonville information. In response to a question posed by Alderman Wilson, Ms. Daniel responded that E-mail addresses for City employees are the first letter of the first name followed by the entire last name @ City of Jacksonville.net. APOINTMENTS: ANNOUNCEMENTS: th Mayor Swaim related that today is his and Judy’s 37 Anniversary, he expressed appreciated for his lovely wife Judy Swaim. City Council cheered for Judy. It was announced that Wing Ding would be Saturday and T-shirts could be purchased through the Chamber of Commerce. Clean-up improvement were noted throughout the City. ADJOURNMENT: Mayor Swaim without objection adjourned the meeting at 6 approximately 7:29 p.m. Respectfully, ________________________ _________________________ Susan L. Davitt MAYOR TOMMY SWAIM City Clerk-Treasurer 7