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05 MAY 05.doc CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MAY 5, 2005 7:00 P.M. – 7:31 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 May 5, 2005 at the regular meeting place of the Council. Alderman Howard delivered the invocation and Mayor Swaim led a standing audience in the “Pledge of Allegiance” to the flag. ROLL CALL: Aldermen: Elliott, Smith, Sansing, Ray, Rinker, Stroud, Twitty, and Howard answered roll call. Mayor Swaim also answered ROLL CALL declaring a quorum. Alderman Lewis arrived at approximately 7:08 p.m. PRESENT nine (9), ABSENT (1). Alderman Fletcher was out of town. Others present for the meeting were: City Attorney Robert Bamburg, Deputy Clerk Tawnya Johnson, Human Resource Director Charlie Brown, Finance Director Paul Mushrush, City Engineer Jay Whisker, Public Works Director Jim Oakley, Fire Chief John Vanderhoof, Police Chief Robert Baker, Parks and Recreation Director George Biggs, CDBG Director Theresa Watson, Mrs. Lendy Lewis, Mrs. Edith Smith, Mr. Larry Dupree, Mr. George Reed, Mr. Larry Smith, Mr. David McClanahan, interested citizens and members of the press. PRESENTATION OF MINUTES: Mayor Swaim presented the minutes of the regular City Council meeting of April 21, 2005 for approval and/or correction at the next regularly scheduled City Council meeting. APPROVAL AND/OR CORRECTION OF MINUTES: Alderman Smith moved, seconded by Alderman Howard that the minutes of the Regular City Council Meeting of 7 April 2005 be APPROVED. MOTION CARRIED. CONSENT AGENDA: REGULAR MONTHLY REPORT/ANIMAL CONTROL Alderman Elliott moved, seconded by Alderman Ray to approve the Regular Monthly Animal Control Report for March 2005. Said report reflected: ADOPTION/FINES: $ 844.50 CONTRIBUTIONS: $ 0.00 TOTAL: $ 844.50 REGULAR MONTHLY REPORT/ENGINEERING Alderman Elliott moved, seconded by Alderman Ray to approve the Regular Monthly Report for April 2005. Said report reflects: PERMITS/LICENSE ISSUED INSPECTIONS PREFORMED Building Permits 30 Building Inspections 84 Business License 8 HVACR 75 Plumbing 62 Electrical 38 1 CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MAY 5, 2005 7:00 P.M. – 7:31 P.M. UNSIGHTLY & UNSANITARY VEHICLES Grass Letters 223 Notice of Noncompliance 20 Property Mowed 0 Towed 4 Trash Letters 53 Trash Removal 0 CONDEMNATIONS Cost for January $ .00 Structural Maint. Letters 0 Structural Repairs Made 0 Demolitions 0 ROLL CALL: Aldermen Elliott, Smith, Sansing, Ray, Rinker, Stroud, Twitty, and Howard voted AYE. MOTION CARRIED. WATER DEPARTMENT: WASTEWATER DEPARTMENT: FIRE DEPARTMENT: POLICE DEPARTMENT: DISCUSSION Nuisance Alarms Chief Baker noted that the Police Department is receiving an increasing number of alarm calls. He submitted data regarding calls received in 2004 and 2005. He related that in accordance with officer safety and proper response, two officers are dispatched for all alarm calls. He stated that in 1998 the Justice Department determined that 38 million alarms calls were responded to nation-wide, adding that the estimated cost per Police Department to respond was $42.00 per officer, per unit. He stated that given those statistics, it averages over $60,000.00 for the Jacksonville Police Department to respond to alarm calls in the course of one year. He stated that it has been discovered that many of the false alarms are caused by faulty equipment, setup or poorly maintained systems. He stated that from the total number of alarm calls only a select few locations have been responsible for more than three response calls. He added that if the Police Department has to respond to any location more than three times, it is generally a result of the alarm system not performing correctly. He noted that the Police Department responded to one business twenty-one times last year, citing this as a failure by the owner to correct the problem. He stated that another frustration for the Police Department occurs when the owner is contacted and declines to meet the Police at the business location. He related difficulty for securing the location if the Police are restricted to checking only the outside of the building. He stated that national statistics provide that approximately 94 to 98% of alarms that police officers respond to are not the result of an entry but are actually faulty alarm systems. He stated that of the 562 residential alarms last year only 2 were actual entries into a residence, adding that of the 867 business alarms only 6 represented actual entries. He stated that his goal would be to reduce the number of false alarms by requiring the owners to be more responsible in correcting faulty alarm systems. He stated that most agencies have ordinances, which state if there are no 2 more than three alarms within the current year it would not be counted against a residence or business. He noted that four to six alarm responses is assessed a fine, and that the normal fine is $25.00 each time. He stated that seven to nine false alarms increases the CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MAY 5, 2005 7:00 P.M. – 7:31 P.M. fine to $50.00 and over ten is $100.00 per time. He stated that it is his hope that once a problem is identified the owner will correct the problem. He then noted that fire alarms for 2004 were estimated at $467.00 per run per unit. He stated that responding to false alarms in heightened times of real emergencies becomes a safety issue for the Police and Fire Departments. He offered to present a rough draft of an ordinance to City Attorney Bamburg or suggested that the City Council could appoint a committee. In response to a question posed by Alderman Stroud, Chief Baker stated that only a select few alarms are called in by neighbors regarding homeowner installed systems. He stated that the majority of alarms calls come in through the 911 Communications Center. Regarding a comment from Alderman Twitty, Chief Baker pointed out that when a company such as ADT is instructed to contact the homeowner before contacting the Police a lot of time has passed before the Police are aware of the incident for response. He noted that response time, depending the location of both officers could be as much as three to five minutes after being notified. Alderman Elliott suggested that Chief Baker prepare the ordinance for City Council consideration. Chief Baker responded that he has acquired a majority of the ordinances that have already been adopted by other cities. It was noted that a sensor alarm problem at the Post Office has been corrected and the Police Department did not respond to any alarms at that location last year. STREET DEPARTMENT: Request to Accept Bid/Chemical Spray for Mosquitoes Public Works Director Jim Oakley noted that only two of the four bids submitted met specifications. He related that Hawk Corporation and Quality Unlimited met specifications and that he would recommend the low bid of Quality Unlimited for $11,568.00. He then answered that chemicals have been purchased from Quality Unlimited and one other company in the past. In response to a question posed by Alderman Ray, Public Works Director Oakley concurred that Quality Unlimited was also the company awarded the bid regarding the machinery. Alderman Elliott moved, seconded by Alderman Smith to reject the bids from Adapco and B & G Chemicals, which did not meet specifications, accepting the low bid from Quality Unlimited in the amount of $11,568.00. 3 MOTION CARRIED. Mayor Swaim noted that funds would be drawn from budgeted funds. SANITATION DEPARTMENT: CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MAY 5, 2005 7:00 P.M. – 7:31 P.M. PARKS & RECREATION: PLANNING COMMISSION: GENERAL: UPDATE Vehicle/Fuel Cost Mayor Swaim noted that the budget is four months into the year and he wanted to offer a fuel cost update regarding constant rising prices. He stated that the City has prepared for a spike in fuel prices, pointing out the undeterminable factor of how long prices would remain high. Finance Director Paul Mushrush related that escalating fuel prices were recognized during the budgetary process and an educated guess of 16.3% was made to address the increase. He stated that one of the problems in reporting fuel costs to the City Council has been booking arrangements from the supplier. He clarified by saying that he is aware of total costs but not individual Department cost. He stated that with further computation he is offering tonight information as an update to normal financial reporting. He stated that on a budgetary basis in the first three months of the year, the City has consumed 25.18% of the budgeted expenditure and that compared to last year it was 24.47%. He related that the general thrust of the budget itself is good regarding the first part of the year, but pointed out that what it actually reflects is an actual cost increase of 19.68%, adding that what is a gap slightly over 3% now will become by year’s end approximately 12%, if the trend continues. He noted that the percentage represents approximately $25,000.00, adding that the City has taken some stop-gap measures such as reviewing vehicles. He explained that some vehicles are recommended for premium gas use, adding that at this point there is only one vehicle in the City that uses premium gas, which is a special truck in the Parks Department. He noted that other vehicles have downgraded from unleaded plus to unleaded as part of the evaluation process. He added that each Department’s gas usage is closely tracked to how many gallons any vehicles used last year. He stated that the City is taking measures in the right direction and will not suffer unless gas prices escalate to st $3.00 per gallon. He noted that the price per gallon from the 1 week th billing of January to the 4 week billing of March has risen approximately 23.2% or .35 cents per gallon. He stated that the situation is under control but wanted to offer an update to the City Council since the financial statements have not been able to exactly report the standing. In response to a comment from Alderman Ray, Finance Director Mushrush stated that it is not perceived that City services such as twice-weekly garbage pickup would be affected. 4 Mayor Swaim stated that because a reasonable increase was projected, the affects of rising gasoline prices have not hurt the City of Jacksonville. He added that if prices continue to rise there is a possibility that significant changes would be considered. He stated that going to a once- weekly garbage pickup would not be considered without heavy deliberation. He then noted that the test market for the west side of the City would begin soon. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MAY 5, 2005 7:00 P.M. – 7:31 P.M. APPOINTMENT(S): WASTEWATER COMMISSION Alderman Smith moved, seconded by Alderman Howard to approve the re- appointment of Fred Belote to the Wastewater Commission for a term to expire 4/20/2010. MOTION CARRIED. DISCUSSION SEX OFFENDERS In response to a question from Alderman Twitty, Mayor Swaim noted that it is the newspapers prerogative to list information regarding area sex offenders. He then stated that the City of Jacksonville has a list of sex offenders and the Police go door-to-door based on the classification of offender, adding that there is a list on the Internet. He noted that one problem has been when the paper prints names as being in Jacksonville and the offender does not actually live inside the City limits, but has a Jacksonville mail route. He pointed out that this would skew the statistics regarding offenders living in the City of Jacksonville. Alderman Twitty mentioned that some of the ladies she had spoken with had problems bringing the information up on the Internet. Chief Baker stated that the Police Department diligently keeps track of offenders living in the City. He offered that residents concerned about offenders living within their neighborhood can come to the Police Department regarding those addresses. He stated that there are four classifications of sex offenders, pointing out that class one and two are non-predatory. He pointed out that it is a violation when a class two offender does not contact the Police Department with a new application of address, adding that a warrant for arrest is issued and they are immediately upgraded to a class three sex offender. He stated that classifications three and four are the levels that the Police Department is most concerned with, adding that currently within the City of Jacksonville there are no classification four sex offenders. He related that classification four is considered predatory. He stated that the Police Department is more than willing to help anyone concerned about sex offenders. Mayor Swaim related that he is furnished an updated list, pointing out that the Police Department alerts residents door-to-door regarding classifications three and four sex offenders. He then related that when a sex offender moves and if they report their new address properly, then the Police Department goes door-to-door in the new neighborhood. 5 Discussion ensued regarding sex offenders who move and do not report a new address. Alderman Howard pointed out that many times the new address is unknown until they are arrested on unrelated charges. Chief Baker stated that when notified by the central office of a sex offender who has not registered a new address, the Police Department immediately processes a warrant and upgrades the classification. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MAY 5, 2005 7:00 P.M. – 7:31 P.M. Mayor Swaim noted that the classifications and the notification process is regulated by State statute and followed closely by the Jacksonville Police Department. He then pointed out that there is no way for the Police Department to be aware of a sex offender who works in the City but lives in another location. Alderman Stroud questioned that out of the number of six bite cases reported by Animal Control, which dogs in those cases were considered vicious. Public Works Director Jim Oakley stated he did not have the statistics in hand but explained that he is aware the bite case involving the victim getting stitches was declared vicious. He then acknowledged the incident referenced involved a Pit Bull biting a child family member. He noted that according to State law the dog must be quarantined for ten days, adding that Animal Control retook possession of the dog today because it was felt the present environment was not safe. Alderman Smith noted that other cities have banned Pit Bulls, asking Public Works Director Oakley to monitor the situation and alert the City Council regarding any recommendations. ANNOUNCEMENT(S): ADJOURNMENT: Mayor Swaim without objection adjourned the meeting at approximately 7:31 p.m. Respectfully, ________________________ _________________________ Susan L. Davitt MAYOR TOMMY SWAIM City Clerk-Treasurer 6