The Monticello City Council held its monthly meeting at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, October 24. After the roll call, all members were present except for Mark Tiner. After an invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance, the minutes from September’s meeting were approved.
The proposed Speed Hump ordinance was read for the second time. The council members agreed that there was no need to declare an emergency, and agreed to hold off voting until the ordinance is read for the third and final time in November.
Before the council started new business, Mayor Jason Akers said that he had been contacted by a city administrator from Lebanon, Mo. He said the administrator contacted him to let him know that Lebanon wanted to honor their veterans and honor their service. All of their veterans showed up except for one. Mayor Akers said that was because that veteran was living in Monticello, where he was born and raised. Mayor Akers informed Claude Vaulner that the City of Monticello would be honoring him for his service in the United States Air Force and the Vietnam Conflict.
“We think this is important,” Mayor Akers said. “We think you’re worth it.”
Akers then read a brief rundown of Vaulner’s service in the USAF and his accomplishments in Vietnam.
“Mr. Vaulner, like a lot of our veterans, you answered the call when your country needed you,” Akers said. “Right, wrong, or indifferent, you fought in what, at the time, was an unpopular war because it was the right thing to do. We are honored as a council, and I as Mayor, to recognize your service, who you are, and what you have done. It’s people like you who make people like us get up here and do this because we know there are people like you in our communities. We want to thank you for your service.”
Vaulner was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation and a commemorative pin by Mayor Akers and the members of the city council.
The council members then passed a resolution that would give new residents to Monticello a free year of access to the city pool. Mayor Akers said that this was a chance to show new residents just one of the city’s amenities and show the new residents that they are valued.
The council passed another resolution that will allow the mayor to negotiate water bill debts at his discretion. This is to help if a citizen has a meter or source water line get damaged by someone else, or just through extenuating circumstances. Akers said that it isn’t fair that residents incur the cost to repair issues that they didn’t cause.
The council members then dispensed with the rules and waived the required three reading requirement on an ordinance that would establish City Property Inspector, Brian Rodgers, as the Monticello Code Enforcement Officer. This would have Rodgers work under Fire Chief Eric Chisom, and allow him to enforce code violations without having to call the fire department or police department to write citations or enforce the codes. This will eliminate excessive work, and streamline the code enforcement process. The council then invoked the emergency clause and put the ordinance into effect immediately.
The council then addressed the city’s millage rates that were discussed in last week’s Finance Committee Meeting. After looking at several options, the council voted to up the rate from 1.8 mills to 2.5 mills. This is the first increase since 1984, and still has Monticello with the lowest rate in southeast Arkansas.
Rodgers then presented two properties to be declared nuisance properties. He stated that the new owner had contacted him and requested a 90-day extension to deal with the properties. The council agreed to table the resolutions and revisit them in 90 days.
Rodgers presented two resolutions to place liens on properties that the city had cleaned up. With no contact from the property owners, the council voted to place liens on 122 Circle Acres and 218 E. Allen St.
In his comments section, Mayor Akers stated that the Davis to Merrydale drainage project is nearly complete. The crew is in the final stages of pouring concrete. Akers said that the residents are happy with the work that has been done.
The Conrad St. water tower is scheduled to be repaired starting October 30. The drainage system will be replaced to meet health department standards, and the tower will be repainted. The tower will have a University of Arkansas at Monticello logo painted on the tower to help promote the university.
Sunset on the Square was a success. There were a good number of food trucks, vendors, and turn out from people in town. Everyone seems to have had a good time, there have been no complaints so far. Akers said that the Advertising and Promotions Commission did a great job on the event.
Mayor Akers stated that it needs to be stressed that people stop making donations to Options, Inc. when there is no one there to receive the donations. Akers said that the people making the donations have good intentions, but the people who are going up there and pilfering through everything and strewing it around are creating a problem. The volunteers have to work harder and track down all of the items that have been strewn, and it makes the volunteers hard to keep.
Akers finished by saying that the lighting for the mural had been completed. He noted that this project cost the city zero dollars. The lights were donated by Pauline Baptist Church, and the fire department used the ladder truck to hang the lights. Akers said that this is just another example of using the skills of the people in the city to cut costs.
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned until next month.
