The August meeting of the Monticello City Council was called to order at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, August 22, by Mayor Jason Akers. After an invocation by Stephen Coburn and the Pledge of Allegiance, the roll was called. Clarissa Pace and Al Peer were the only council members not present. The minutes from the July meeting were approved, and with no unfinished business before the council, Mayor Akers moved straight into new business.
A resolution was brought before the council that would remove Monticello Police Department from the city’s general pay scale and create a separate pay scale for MPD. The new pay scale takes many factors into consideration when determining what pay officers will receive. Years of experience and certifications will hold the most weight in this process. One of the benefits is MPD can now recruit quality officers due to competitive pay.
“This is helpful,” Chief of Police, Carlos Garcia said. “I have two guys who want to come here from other agencies. They want to come here because we are credentialed and have a good reputation, and now that our pay is competitive we can get the kind of officers we want.”
This is crucial because MPD has lost approximately 20 percent of their workforce due to retirements and transfers to other agencies.
The council approved a resolution that would authorize the mayor to apply for a Water Infrastructure Grant through the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC). This is a no-match grant up to $500,000. This would go toward areas in the Bowser Road area like Weevil Run and White Tail Lane, which were built after the existing pumps and lift stations were built.
The council members also approved a resolution that would amend the 1998 One Cent Sales Tax to fund the utilities relocation associated with the Scogin Dr. project. This item wasn’t initially budgeted because it was an item that the city was not aware of at the time. This amendment would add line item 4991 in the amount of $788,988, and it would increase line item 6050 from $259,500 by $909,865 to a total of $1,169,365.
A resolution regarding a block grant for SeaArk Boats was approved. This resolution was to set the operating budget for the expansion work SeaArk is doing. SeaArk will pay all invoices, and the city will reimburse them with the grant funds which are held in a recently opened account.
The council members voted to approve the bid from Maguire Iron, Inc. to perform maintenance on the Conrad St. water tower. This will include painting, general maintenance, and installing a new external overflow system. Maguire’s bid came in at $198,000, which was over $30,000 under the amount budgeted for the project.
602 and 604 E. Pauline St. were both declared nuisance properties. City Property Inspector, Brian Rodgers said that he had done his due diligence and had not been able to establish contact with the property owners. 600 N. Main St. had a lien placed on it due to the city removing a tree that was damaging a neighbor’s property after the property owner failed to act. 506 S. Spear St. also had a lien placed after city crews mowed the yard.
Mayor Akers emphasized in his comments section that his office and the city have made infrastructure repairs a priority. Akers said that without a working infrastructure no of the other stuff really matters. Well No. 4 was completed on August 10. The pump’s output increased by 50 percent in pressure. The Davis St. drainage project is temporarily delayed due to the contractor having to make a custom piece for the job. The first week of September is the new projected starting date, with October 1, being the projected completion date. The West Plant Aeration project is scheduled to begin on December 15, and is projected to be completed by April 2024. A fire plug was installed at the base of the water tank located at the County Barn. This allows the tank to be drained without the surrounding homes being inundated with all of the water.
Akers added that the city is committed to proper management of budgetary issues. Akers and the finance department have met with the city’s department heads to discuss how they are managing their budgets. Akers said that they are all doing a good job.
“When we have to hire contractors, we aren’t just calling anybody,” Akers said. “We have a responsibility to spend the people’s money wisely.”
On that note, Akers said that the city has compiled a list of hourly rates that they will diligently follow, and the city will choose those who do quality work for a reasonable price.
In the public comments section there was a discussion about placing speed bumps on N. Cooper St. There are no sidewalks on this street and people are forced to walk in the street. Cars are constantly traveling at high rates of speed which creates safety concerns. It was mentioned that a lady was struck and killed by a vehicle a few weeks ago, and that she wasn’t the first to be hit in the area. Chief Garcia confirmed that this area is one that MPD gets a lot of complaints regarding speeding vehicles. Mayor Akers and the council said that they would begin the process to see how they can help with this.
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned until the September meeting.
