REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY OF TEXARKANA, ARKANSAS FEBRUARY 4, 2002

Transcription

1 REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY OF TEXARKANA, ARKANSAS FEBRUARY 4, 2002 MEMBERS PRESENT: The Board of Directors of the City of Texarkana, Arkansas, convened in regular session at 7:00 p.m. on February 4, 2002 with the following members present: Mayor Danny Gray, Assistant Mayor Horace Shipp, and Directors Kathy Dunphy, Laney Harris, Sue Johnson, Thomas Potter, and Londell Williams. Also present were City Manager Robert W. Wright, City Attorney Ned Stewart, and City Clerk Patti Scott Grey. INVOCATION: The invocation was given by Director Dunphy. CONSENT AGENDA: Director Johnson moved to approve the consent agenda. The motion was seconded by Assistant Mayor Shipp and carried unanimously. The items approved by consent were: MINUTES: The minutes approved were of the rescheduled regular meeting of January 22, RESOLUTION NO. 4747: Resolution No makes the following appointments: Electrical Board of Review Glenn Weekly minutes 1

2 Heating & Air Conditioning Board of Review R.D. Fomby Plumbing Board of Review Ron Henderson Housing Authority John C. Hoy Public Facilities Board Carl Conley Eston McGee Library Board Carol Dalby Lewis Thompson, Jr RESOLUTION NO. 4748: Resolution No amends the 1988 Comprehensive Development Plan, originally passed by Resolution No. 2813, and accepts the Jefferson Avenue/McDonald Lane Zoning Plan. RESOLUTION NO. 4749: Resolution No authorizes change order No. 3 to the contract with J. A. Jackson Construction, Inc. for the Beech Street Enhancement Project, extending the contract time by thirty-four (34) calendar days. REGULAR AGENDA: PUBLIC HEARING: Mayor Gray opened a public hearing to receive comments regarding twenty-one (21) substandard structures. Public Works Director Carl Conley gave a summary of the item, and told the Board of Directors that pictures and a description of each substandard structure would be pulled minutes 2

3 up on the over-head projector. He briefly spoke about each structure, and then gave the Board and audience an opportunity to ask questions or make comments. Mrs. Carolyn Pelfrey, 911 East 9 th, spoke in regard to her husband, William Pelfrey s property at 1820 East 24 th Street. She commented that the people in the house just prior to it being tagged had trashed the property. Mrs. Pelfrey stated she had since boarded up the property, cleaned up portions of the property, and attained a permit Friday, February 1 st. She asked the Board for additional time for repairs. Mayor Gray asked that 1820 East 24 th be pulled from the condemnation list. Assistant Mayor Shipp asked if any assessments are made against the property owners when the City maintains the property in these cases. Mayor Gray said there would be a lien placed on the property. Mr. Conley also commented that the City charges $100 per hour for mowing and cleaning, and as an incentive for the property owner to take care of the property. With regards to substandard structures, the city bills property owners the cost of demolition and, if not paid within 30 days, a lien is placed on the property. Ms. Connie Mitchell, President of Right Angel Properties, spoke in regard to the property at 1024 Hickory. She said she had met with Mr. Conley before it was tagged in October after the fire. Ms. Mitchell stated she never received notice of the first tagging of the property. She stated she responded to the second tagging with a letter in December and continued by stating the property was not insured at the time of the fire and the estimates she had received ranged from $50,000 to $93,000 to do the demolition work on this property. She stated it was taking some time to gather the money, but hoped to have it taken care of by March or April. She also commented she had surrounded the area with approximately 6,000 feet of yellow tape, an orange construction fence, and posted No Trespassing signs minutes 3

4 Adjacent property owners, Mark Cole of 1003 Hickory, Diane Acruman of 1011 Hickory, and Sherry Boyd of 1103 Hickory, commented the property was poorly managed before it burned. It was stated that there were problems with drug dealers and vagrants living in the building after it was condemned. They said they felt it was a hazard and asked for prompt action from either the owners or the City. Mr. Roy Larey spoke regarding his property at 1001 Jackson. He asked for additional time to make further repairs. He stated he had a permit previously, and primarily worked on tearing out the inside of the structure. Mayor Gray stated even if the property was condemned tonight Mr. Larey would have an opportunity to get a building permit to continue work on the structure, but he would have to make some effort on the property. Mr. Larey said he would and thanked the Board. Director Williams asked if all the notices sent to property owners were sent certified. Mr. Conley stated the first notice, which notifies the property owner the structure is substandard, is sent certified, so the City has a record that the property owners have been notified. Mr. Conley briefly summarized the condemnation process. Director Williams commented on the problems these substandard structures subjected adjacent property owners to when the property was not cleared promptly. Ms. Patricia Smith spoke in regard to the property at 1311 Prospect. She said the structure looked uneven, because the doors were sagging. She commented that the doors were in this condition due to the neighborhood children hanging on them and trying to pry them open. She stated there was damage to the left side of the structure that she had not repaired due to the fact that she had a lawsuit pending with the parents of the children that did the damage. Ms. Smith said she had a signed, notarized statement from a contractor minutes 4

5 with 20 years of experience, stating the structure was sound. Mayor Gray asked Ms. Smith to work with Public Works to get a permit and show necessary improvements. No one else came forward; therefore the Mayor declared the public meeting closed. RESOLUTION NO. 4750: Resolution No was read in its entirety, removing 1820 East 24 th. Said resolution condemns the following substandard structures: ADDRESS LEGAL DESCRIPTION OWNER 1312 East 9 th Front & Rear Structure Pt. Lot 5 all of 6-10 Blk 1 Water Works Addition Ruby Martin 1202 East 28 th 2723 East 11 th Lot 12 Block 11 E 9 th St. Hgts. Addition 812 Couch Lot 9 Block D Langsdale Addition 816 Couch Lot 10 Block D Langsdale Addition Delaware Lot 5 & 6 Block 6 Orr s 2 nd Addition 704 Draughn Lots Block 19 Bramble Highland Park Add Dudley Lot 4 E½ of 5 Block 4 Grandview Addition Pete & Ray Dunn C/o Britsh Taylor 204 Brown Texarkana, TX Moses Clark 903 Grim Moses Clark 903 Grim Arthur Withers 1202 Couch Vickye Franks 704 Draughn James Little 2007 Dudley minutes 5

6 2510 Garfield Lot 1 Block 65 Kirby College Addition 1024 Hickory Lots 9 12 H.A. Mann Addition 1305 Hilltop Lot Block 2 Hilltop McIver s 2 nd Add Jackson Lot 1 Blk 2 Bronway Hgts Addition 1304 Kline N½ of Lot 9 all of 10 Blk 3 Iron Mt. Addition 1304 Lincoln Lot 3 Block 14 Iron Mountain Ind. College Russell & Monica Smith P.O. Box 5686 Texarkana, TX Right Angel Property # 4 Woodmont Crossing Texarkana, TX Debra J. Harris 1303 Hilltop Roy & Linda Larey 923 Jackson Alice Muldrew & Family 6108 Summerhill Pl. Texarkana, TX Annie B. Harvey C/o J. Dillard 2507 East 12th 2202 Marietta Main & Storage Bldg Lot 6 Block 5 Cuckler s Addition LeRoy & Odessa Eason 2202 Marietta 315 Mary Lot 6 SW SW Sec. 29 T15 R28 Gwendolyn Stewart 1421 Walter 3227 Northcutt Mobile Home S½ S½ W½ SW NE NW Sec 21 T15 R28 Millie Butler C/o Carolyn Butler 222 Stevens Cts. Texarkana, TX Prince Lot 4 Block 9 Williams S. Side Adition Ken & Michelle Carpenter P.O. Box minutes 6

7 Texarkana, AR Prince Lot 3 Block 12 Bronway Hgts Addition 1311 Prospect Lot 6 Block E Bronway Hgts Addition Phillip Brown 55 Big Rock Circle Patricia L. Smith P.O. Box 68 Fouke, AR S. State Line Lot 10 Block 27 Julio Hurnandez 923 Little River 70 Ogden, AR Assistant Mayor Shipp, seconded by Director Dunphy, moved to adopt the resolution. The Clerk called the roll and the following vote resulted: Directors Dunphy, Harris, Johnson, Potter, Shipp, Williams and Gray voted aye. The Mayor declared the resolution adopted as there were seven ayes and no nays. PUBLIC HEARING: Mayor Gray opened a public hearing to receive comments regarding possible changes to the Community Development Block Grant (C.D.B.G.) Commercial Rehab Loan Program boundaries. City Manager Robert Wright stated this item was placed on the agenda at the request of Director Harris. He briefly stated the C.D.B.G. loan program was used for façade improvements and code corrections for the downtown area; it was administered by the Business Organization for a New Downtown (B.O.N.D.); it allows, generally, for loans up to $5,000; and because it was a C.D.B.G. program if the Board were to make changes a public hearing was required. B.O.N.D. Executive Director Doug Mote stated his concerns about redistricting the downtown boundaries, which currently cover the area from Hickory to Martin Luther King minutes 7

8 to Stateline and south down to Front Street. He spoke briefly about B.O.N.D s plans for the money and plans for workshops that would make downtown business owners aware of the money available. Director Harris said he felt the reason the City received C.D.B.G. monies were for low to moderate income people, and low to moderate income people were not going downtown to start businesses. Mr. Mote disagreed. Director Harris commented the 9 th Street and College Hill areas were depressed areas and that would be where low to moderate income people would locate their businesses. Mr. Mote stated that E. 9 th Street was not within the historical district and neither was College Hill. He said he wanted to emphasize that the money was set aside for downtown revitalization. Mayor Gray added that the money was also administered by B.O.N.D. No one else came forward; therefore the Mayor declared the public meeting closed. PUBLIC HEARING: Mayor Gray opened a public hearing to receive comments regarding the renewal of the cable TV franchise agreement with CableOne. CableOne General Manager Jay Butler stated his purpose tonight was to discuss the renewal of the cable franchise. Based on the guidelines of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) there were two goals that we would need to meet, 1) Review of the performance of the cable television operation, during the term of the current franchise, as well as 2) Identify future community needs and interests for the cable television system in the proposed franchise that would be renewed. He gave a short history and overview of the franchise agreements. Mayor Gray asked that the City Manager give a brief overview of some of the highlights and changes that we would make to the franchise agreement with CableOne. Mr. Wright stated we were engaged in discussions with Texarkana, Texas and minutes 8

9 Wake, Texas as well, because each of the cities had franchises that would expire this year. He said in the draft document that was being reviewed, probably the most substantial change from the current franchise agreement would be in the area of service standards, standards in terms of making appointments, keeping appointments, and availability of customer services personnel; all ways the citizens interact with the cable company, starting from getting the initial cable service to paying bills, and interacting with the cable company if there are service issues. He stated what we had put together was a set of standards and financial penalties for non-compliance on the part of the cable company. He commented some of the standards that were used were standards they had gotten from looking at franchise agreements used in other cities. Much of the rest of the contract was simply spelling out the details in terms of the cable company s responsibilities as it relates to their rights in using city rights-of-way. He stated the public access channel would be one of the new features under this agreement, whereby there would be a channel available under the control of the cities to make announcements. Mr. Wright stated we were within sentences of having an agreement that would be brought to the board at the February 19 th meeting for approval. He also said if there were any issues raised tonight that were not addressed in that agreement we would still have time to incorporate those before the item was brought back to the next meeting. Mayor Gray asked if there were any questions from board members. Following questions and discussion from the board members, no one else came forward, therefore the Mayor declared the public meeting closed. OTHER BUSINESS: minutes 9

10 Mayor Gray introduced Scoutmaster Glenn Crowder and Boy Scout Troop #8 sponsored by Sugarhill Methodist Church and thanked them for attending the Board meeting. Mayor Gray thanked Dr. Mitchell Young and area property owners for their work on the Jefferson Avenue/McDonald Lane Zoning Plan. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Board, on motion duly made, seconded, and unanimously carried, the meeting adjourned. ATTEST: Danny Gray, Mayor Patti Scott Grey, City Clerk minutes 10