REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY OF TEXARKANA, ARKANSAS MARCH 17, 2003

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1 REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY OF TEXARKANA, ARKANSAS MARCH 17, 2003 MEMBERS PRESENT: The Board of Directors of the City of Texarkana, Arkansas, convened in regular session at 7:00 p.m. on March 17, 2003 with the following members present: Mayor Horace G. Shipp, Assistant Mayor Thomas Potter, and Directors Kathy Dunphy, Laney Harris, Sue Johnson, and Frank Poff. Also present were City Manager Robert W. Wright, City Attorney Wren Autrey, and City Clerk Patti Scott Grey. Director Londell Williams and City Attorney Ned Stewart were absent. INVOCATION: The invocation was given by Assistant Mayor Potter. 9 th ANNUAL SPELLING BEE TROPHY PRESENTATION: Mayor Shipp asked the Literacy Council Members, the City Spelling Bee Team, and the City Sponsors to come forward. Literacy Council Executive Director Robbye Magee and Literacy Council Board Members Donna Chatman and Kristie Dempsey presented Mayor Shipp, City Manager Wright and Fire Marshal Jeff Tanner, the 2003 City Team, with the 9 th Annual Spelling Bee Trophy. Ms. Magee and Mayor Shipp thanked Guaranty Bond Bank and its representatives Brad Moore and Becky Thompson for being the City Sponsors. CONSENT AGENDA: minutes 1

2 Mayor Shipp announced that Item 3C, approving the request by Business Organization for a New Downtown (B.O.N.D.) for a Pro American Rally Celebration on Saturday, March 29, 2003, would be pulled from the consent agenda for further discussion at the request of Director Harris. Assistant Mayor Potter moved to approve the consent agenda. The motion was seconded by Director Johnson and carried unanimously. The items approved by consent were: MINUTES: The minutes approved were of the regular meeting of March 3, RESOLUTION NO. 4892: Resolution No reschedules the April 7 th Board of Directors meeting to 5 p.m. that evening due to a conflict with Dr. Stephen Covey s meeting with local community leaders. RESOLUTION NO. 4893: Resolution No declares the following Police Department vehicles surplus and authorizes their disposition in accordance with Arkansas law: 1993 Ford Taurus VIN: 1FALP52U3PA Ford Crown Victoria VIN: 2FALP71W1TX Ford Crown Victoria VIN: 2FALP71W2TX Ford Crown Victoria VIN: 2FALP71W6VX Chevrolet Lumina VIN: 2G1WL52M5S REGULAR AGENDA: RESOLUTION NO. 4894: Resolution No was read in its entirety. Said resolution grants permission to Business Organization for a New Downtown (B.O.N.D.) for the Pro American Rally minutes 2

3 Celebration on Saturday, March 29, 2003, and grants the exclusive use of certain downtown rights-of-way during the celebration. City Manager Robert Wright said BOND s Executive Director Doug Mote had requested permission to conduct the rally, as a way to show American troops oversees and locally the gratitude we have for their service to our country. Director Harris said he had asked that the item be removed from the consent agenda to bring attention to the item. He asked the Mayor to announce the date and time of the event for the citizens and audience members, who may not have noticed it on the consent agenda. Mayor Shipp commented that that was a good idea and said the Pro American Rally Celebration would be held Saturday, March 29 th, around the U.S. Post Office from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Assistant Mayor Potter, seconded by Director Harris, moved to adopt the resolution. The Clerk called the roll and the following vote resulted: Directors Dunphy, Harris, Johnson, Poff, Potter, and Shipp voted aye. The Mayor declared the resolution adopted, as there were six ayes and no nays. ORDINANCE NO. L-125: An ordinance was introduced to be entitled, "AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING AND DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH ECONOMICS RESEARCH ASSOCIATES (ERA) TO PERFORM THE TEXARKANA, ARKANSAS MUNICIPAL AUDITORIUM FEASIBILITY STUDY; FOR DECLARING AN EMERGENCY; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES". Said ordinance allows Economics Research Associates to commence with the auditorium feasibility study. Assistant Mayor Potter moved to have the ordinance read in abbreviated form. The motion was seconded by Director Dunphy and carried unanimously. The ordinance was read the first time minutes 3

4 The City Manager Robert Wright briefly spoke about the item. Mr. Wright stated The Municipal Auditorium Renovation Commission recommended entering into a contract with Economics Research Associate (ERA) for a feasibility study for the municipal auditorium project. He commented that ERA was the company that did the feasibility study for the conference center and that they would be able to draw from their previous work, thereby reducing the cost of doing the auditorium study. The ERA proposal cost would not exceed $20,000 and the commission proposes to fund the study with the $25,000 A & P allocation they received this year. He recommended approval of the contract. Director Johnson commented that she supported the commission s historical aspirations, but she had concerns about the amount of funds it would take to restore the auditorium, what would happen to the Fire Department Administrative Offices, and possible parking problems for the facility. Director Poff, Chairman for The Municipal Auditorium Renovation Commission, spoke briefly about the work that The Municipal Auditorium Renovation Commission had already completed, planned to do, and the positive affects the restoration of the auditorium would have on the community. He commented that the commission had some of the same concerns Director Johnson had. The commission hoped to use the feasibility study to apply for grants and other funds. He also stated some of the other questions would be addressed as the project progressed. Assistant Mayor Potter moved that the rules be suspended and the ordinance be placed on its second reading. The motion was seconded by Director Dunphy. The Clerk called the roll and the following vote resulted: Directors Dunphy, Harris, Poff, Potter, and Shipp voted aye. Director Johnson voted nay. The Mayor declared the motion carried, as minutes 4

5 there were five ayes and one nay. The ordinance was read the second time and the Mayor declared the ordinance open for discussion. Assistant Mayor Potter then moved that the rules be further suspended and the ordinance be placed on its third and final reading. The motion was seconded by Director Harris. The Clerk called the roll and the following vote resulted: Directors Dunphy, Harris, Poff, Potter, and Shipp voted aye. Director Johnson voted nay. The Mayor declared the motion carried, as there were five ayes and one nay. The ordinance was then read the third and final time and the Mayor declared the ordinance open for discussion. Director Poff invited the board members and audience to The Municipal Auditorium Renovation Commission meetings on the first Wednesday of every month. The Mayor then put the question, "Shall the Ordinance pass?" The Clerk called the roll and the following vote resulted: Directors Dunphy, Harris, Potter, and Shipp voted aye. Director Johnson voted nay and Director Poff abstained. The Mayor declared the ordinance passed, as there were four ayes, one abstention, and one nay. CITIZEN COMMUNICATION TIME: Elizabeth Anne Winger, 600 Hickory Street, commented on the positive activities undertaken by The Municipal Auditorium Renovation Commission. She stated the commission had already been working on the clean up and inventory of the documents and material in the auditorium. She also said the commission had recently acquired 700 seats from the Pine Street School auditorium to use in the facility. Doug Mote asked that Texarkana citizens come join BOND downtown on March 29 th for the Pro American Rally Celebration. Bethany Hanna, 600 Pecan Street (Garrison McLain House), spoke briefly about a recent trip a few members of the commission had taken to northwest Arkansas to visit minutes 5

6 some auditorium/theater facilities that were involved in restoration projects. They visited Van Buren, Harrison, and Eureka Springs in hopes that it would provide an opportunity to obtain additional information and advice that would be useful with this project. She talked about what an asset an auditorium of this size would be to the Texarkana area. OTHER BUSINESS: Director Dunphy thanked The Municipal Auditorium Renovation Commission members for their community involvement. EXECUTIVE SESSION: The Mayor announced that the Board would go into executive session. MEETING RECONVENED: The meeting was reconvened by the Mayor following the executive session. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Board, on motion duly made, seconded, and unanimously carried, the meeting adjourned. ATTEST: Horace G. Shipp, Mayor Patti Scott Grey, City Clerk minutes 6