REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY OF TEXARKANA, ARKANSAS MAY 15, 2000 MEMBERS PRESENT: The Board of Directors of the City of Texarkana, Arkansas, convened in regular session at 7:00 p.m. on May 15, 2000 with the following members present: Mayor Danny Gray, Assistant Mayor Sue Johnson, and Directors Kathy Dunphy, Laney Harris, Thomas Potter, Horace Shipp and Londell Williams. Also present were City Manager Stephen Hughes, City Attorney Ned Stewart, and City Clerk Patti Scott Grey. INVOCATION: The invocation was given by Director Shipp. CONSENT AGENDA: The Mayor announced that a resolution approving the Airport Fire Services would be tabled until the next Board of Directors Meeting. He also stated that a resolution approving and authorizing the City Manager to pay a car allowance in lieu of providing a City owned vehicle to department heads would be removed from the consent agenda for further discussion, at the request of Director Harris. Assistant Mayor Johnson moved to approve the consent agenda. The motion was seconded by Director Potter and carried unanimously. The items approved by consent were: 05152000MINUTES 1
MINUTES: The minutes approved were of the regular meeting of May 1, 2000. RESOLUTION NO. 4488: Resolution No. 4488 authorizes the City Manager to enter into a contract with Jet Concrete, Inc. for street surfacing of McClure Road and Old Post Road at a cost not to exceed $1,259,654.70. RESOLUTION NO. 4489: Resolution No. 4489 authorizes the City Manager to enter into a contract with Stan Elliott, Inc. for utility infrastructure (water & sewer) improvements for an amount not to exceed $303,628.50. REGULAR AGENDA: CAR ALLOWANCE - TABLED Assistant City Manager Robert Wright reviewed and explained how the Car Allowance Policy would work. Assistant Mayor Johnson asked what the approximate budget cost would be. Assistant City Manager Wright stated the cost woud be around $8,000 for the first year. Director Dunphy asked if a car was downgraded, would the department head then buy a new car. City Manager Stephen Hughes said that the department head would be responsible for the purchase of their own personal vehicle. The car allowance would compensate department heads for the purchase and use of their vehicle. He also stated that the savings for the City would be quite high for the first four and a half years. He said state laws and current financing make it difficult for the City to have $25,000 initially for a vehicle. He said there were at least two 05152000MINUTES 2
vehicles that need to be replaced and it would be more cost effective to move current vehicles down and pay a car allowance to department heads. City Manager Hughes stated that this policy would be something that would need to be reviewed on a yearly basis. Director Dunphy asked how often the City bought vehicles. City Manager Hughes explained that it depended on the use of the vehicle and vehicle mileage. He stated that a vehicle remains in service as long as it is safe to operate and serves the needs of the City. Director Dunphy asked what the City pays for a new vehicle. Mayor Gray stated the City usually spends between $18,000 and 25,000 on a new vehicle. Assistant Mayor Johnson suggested the City could pay whatever IRS allows for mileage. Assistant City Manager Wright stated that could be a great documentation burden for the employee as well as employer if it were handled in that way. Director Shipp asked how many department heads would be affected and how would the car allowance be determined. Mr. Wright stated there was not a formula for calculating the car allowance, but it would be based on the value of the job, the amount of travel and expectations for the job. Director Shipp then asked what rate the City reimbursed for out of town travel and would that be considered double dipping. Assistant City Manager Wright said the City would use the current travel policy for out of town travel. Director Potter asked if it would be possible to have department heads keep up with their miles in order to see how much money each would need. 05152000MINUTES 3
City Manager Hughes stated the policy was for department heads to finance their vehicles because the City cannot afford the initial cost of replacing several vehicles. Director Shipp asked if any department would be involved that does not already have a car. Mr. Hughes stated there would be one case where the car allowance would affect the Assistant City Manager who currently does not have a vehicle. He also said the maximum car allowance he would pay would be $400.00, which is what Texarkana, Texas currently pays. Mr. Hughes stated he is trying to provide vehicles that the City needs without spending $25,000 out of pocket to acquire the vehicle. Director Shipp said he did not want to vote to incorporate a policy that all the directors were not in agreement. Director Potter moved to have the resolution approving and authorizing the City Manager to pay a car allowance in lieu of providing a City owned vehicle to department heads whose job responsibilities requires significant amounts of inarea driving or 24-hour availability for City business tabled to the next Board meeting. The motion was seconded by Director Dunphy and carried unanimously. Mayor Gray announced that the resolution would be tabled. OTHER BUSINESS: Assistant Mayor Johnson asked about the Fire Chiefs convention. Firefighter Matt Rhea spoke briefly about the Arkansas State Fire Chiefs and Firefighters Conference hosted in Texarkana on June 8, 9, 10, and 11 th. He said around 200 had already pre-registered. There would be a number of exhibits set up in the Four States Fair Grounds, and Governor Huckabee would be speaking at 1:30 on Saturday, June 10 th. 05152000MINUTES 4
Director Dunphy asked Mayor Gray to say something about Paint Your Heart Out. Mayor Gray reminded everyone of Paint Your Heart Out project being rescheduled to May 20 th because of rain. Director Harris asked to modify the Street Pavement Management Program. Mayor Gray said the modifications could be made as long as they were the same type of street improvements. Assistant Mayor Johnson asked about the turnout for the Bond meetings. Mayor Gray stated that the turnout had been small. Assistant Mayor Johnson said that the Electronic Agenda was wonderful and she thanked Texarkana Water Utilities IS department for a great job. Director Harris stated his concerns about traffic problems at the intersection of Hwy. 71, Eastside Drive, and Legion Street. He said he would like to make a recommendation to the Highway Department to make modifications at the intersection. Mayor Gray stated that recommendations had been made previously, but the City has not had the money to make the modifications a viable option. The Mayor said the Board could make that a part of our street improvement program. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Board, on motion duly made, seconded, and unanimously carried, the meeting adjourned. Danny Gray, Mayor 05152000MINUTES 5
ATTEST: Patti Scott Grey, City Clerk 05152000MINUTES 6