The lack of just one council member kept the Alexander City Council from passing an Interlocal Agreement on its second appearance on the agenda. The ordinance had its first reading at the March council meeting when four council members were present, forcing Mayor Paul Mitchell to make the needed quorum of five.
At the April 19 meeting five council members did attend. According to Mitchell Council Member Dan Church injured himself when he fell Sunday. After recovering from surgery this would have been his first time back after several months. Mitchell also reported Council Member Juanita Wilson was out of town for a funeral.
The Interlocal Agreement will allow Alexander to join other Saline County cities and the unincorporated ares of the county in contracting for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) with one provider. Other cities to be involved are Bauxite, Benton, Bryant, Haskell, Shannon Hills, and Traskwood. As stated in the ordinance the,”[P]urpose is to ensure that there is increased consistency, transparency, and accountability with the emergency medical services … provider for the citizens of Saline County.”
Once the agreement is finalized an EMS governing board will be formed. The board, “[W]ill be responsible for issuing a competitive solicitation for EMS services and assuring that the terms of any EMS franchise agreement are complied with,” the agreement states.
Because only five council members attended the meeting there could only be a second public reading of the ordinance. In order to suspend the required second and third readings and declare an emergency, which allows the ordinance to become effective immediately, two-thirds of the council (six members) must be present. The mayor is allowed to be the fifth member needed for a quorum, but he is not permitted by law to be the sixth vote in this situation.
At the suggestion of the mayor, the council approved, in a voice vote, to have the second reading done by title. After reading the title Mitchell said he will contact the council members to schedule a Special Meeting when at least six members can be present. Mitchell added he is under the impression Alexander is last in approving the agreement.
Attending the April 19 meeting were council members Joe Pollard, Joy Gray, Harold Timmerman, Lonny Chapman, and Jeff Watson. Besides Church and Wilson, Council Member Elizabeth Bland was also absent.
Also at the April 19 meeting:
Street Department purchase retroactively approved
The city council approved a $10,000.00 purchase by the street department after buying a piece of equipment worth $16,000.00. What’s known as a street milling attachment fits on the front of the city’s Bobcat Skid-Steer Loader.
By ordinance the mayor is limited to $5,000.00 without council approval, but he explained there wasn’t time to call a meeting before losing this bargain. Mitchell said the city was contacted by the dealer who sold Alexander the Bobcat.
The attachment is able to grind down asphalt paving, which aids in blending the resurfacing of one street at an intersection of another street not being resurfaced. Mitchell explained how the city had to pay extra for milling as part of past resurfacing projects.
Mitchell also said the attachment, “Is already saving us money.”
He explained how the milling attachment can be used to repair pot holes without buying asphalt. The street department recently used the milling attachment, and a recently purchased tack oil trailer, to repair two holes on Brookwood Rd. between the railroad tracks and Shobe Road. The tack oil is heated on the trailer allowing it to be sprayed onto an area being patched.
Mitchell told council members after milling down the pavement the grindings were mixed with hot tacky oil to make, essentially, a batch of recycled asphalt. He added that applying tacky oil to an area before patching gives asphalt something to stick to, allowing the repair to last longer.
He noted if they had used asphalt the cost is around $90 a ton which, “doesn’t go very far.” Then there’s the cost of driving the dump truck to pick up and return with the asphalt.
Alexander has a new prosecutor/city attorney
Lana M. Fraser has been hired as the city’s new prosecuting attorney and city attorney. Fraser is from Little Rock.
According to her resume she earned both her Bachelor of Science in Education in 2000 and a Master of Science in Education in 2006 from the University of Central Arkansas, Conway. She then earned her Juris Doctorate from William H. Bowen School of Law in Little Rock.
Fraser taught at Vilonia Public Schools from 2001 to 2016. She was with the Arkansas Department of Human Services as a Services and Program Licensing Specialist from 2016 to 2018. She served as a Rule XV Law Clerk with the Pulaski County Public Defender’s Office from 2018 to 2019. Fraser was the Deputy Public Defender with the Arkansas Public Defender Commission (Pulaski Public Defender’s Office), from 2019 to 2020.
Since August 2020, Fraser has been a Deputy Public Defender with the Arkansas Public Defender Commission (Part time position, Faulkner County Public defender’s Office). Also since August of 2020, Fraser has been practicing law on her own by forming the Law Office of Lana M. Fraser.
Mayor Paul Mitchell told council members Fraser agreed to work for the same salary as the previous prosecutor/city attorney, who resigned about three months ago. He also said Fraser is already working on the issue of some of the city park land being claimed by the original owner after the city made thousands of dollars of improvements.
Next Meeting
The next meeting of the Alexander City Council is Monday, May 17 at 6:00 PM in the courtroom at city hall. The public is invited to attend.
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