Only one action item at Alexander council meeting; Still took nearly an hour

Even though Alexander council members only had one item on the agenda that required a vote, the June 21 meeting still took nearly an hour. Most of the meeting involved verbal reports.

Council members approved an ordinance establishing a new petty cash fund as required by a state audit. According to Mayor Paul Mitchell the city just completed its required annual audit for 2020 and that was the only item the auditor wanted corrected.

The ordinance replaces a resolution, which established a petty cash fund in 2016. The new ordinance sets a dollar amount of $100 for “Cash Register at Front Window,” $200 for “Change Fund and Small Expenditures” and $1,000 for “Police Purpose.” According to Mitchell the $200 is an increase over the $100 established in 2016.

Reports given during the June 21 council meeting:

Update on City Park property dispute

City Attorney Lana Fraser gave a brief update on a legal dispute involving the section of the city park containing the gazebo and water fountain. What city officials thought was city property turns out to be owned by David W. Jacks. The city had been mowing the grass for many years and most of the improvements were made since 2015.

Fraser said her research shows Jacks hadn’t paid the property taxes for several years. He then paid in full in 2016.

“It’s understandable you thought it was city property,” she said.

Fraser has suggested using Eminent Domain to take ownership of the property. She told council members she needs to get a certified appraisal and have the property surveyed. Mayor Paul Mitchell said the city has an engineering firm they’ve worked with in the past that can do the surveying.

Council members given homework assignment for July meeting

Near the end of the meeting City Treasurer JoAn Churchill gave a summary of a, “Proposed Amendment to 2021 City of Alexander, Arkansas Budgets.” The proposed budget amendment was provided to council members to study before voting on it at the July council meeting.

The main item Churchill highlighted in her comments is the sections covering pay. Churchill explained that each employee is being paid based on a grade level. According to a chart provided in the budget amendment, the city has 10 grades and eight levels per grade. She said the annual dollar amount shown for each pay grade is not necessarily the amount that will be spent, due to the different number of employees assigned to various pay grades and levels.

Planning Commission report

Planning Commission Chairman Michael Huck reported on issues which occurred since the last council meeting. He also reported on the commission’s meeting with Metroplan representatives during the June 8 commission meeting.

* Huck said he was contacted by someone looking for a location in the city to place a Verizon cell tower.

* Ample Storage, located along Highway 5, is preparing to build on property that was annexed by the city in 2019. Huck said the parcel needs to be zoned Highway Commercial. He said Ample Storage is planning to build indoor vehicle storage units on that location. Drawings for the planned construction and a zoning request must come to the planning commission before any construction can begin.

* Huck gave council members a printout of the planning commission’s new web page. The page can be found on the city’s website. (Click link https://www.cityofalexander.com/planning-commission/) The page includes the names of commission members, the meeting schedule and links to documents that can be downloaded.

* At the planning commission’s June 8 regular meeting commissioners met with Metroplan’s Bernadette Rhodes and Hans Haustein. They were there to explain the next step in writing a Master Development Plan for the city. The first step was the writing of a Planning Studies Report, which was given to council members at the June 21 council meeting.

Huck said the planning commission was given a “Scope of Work” document that details the responsibilities of both Metroplan and the city. A copy was provided to each council member.

The first item listed as a joint-effort is to, “Draft a public survey.” But, before the writing of the survey can begin Mayor Paul Mitchell must sign-off on the Scope of Work plan. Mitchell said he needs to get with Metroplan to have some questions answered before giving approval.

Huck asked help from city council members on another item in the Scope of Work. The city must form a, “Citizen Advisory Group.” The Advisory Group, working with the planning commission, will take part in developing the master plan. Huck said after sending out press releases he has received only one query from someone in St. Joseph’s Glen. Another came from someone with an Alexander mailing address but living outside the city. Huck asked council members to, “Beat the bushes” for volunteers.

* Huck saved two items for last in what he called the, “Permissions Section” of his report. He asked council members to approve mailing a revised version of the Planning Studies Report to three property owners who do not live in the city; and to allow the city attorney to establish the city’s legal liability concerning Bills of Assurance for the 10 subdivisions which make up what is now South Alexander, formerly Woodland Hills.

Council members were provided a copy of the reworked Planning Studies Report entitled, “A Developer’s Guide to Alexander, Arkansas.” Huck said it’s the same information that’s in the Planning Studies Report minus Metroplan’s suggested actions to be taken by the city. Two of the properties are large pieces in the city. The third location is along Highway 5 between the Alexander and Bryant city limits. Two of the owners are in Little Rock; the other is in Nash, Texas. Huck noted he has already E-mailed a copy to a realtor who contacted him concerning a zoning issue. Council members agreed to the request.

On the Bill of Assurance issue; Huck told council members he was contacted by a South Alexander resident claiming the recent approval of a Conditional Use Permit, to set up a food trailer at the corner of S. Alexander Rd. and Alton Dr., is illegal. The individual did not attend the public hearing for the Conditional Use Permit.

A Bill of Assurance is a legal document that establishes how property can be used after it’s been sold to an individual. Bills of Assurance are mainly used when developing a subdivision to maintain the original design plan after the subdivision is completed, especially when the subdivision is outside a city limits. In the case of the Bills of Assurance for the 10 subdivisions that made up Woodland Hills, now South Alexander, aside from a handful of lots most of them were designated for single-family housing.

Huck said he has read some of them online and is waiting to receive paper copies. From what he’s read there is language that allows for a property owner to get permission to use a lot for purposes other than residential use. However, Huck noted, many of those people or entities that would have dealt with a request, “are long gone.”

The subdivisions were established from 1966 to 1986. Woodland Hills was annexed by Alexander in 2006.

Huck asked if he can have City Attorney Lana Fraser research whether the city is legally bound to follow the Bills of Assurance restrictions and if there is a legal way to end them, allowing the city to enforce its zoning regulations and plan future developments. He was given permission to work with Fraser.

The next regular meeting of the Alexander City Council is Monday, July 19 at 6:00 PM in the courtroom at the Municipal City Complex. The public is invited to attend.