The Alexander City Council approved Mayor Paul Mitchell’s recommendation to hire GarnerHill, Ltd. to repair and replace damaged portions of the roof at the Municipal Complex (City hall). Later at the September 19 city council meeting Mitchell reported that the interest portion of two loans for city hall has been paid.
According to Mitchell it appears the roof was damaged by severe storms and has hail damaged. Mitchell told council members after a storm last July shingles were seen laying in the parking lot. An inspector was contacted to assess the damage and it was determined the roof was damaged by hail.
Based on provided documents repair to the roof is covered under the Arkansas Municipal League’s (AML) Municipal Property Insurance Program. The city has a $7,500.00 deductible. AML has already made a partial payment towards the repairs.
There were two bids submitted. The one from GarnerHill estimated the cost of repairs, “without upgrades,” at $16,950.00 using 3-tab shingles with a 25 year warranty. Roofing Logistics submitted an estimate of $17,862.81. The estimate does not include a description of the shingles or warranty. By a voice vote Mitchell received permission to accept the bid from GarnerHill.
According to Pulaski County property records the City of Alexander closed on the purchase of the former post office building and property on December 16, 2005 at a cost of $225,000. The post office is now located across Hwy. 111 from the Municipal Complex.
The city took out two loans from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). One was to purchase the building and property. The other was used to build the addition of the courtroom and roof covering both the old and new sections.
“The interest on this building was paid off about three or four months ago,” Mitchell said. “We owe like $284,000.00, last time I looked at it, on this building and … on the second loan like $48,000.00.”
In an Email the next day Mitchell reduced the amount owed on the first loan to $278,000.00.
“I’ve been saving money for a good while to pay this building off,” Mitchell told council members. “So I’ll probably be coming back to you with better numbers and figures, where the city starts to get free. All we owe for is this building here and the two police cars out front.”
In the above mentioned Email Mitchell said, “[N]ow we are working on the principal, some where to end in 2036.”
That’s of course if the city continues to pay the same dollar amounts each year as in the past. In previous conversations Mitchell has indicated he was ready to pay off both loans until the price of fuel went up and inflation hit. Now he’s concentrating on keeping police cars and other city vehicles fueled.
In other action at the September 19 council meeting:
City returns money to ARPA Fund
Council members approved a resolution that returns $1,807.00 to the city’s America Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) fund. In December, 2021 the Alexander Council approved a resolution granting, “Premium pay for certain municipal employees from the American Rescue Plan.”
The purpose of ARPA was to provide financial aid to government workers who were affected in some way by the CoVid-19 pandemic. It was signed into law March 11, 2021 by President Joe Biden.
ARPA allowed payments up to $1,800.00 per qualifying employee. After the resolution was approved at the December 19, 2021 council meeting, Mayor Paul Mitchell also received permission from council members to give employees who do not qualify for the Premium Pay a $150 bonus.
In an E-mail received Tuesday, September 20, Mitchell further explained City Treasurer JoAn Churchill, who at the time was also the Office Manager, was accidentally paid as part of the ARPA payment. The resolution approved this past Monday directs the $1,800.00 be returned to the city’s ARPA Fund along with the associated taxes.
Millage rate remains low
The Alexander City Council approved the annual resolution establishing the city’s real estate and property tax rate for 2022 to be collected in 2023. The tax rate will remain at 1.5-mils. What would normally be a tax rate of 5-mils was gradually reduced in exchange for a one-cent sale tax increase, which was approved by voters in November 2017.
Another donation of land in the works
Mayor Paul Mitchell announced the offer of a donation to the city of 43.17 acres. The parcel is in Pulaski County, mostly located behind Dollar General and the post office.
According to county records the property is owned by Alexander Road LLC. Unfortunately, the parcel is located in both the City of Alexander and Little Rock. Mitchell said that’s an issue the property owner will have to work out with Little Rock.
The striped area in the map is the 43.17 acres that covers an area in both Alexander and Little Rock. The "DG" represents Dollar General.
Next Meeting
The next meeting of the Alexander City Council is Monday, October 17 at 6:00 PM in the courtroom at city hall. The public is invited to attend.
No comments:
Post a Comment