Alexander K-9 unit retires

After nearly seven years, and multiple handlers, the Alexander Police Department's K-9 Leo is retiring. Police Chief Robert Burnett told council members seven to eight years is about the time police dogs retire.

Officer J. Lavrinc and Leo, Oct, 2022.

"I feel he's done his service," Burnett said. "I'd like to retire him."

But, Leo's not the only one retiring. Burnett announced K-9 Officer J. Lavrinc is also leaving.

"K-9 Officer Lavrinc has put his notice in to resign his duty due to serious medical problems ... that he will have to deal with," Burnett continued. "These dogs, they get attached and it's hard for a dog to part with a handler. With the council's permission I'd like to donate the dog to Lavrinc."

In a voice vote all council members approved donating Leo to former Officer Lavrinc.

Later in the meeting, Burnett told council members the K-9 unit will not be replaced allowing the department to use that funding for other purposes. Also, Burnett received permission to sell the K-9 vehicle and replace it with a standard equipped police car.

Alexander PD moving to new digs

The Alexander Municipal Complex is busting at the seams and someone has to go. The Alexander City Council has given the police department permission to move to one of the office buildings formerly occupied by Pathfinders, Inc. on the property of the former Alexander Human Development Center.

At the council's March 20 meeting Police Chief Robert Burnett described the situation as too many children and not enough house.

"Basically, we've got 15 officers, and it's like, I have 15 kids in a two bedroom house," he said.

The front half, of what is now the Alexander Municipal Complex, was the post office until it was relocated to the other side of Highway 111. The back half, which is the courtroom, was added along with the roof.

Anyone who has attended a city meeting is familiar with the courtroom, since it is also used as a meeting room. However, Burnett noted it serves another purpose that could be a bit intimidating.

"We have no interview room. You're sitting in our interview room," Burnett told council members. "Now, if I bring you in here and I interview you, you're in a courtroom."

Burnett provided a list of issues the current building is unable to address. What it boils down to is not enough storage for a variety of items.

"Storage for secured evidence," Burnett began. "We were given a pretty much closet. We reinforced it, steeled it, put triple locks, digital locks, key card, everything else on it."

"Now, with that being said, it's very small," Burnett continued. "We've outgrown it just like everything else. We've put a lot of drugs in that thing, a lot of weapons, everything else."

Burnett explained once a trial is completed the evidence and any weapons must be destroyed, what's called an "order destruction," to make room for more evidence and weapons. That's not the case in most departments.

"Normally, most departments that order destruction once a year, once every couple of years, because (they) normally don't have this problem," he said. "We do it almost quarterly now."

Anyone who has been in the lobby of the Municipal Complex may have noticed the Prescription Take Back Box.

"That's a little service program we do for the community to take narcotics, pills, whatever off the street," Burnett said. "So we end up having to store those in boxes, file boxes. And that goes in our evidence (room) on top of an already crowded system."

Burnett said the state police will have a drive for accepting unused prescription drugs once or twice a year. That's when the Alexander Police Department can dispose of its collection.

"It's normal for us to take a whole bed of a pickup truck up there," he said.

Then there's the need to keep certain items dry.

Burnett said the department needs, "[T]o store computers, uniforms, ammunition, weapons. We need something that's climate control."

For several years now the city has used two storage containers, located behind the Municipal Complex, to store old files. Chief Burnett said the containers are not water tight.

"Well, due to the leaks in them, the moss, the mildew and everything else, it makes it kind of hard to store certain things out there," he said.

Cottage-A at the former Human Development Center.

Parking is another issue. Burnett said police vehicles take up what little parking space there is at City Hall. This new location has its own parking lot with about 20 spots.

And, as any realtor will tell you it's all about location, location, location.

"Cottage-A is more essentially located in the city, more the heart of the city by population and by call volume," Burnett said.

Cottage-A is one of the two buildings used by Pathfinders, Inc. as office space, when the organization occupied the southeastern corner of the former Alexander Human Development Center. There are also five cottages that provided living quarters for the clients.

According to its website Pathfinders provides services, "[T]o enable citizens with developmental disabilities, and/or behavioral health needs, total access to community life.” It wasn't until August 2022 that Pathfinders' lease expired requiring them to move.

The Arkansas Department of Human Services ended operations at the Alexander site in 2011. In 2017 Alexander was offered the property, since the state had no further use for it. The acquisition was finalized in 2018.

It will take some time to convert Cottage-A into police headquarters. Burnett said the building needs to be repaired first.

Also at the March 20 council meeting:

Mayor fails to convince council need for Code of Conduct

Mayor Crystal Herrmann was unable to get a motion from any of the council members to approve passage of a Code of Conduct. The Code essentially detailed how council members will treat each other and the public during council meetings.

Council Member Joy Gray pointed out the council is required to follow Robert's Rules of Order under the Organization of City Council (OCC). She suggested everyone review Roberts Rules. The OCC, which is approved every January, also includes other requirements as to how meetings are conducted. The Code was considered a duplication by some.

Street paving bid too high

Mayor Herrmann reported on the bid to repave streets under the State Aid City Streets Program administered by the Arkansas Department of Transportation. According to Herrmann the low bid is $380,000. The maximum to be paid by the state program is $300,000. The city can pay for any amount over the maximum, but Herrmann said some streets will have to be removed from the list to bring the amount down closer to the $300,000.

Repairs to ladder fire truck approved

The repair estimate in the amount of $15,226.15 was approved by the Alexander City Council. The repairs to the fire department's ladder truck were both mechanical and electrical in nature.

Fire Chief Tim Chilcote was questioned as to why he didn't seek bids for the repairs. Chilcote said by the time G&W Diesel Service determined everything that needed to be repaired the cost kept adding up. He also attempted to point out, over the cross-talk, that there aren't many places nearby to have a fire truck repaired.

Planning Commission members reappointed

Alexander Planning Commission members Stephanie Beck and Tonya Prowse were reappointed for another term by the city council. Their current terms are set to expire April 6, 2023. A term on the planning commission is three years.

Police vehicles to be replaced

Council members gave Police Chief Robert Burnett permission to replace two police vehicles. One is the 2020 Dodge Durango that was recently involved in a head-on collision with a driver who was charged with Driving Under the Influence. It was totaled at $29,050. The second vehicle is the Dodge Durango used by the K-9 unit. Burnett said all of the equipment except the K-9 cage will be removed and used in the new vehicle. He's hoping to be able to sell it to a department that needs a K-9 vehicle.

City Recorder to get computer

The council approved buying City Recorder Sharon Bankhead a computer for her city to perform her city duties. She said she's currently using a tablet. At the February meeting council members approved buying a computer for City Treasurer JoAn Churchill for city use.

Next Meeting

The next meeting of the Alexander City Council is Monday, April 17 at 6:00 PM in the courtroom at the Alexander Municipal Complex. The public is invited to attend.

Alexander files Eminent Domain suit for park property

(CORRECTION: 03-26-2023 Paragraph 17, City & 22, $5,000.)

The City of Alexander has filed an Eminent Domain lawsuit against David Jacks, owner of the property that makes up the east end of Alexander City Park, near Highway 111. The case has been filed in Saline County Circuit Court. Council members approved the action at the March 20 council meeting.

Attorney Lana Fraser brought council members up-to-speed as to where the city stands in this on-going saga. Due to her familiarity with this case as the former City Attorney, Fraser was selected by the council at the February meeting to represent the city. Fraser is now with the James Law Firm in Little Rock.

First she gave council members a walk-through of a document provided by Jacks, which makes claims without the documentation to back them up. Not to mention his lack of understanding of tax law.

Fraser said Jacks, "[M]ade a proposed offer for the City to purchase the property without going through the court system." The document was labeled, "Settlement of Lease Claim and Acceptance of Land Donation."

"[C]learly it's not an offer to donate the land exclusively," Fraser said. "The document, first of all, insinuates or implies that there was a lease agreement between the City of Alexander and Mr. Jacks to lease the property. I spoke with the Mayor (Crystal Herrmann) and I also spoke with (Council Member) Juanita (Wilson) about whether or not there was any indication there had been a written agreement entered into to lease the property for 40 months or for at any time. It's my understanding there is not."

Fraser said Jacks is claiming the "Lease Agreement" was for $2,000 a month and is attempting to claim a breach of contract.

"That lease would have to be in writing," Fraser continued. "So we're looking at ... does Mr. Jacks have a valid breach of contract for a lease agreement claim? I don't think that any court would find that there is a valid contract ever between the City of Alexander and Mr. Jacks ..., because that agreement was not in writing."

Fraser said there's also no evidence of a verbal lease agreement.

In Jacks' proposed document, "He's asking the city to acknowledge basically that they've had exclusive possession of the property and in spite of his demand for payment, they failed to do so," Fraser continued. "He was willing to waive that if we would agree with these terms."

"I don't believe that that's a good idea because for one, this is saying and says without admitting that such payments were wrongfully withheld basically if we were to admit that, that would be a taking and without just compensation," Fraser explained. "Which is exactly what we're not wanting to do here."

Explaining Jacks' actual proposal Fraser said, "He proposed to donate the land for public purposes only so that he could be included in a Federal and any other state regulatory tax rules. He could get an exemption"

"And in fact, you can donate to a city or state entity for a taxable deduction," Fraser continued. "However, it would have to be the fair market value of that property for the deduction."

"He asked us to give him (a) tax deduction in the amount of $248,248," she said. "I don't know that that's the correct value from that appraisal from back in January of 2020, but he's asking us to use that appraisal."

The city had been mowing the grass on the eastern parcel for many years. As far as anyone knew it was city property. The improvements made to that area were done during 2017 and 2018.

After the improvements were completed Jacks contacted then Mayor Paul Mitchell asking about the construction on his property. According to Mitchell he tried to negotiate a resolution with Jacks but they were all basically one-sided, due to Jacks’ refusal to respond to any offers. Mitchell had even hired a real estate lawyer to no avail.

When first dealing with this issue, Mitchell had said Jacks wanted to be paid the value of the property with all the improvements the city made included. That now appears to be true. The $248,248 amount may have been derived from a Freedom of Information Act request from Jacks' attorney, at the time, asking for all the receipts for the improvements.

"He also said, well, asked the City to go ahead and issue him a check for the $68,000 amount despite (the City) owing $80,000, according to him, as a settlement for the breach of lease," Fraser said. "Obviously we don't have a lease, so I don't know how it's breached."

The $68,000 amount is based on an appraisal of the 2.13-acre parcel Alexander received September 29, 2022. The appraisal is for the bare property, not including any of the improvements. One of the drawbacks of that location is that it sits in a flood area alongside Crooked Creek.

Mayor Crystal Herrmann told council members she had spoken to Jacks recently and explained to him he can't donate the property to the city and be paid the $68,000.

Fraser said, "I proposed the offer or the counteroffer, I guess you could say if he wanted to donate it, of course we would agree to give him a special warranty deed that would allow him to write that donation off."

Fraser provided council members with two documents. One will be used if Jacks decides to donate the property at an appraised value of $68,000. The other allows for the purchase of the property from Jack's for the same appraised value of $68,000.

A check for $68,000 has been filed with the Saline County Circuit Court. Both the $68,000 and the $5,000 retainer for Fraser's legal services are being paid out of the Parks and Recreation Fund. It's now up to Jacks to take the next step.

What events lead up to Alexander reaching this point?

When Fraser took on this case in 2021 she was still Alexander's City Attorney. The first issue she wanted to deal with was the properties' chain of custody.

As it now stands the City Park is made up of two parcels. One was donated by Douglas W. Loftin, Jr. and his wife Cindy Loftin. That parcel makes up about three-fourths of the park including most of the paved parking lot and everything to the west. The parcel in question starts near the edge of the parking lot and covers the area to Highway 111.

According to an article published in The Alexandrian on Wednesday, August 18, 2021, Fraser reported to council members her findings after conducting a deed search on the two parcels. The following are excerpts from that article.

After a report given by Alexander City Attorney Lana Fraser, it is going to take a land surveyor to determine the location of the city park’s boundaries and how much of it is already owned by the city. Based on a warranty deed issued to the city in 2004 and a quit claim deed issued in 2016, Fraser says it appears the 2004 deed has more acreage than the 2016 deed.

Currently, the city park is made up of two parcels of land. The western parcel makes up about three-fourths of the park and was deeded to the city by Douglas W. Loftin, Jr. and his wife Cindy Loftin in 2004. It was also deeded to the city by the Arkansas Land Commissioner for unpaid taxes in 2016.

According to the Saline County Assessor’s Office the smaller eastern portion is owned by David W. Jacks. Saline County records show the Loftins sold the eastern portion to Jacks in the year 2000.

“It’s quite possible you may have a color of title,” Fraser said. “The Loftins could by accident deeded both to Mr. Jacks and the city the same little spec of land.” ...

The article continues.

Her research has also uncovered documents that show Jacks had lost ownership of the property twice due to non-payment of property taxes. He then regained ownership twice after paying restitution on the overdue taxes.

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

The Alexandrian also reported on the various improvements when they were approved by the council.

Timeline of Improvements

Published Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Alexander city council approves gazebo plans for park. ($60,000)

Published Thursday, March 8, 2018

Alexander council approves $55,000 for park fountain.

Published Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Council accepted quote to light pathway’s in the city park from Alliance Electrical Services for $50,977.29.

When the issue with Jacks first arose former Mayor Paul Mitchell halted all planned improvements and large maintenance projects to the park, except for mowing the grass. The Parks and Recreation Fund derives its revenue from a quarter-cent of one of the city's three one-cent sales taxes. Not knowing what settling this legal issue will cost Mitchell did not want to draw down the fund until this is settled.

Near the end of the March 20 council meeting City Recorder Sharron Bankhead warned council members that Crooked Creek is eating away that section of the park, getting closer to the gazebo. She expressed the urgency of settling this issue before that area of the park is beyond repair.

Final resolution expected on Park property at Alexander March meeting

It's another full plate for the Alexander City Council. A total of 12 items are listed under New Business.

The most anticipated of those is the one related to the City Park. Alexander officials and attorneys have been negotiating with David W. Jacks over the past two plus years concerning ownership of property thought to belong to the city.

The property makes up the eastern end of the park containing the gazebo and fountain. The city kept the grass mowed for 10 to 20 years before making the improvements, not realizing the property had never been deeded to Alexander. Only after the improvements were made did Jacks make himself known.

Four methods of taking ownership of the property will be proposed. The city can have the property condemned through court action, a court can issue an "Order of Possession," or Jacks can accept the city's offer to buy the property without court action. All three of those options will get Jacks $68,000. The fourth option, proposed by Jacks, would be for him to donate the property to the city at a tax deductible value of $68,000.

Other items listed under New Business are; "Reconsideration of funds used for Alexander staff housing, Final Service Master invoice payment, Fire truck repair approval, Approval of planning committee members, Update on software system, Purchase of computer for City Recorder, Code of Conduct, Moving of PD, Wrecked vehicle update including insurance coverage, Approval of loan for new police vehicle, and Retirement of K9 officer."

The next meeting of the Alexander City Council is Monday, March 20, in the courtroom of the Alexander Municipal Complex. The meeting begins at 6:00PM and the public is invited to attend.

"Organization of City Council" rules apply to everyone

This article may contain the opinion of its author.

Every January the Alexander City Council establishes its operating rules for the next 12 months. Those rules are called "Organization of City Council." They establish the duties of various city office holders and how public meetings will be conducted, including limits imposed on the public attending these meetings. After last month's unruly performance during the Public Comment portion of the meeting, a revisit of these rules seem to be needed.

When it comes to speaking there are rules for both council members and the public. The section for council members reads as follows.

Regular Council Meeting — Debate Rules & Meeting Procedures

"Council meetings shall be conducted under the rules set forth in the Arkansas Municipal League's handbook: Procedural Rules for Municipal Officials.

"Each Council member will have five minutes to debate any issue before the Council. After each member has spoken, a second five minutes will be given to each member if so requested. There will be no interruption from any member who does not, have the floor, as explained in the Arkansas Municipal League's handbook Procedural Rules for Municipal Officials. If the Council member holding the floor chooses to yield for a question, the time used will be deducted from the members five minutes.

"A timer will be used to ensure that all Council members have equal time for debate. All members will address the Chair when requesting time. Any statement made will be directed to the Chair and not to a Council member.

"Citizens may be invited to comment during the regular Council meeting session upon agreement of a two-thirds majority vote of the Council members. Each public comment will be limited to three minutes during the debate portion of the issue at hand and prior to the vote."

Anyone attending the meeting is allowed time to either comment on an ongoing issue, make an announcement that may be of public interest, or bring to the attention of council members a problem of which they may not be aware. On the agenda it's listed as "Public Comment."

Regular Council Meeting — Public Comment

"Citizens may address the Council during the public comment portion of the agenda for three minutes without interruption. A timer will be used to ensure that all citizens have equal time. If any citizen would like to address the Council longer, the Council may extend the time limit once for an additional three minutes by a suspension of the rules with a majority vote or place the topic on the next meeting’s agenda for further discussion."

Notice it says, "[T]he Council may extend the time limit once for an additional three minutes." It does not say members of the public may bestow upon the person speaking their three minutes.

It's also called "Public Comment." Only members of the public are allowed to speak. Standard practice has been to not permit the asking and answering of questions during "Public Comment." You take your three minutes and sit down. If you're lucky you may be advised who to see to resolve your query.

If council members believe you have an issue that should be discussed further, it will be placed on the agenda for the next meeting. Agenda items are given more leeway in discussion rules.

If you have an issue or complaint you believe requires a discussion with the council you can submit a request to be placed on the agenda. The procedure to request being placed on the agenda is as follows.

"If anyone wants to be added to the agenda they shall request in writing, or by email, to either Alexander City Hall, or to the individual designated to prepare the agenda, no later than fourteen (14) days prior to the next regularly scheduled Council meeting. ... When submitting the request to address the Mayor/Council the person must state their name, or the name of their organization if relevant; their physical address and the topic."

The council member responsible for the agenda is Joy Gray. Regular meetings of the Alexander City Council are the third Monday of each month except January and February. In those two months the meetings are held the fourth Monday due to holidays. The meetings are at 6:00 PM.

The mailing address for city hall is:

City of Alexander

P.O, Box 610

Alexander, AR 72002

Joy Gray's email address is; joy.gray@cityofalexander.org.

Let's all try to be more professional this month.

Live-in guards plan can move forward

After having the lease agreement reviewed by attorneys, a judge and a tax expert Alexander will move forward with allowing some city employees to live in houses previously occupied by Pathfinders. Council members approved the plan in January with some recommended changes and a review of the lease agreement by an attorney. The houses are located in the southeast corner of the former Alexander Human Development Center on Highway 111.

Under the original proposal employees from either the street department or police department would live rent-free in the homes in exchange for the employees, on their own time, maintaining the grounds surrounding the homes and patrol the entire property protecting it from vandalism. Pathfinder’s, Inc. used the homes to house adults with special needs. Their lease expired in August, 2022.

Soon after Pathfinders moved out the vandalism began. Damage to the Alexander Community Center #2 and the homes resulted in over $9,000.00 of repairs and cleaning. The vandalism has stopped after two street department employees were allowed to move-in with their families late last year as a quick stop-gap measure.

At the January 23 council meeting Police Chief Robert Burnett provided council members with a sample of the rental form and other documents to be used. Council members agreed that a $500.00 security deposit should be “Required” and the city attorney should review the rental agreement.

Since Alexander currently doesn't have a City Attorney, opinions were sought from Caleb Alexander and Lannie Richmond from the Arkansas Municipal League (AML), Judge Ford from the City Court, City Prosecutor Margaret Dobson, and Arkansas Legislative Audit. No one saw any legal issues with the plan and they supported the concept. However, some did express concern over how the city providing "Free" housing would affect the employees' taxes.

According to the written report, provided to the council by Burnett, tax professionals stated, "[I]f left at a zero amount for rent the employee(s) living in the housing would have to take a hit on taxes as taxable income for the value of the property or it would have to be reported by the city as a fringe benefit. However, if placed in the lease at $1.00 a year (matching the lease that Pathfinder had with the State of Arkansas) it would forgo the employee(s) having to be taxed for fringe benefits or taking a large hit on taxes for providing services in lieu of rent."

The only other recommendation came from the attorneys with AML. They suggested in Section 38: Additional Provisions, “available on call 24/7” be changed to, "[A]vailable for potential call out (for serious events only)."

There is a concern that making the employees “available on call 24/7” will, "[R]estrict their personal time and (the city will) be liable for paying call out time. We (the City) would be required to pay for overtime if they respond to an incident at the request of a supervisor, which we are already doing."

That portion of Section 38 now reads, "Being available for potential call outs (disaster relief, search warrants, active shooter, etc.)."

The report concludes with a list of the changes made to the lease agreement. "[H]ave adjusted yearly rent to $1, added the requested $500 deposit, changed recommend to required on the renter’s insurance and changed the application fee to $40 to cover costs of credit checks," the report states. "The recommend (sic) change to section 38 was also completed."

Council members also approved a request from Chief Burnett to add Tract-D to the Parks and Recreation Department's jurisdiction. Tract-D is the location of the former Pathfinder's complex. Burnett said the change will allow the city to fund maintenance and repair costs for that area from Parks and Recreation instead of the General Fund.

Tracts "A" and "B" are also covered under Parks and Recreation. The former hospital building, Alexander Community Center #2 and the Alexander American Legion Post 28 are in the two tracts.

Also at the February 27 Council Meeting:

Mayor's Report

Mayor Crystal Herrmann reported on recent and upcoming programs sponsored by the Saline County Library. She said she's also been discussing grants with Metroplan.

"We were invited to do a book walk with the Saline County Library," Herrmann said. "[W]hen you walk around the park, in the path, they lay down a whole story and activities for the children."

"They also have a program coming up, possibly in June for us if interested," she continued. "It's called a Justice Clinic. And, they invite attorneys in for the citizens to visit with and console (consult) with and if they qualify for any assistance, any legal assistance, then they can team up into the small city."

Herrmann said she, "[A]lso worked with Metroplan on laying out some different processes and grant programs. I'm going to be working with the (city) department heads on putting needs and projects put together, gathering some project information for different repairs and needs that we need around the city."

"And then, I'd like to say, thank everyone. I appreciate you all. I'm thankful to be here," she concluded.

Police vehicle totaled?

Police Chief Robert Burnett reported on a head-on collision involving Officer Bailey and another driver in Benton recently. Burnett said the other driver was "DWI." Officer Bailey is already back on-duty and attended the February 27 council meeting. Burnett expects the Dodge Durango to be listed as totaled once the repair estimate is completed.

Decision on subdivision approval tabled

Part way through Planning Commission Chairman Michael Huck's report on a special meeting held by the commission February 13, council members decided to table the matter until they can hear from the developer's engineer and be shown drawings of the proposed subdivision. The subdivision, tentatively titled The Cottages at Meadow's Edge, is planned to be built on the 60-acre parcel across from the entrance to Meadow's Edge along Highway 111.

The plan is to build 150 two-story townhouse units grouped into several buildings of two to five joined units. The rented townhouses; along with a clubhouse/rental office, a pool, pickleball courts, workout facility, dog park, walking trails, and general green space; will be located on 20 of the 60 acres.

Although the agenda item was listed as "Approval of allowance for water connection PRIOR to zoning" Huck explained, "There's no use in approving the connection if you don't like the townhouses."

The plan is to allow the subdivision to connect to the Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority's (LRWRA) sewer system. The LRWRA provides sewer service to the Pulaski County portion of Alexander and portions of Saline County that border Pulaski County. New connections must be approved by the Alexander City Council, Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority Commission and the Little Rock Board of Directors.

Time study for signing checks

A time study will be conducted for the next few months to determine if there are any occasions when not having someone who works at city hall causes checks to be sent out late. Currently, City Treasurer JoAn Churchill, City Recorder Sharron Bankhead and Council Member Juanita Wilson have the authority to sign checks. Each check must have two signatures.

Since the checks are usually the same payments made monthly, Council Member Joy Gray suggested a schedule be established as to when checks will be signed. She reminded everyone the reason for removing staff from signing checks was to avoid issues that were discovered last year with the previous bookkeeper signing checks to herself.

Mayor Herrmann suggested authorizing the court clerk to sign checks. Herrmann said the judge approved it and she doesn't have the authority to write checks.

Next meeting

The next meeting of the Alexander City Council is Monday, March 20 at 6:00 PM in the courtroom at the Alexander Municipal Complex. The public is invited to attend.

Alexander park land dispute may be coming to an end

The Alexander City Council decided to hire attorney Lana Fraser to file a condemnation action against David W. Jacks, owner of the eastern portion of Alexander City Park. Fraser is the city’s former prosecuting and city attorney. She left the two positions after being hired by James Law Firm in Little Rock, but agreed to continue working on this legal matter.

Although, it now appears formal legal action won’t be necessary. According to Mayor Crystal Herrmann Jacks contacted her about two weeks ago and has agreed to the $68,000.00 offer.

The issue of who owns the eastern portion of the city park, between the parking lot and Highway 111, occurred after the city made several improvements on that land. The city had been mowing the grass in that area for many years. As far as anyone knew it was city property.

The eastern end of the park is the location of the gazebo, water fountain, lights and other improvements. The various construction projects were done in phases from 2015 to around 2019.

It was only after they were completed Jacks contacted former Mayor Paul Mitchell asking why the city was building on his property. Since then Mitchell, and multiple city attorneys, have been negotiating with Jacks.

Once the city had two independent appraisals of the property, minus the value of the improvements, Jacks was offered $68,000.00. Mitchell reported making the offer to Jacks at the December, 2022 council meeting.

City Council Member Juanita Wilson provided additional information concerning the negotiations with Jacks.

“He was made an offer on the fair market value and he would never get back to us,” Wilson said. “And then he came back. (Jacks wanted) $250,000 worth of (Tax) adjustments on other properties he owned in two other cities that we had no control of.”

Wilson was referring to a proposal Jacks made, once he finally began to make an effort to negotiate late in 2022, asking if Alexander would make tax adjustments on properties he owned in two other cities in different counties. Mitchell had to explain Alexander only has control of property taxes in Alexander.

Explaining the legal process Fraser said, “[W]e're speaking about a condemnation action. In other words, taking the property.”

“First of all, there'd be a proposed resolution that the city would need to take up and pass," Fraser said. "[T]hen that would grant the mayor and whatever attorneys that we need to file an action in circuit court. And essentially, we pay fair market value for the property and we ask the court to deem the property ours, or the city’s, at that point.”

However, all that may not be necessary. Mayor Herrmann reported being contacted by Jacks who is willing to accept the $68,000.00 offer.

"Mr. Jacks came in two weeks ago," Herrmann said. "[H]e had said that he would accept the $68,000.00."

His acceptance of the offer came with a caveat.

"And then we're just asked to do a donation difference, you know, a tax donation for the difference of the appraisal amount," Herrmann said. "So is that something you can assist us with? And, if it's not the long process of taking the man's property,"

"I'll be happy to review (it)," Fraser said. "Anytime there's an offer to purchase or to sell land, it must be in writing. Okay, so it's not in writing. It's just been said out loud, and that's not going to hold up."

"He was working on (a) buyer seller agreement that he's supposed to send over," Herrmann said. "But, because he had also experienced a death in the family that week, he said to give him a little bit of time. And I said we didn't have time to even get to it on this agenda, that we could turn it in to the March agenda."

The agenda item for the February 27 council meeting was to approve a $5,000.00 fee for Fraser to proceed with the legal action. Council members agreed to pay the fee in case the verbal agreement falls through. The fee will be paid from the Parks and Recreation Fund.

Also at the February 27 council meeting:

No decision on HR Executive Session

The Alexander City Council and the Mayor went into Executive Session to discuss what was listed on the agenda as an "HR matter.". After about 30 minutes the council returned without making a decision.

The only HR matter, that's not a well-kept secret around Alexander, is Fire Chief Mark Ridgeway being placed on paid administrative leave by Mayor Herrmann only three days after being sworn-in to office in January. It now appears he was fired hours before the February 27 council meeting. It was Herrmann who requested the item be placed on the agenda.

At the January council meeting Herrmann was asked for an update on Ridgeway's administrative leave.

“I’m not at liberty to discuss the criminal investigation,” Herrmann said. “I was advised I cannot discuss it.”

Herrmann has been claiming that Ridgeway is under investigation by the Arkansas Attorney General's Office. Ridgeway has reportedly told others he has yet to be contacted by the AG's office. Also, according to the Arkansas Judicial website no subpoenas have been issued.

Ridgeway commented on the topic in two separate Facebook postings.

"I have been LET GO from the City of Alexander FD this is not by any means of a retirement," he said in the first posting.

"I was terminated last Monday February 27 she (Herrmann) said I could quit or be terminated I said I am not quitting," Ridgeway wrote in the second posting.

A council can over-ride a mayor's firing, or hiring, of an employee with a two-thirds vote. At the February meeting only seven of the eight council members were present. Hence, no action was proposed.

Fire equipment for sale

Alexander Council Members approved the sale of excess and outdated fire department equipment. The request came from current Fire Chief Tim Chilcote.

"So we have a bunch of the old air-packs that have now been replaced with the newer ones," Chilcote said. "We've been approached by the county jail for Saline County. They want to buy two of them. So I need to see if I can get approval from the council to start selling this old equipment."

At the August 15, 2022 council meeting council members approved spending $101,930.72 for new air breathing equipment for the fire department, also known as air-packs. The purchase included ten sets of air tanks that hold 45-minutes of air, mounting straps, breathing masks, communication equipment, batteries; plus ten spare air tanks, two battery charging stations, and six spare batteries. This new equipment replaces the department's air-packs that will not pass inspection after 2023.

The purchase was paid for from the 833 Fund, which is a state program to aid fire departments in purchasing equipment. No city funds were used.

Chilcote said starting this year, to meet ISO standards, all fire trucks must have closed cabs and be manned by four firefighters instead of three as in the past. The department is looking to hire more firefighters to meet the new crew standards. The department still has one open-cab fire truck.

Split decision on buying City Treasurer computer for home use

City Treasurer JoAn Churchill has been working from home for the past year or more using her personal computer. Considering the age of her system Council Member Juanita Wilson proposed the city provide Churchill a "[C]omputer and all accessories she needs."

Wilson explained, "It was agreed last year that she would be provided an office within her home."

Council Member Angela Griffin questioned the security of allowing city equipment in someone's home that has access to city hall.

"Well, I do have some concerns, though, with that because she's the treasurer and it deals with state business," Griffin said. "But, my concern is that she's doing City business from her home, which is a liability."

Wilson denied there's any liability or safety issues with Churchill working from home.

"She has an old computer that's worn out," Wilson said. "The city is already providing her with Internet access."

"I mean, she's part time, so she's not required to be there every day in the office," Griffin said. "But, that city business conducted in her home, how is that insured there?"

In a five to three roll call vote Churchill was given permission to purchase a computer and printer. Voting "Yes" were Joe Pollard, Joy Gray, Wayne Smith, Harold Timmerman, and Juanita Wilson. Voting "No" were Angela Griffin and Gina Thomas Littlejohn. Council Member Tony Staton was absent due to illness, which also counts as a “No” vote.

Since the mayor already has the authority to make purchases of $5,000.00 or less, no approval of a dollar amount was needed.

Next Meeting

The next meeting of the Alexander City Council is Monday, March 20 at 6:00 PM in the courtroom at the Alexander Municipal Complex. The public is invited to attend.

Mitchell W. Smith appointed to fill Ward-1 vacancy, Month delay unnecessary

In a four to three vote, Mitchell Wayne Smith was appointed by the Alexander City Council to fill the vacancy in the Ward-1 Position-2 seat. The two other candidates were Ross L. Lawhon and Jo E. Shell.

The seat was declared vacant by the council, that existed at the time, during the December, 2022 council meeting. A resignation letter was sent, by E-mail, by now former Council Member Elizabeth Bland. Bland resigned after the November election. She had moved to Little Rock and did not seek re-election. Also, no one filed for that position to run in the November General Election.

Under normal circumstances the vacancy would have been filled one month later at the next meeting, providing a candidate could be found. Appointing someone was on the January agenda but Mayor Crystal Herrmann was able to get it tabled for one month.

“I was notified by the election commission that it was done incorrectly and that I had to contact Municipal League, which I have,” Herrmann claimed during the January council meeting. “And I'm waiting on the email and writing on how to move forward.”

Council Member Tony Staton asked, “What clarification?”

“They just notified me that it was handled incorrectly and it had to go through the court,” Herrmann responded. “I'm waiting on writing on if we can move forward without having to go to the court. So we will have to table that one.”

This was Herrmann’s first meeting as mayor.

Prior to the vote at the February 27 council meeting, council members listened to comments by the three candidates. Each gave their reasons why they should be selected to fill the vacancy.

Ross Lawhon, a resident of the Knollwood Mobile Home Park, was first to speak.

“I've lived here for 17 years and four months, and ... I would be honored to represent Ward-1,” Lawhon said. “The former person that was here, Elizabeth Bland, had been a neighbor of mine, and I would like to do what I can to bring honor and respect from two of Ward-1 to the council meeting and support the council meeting in whatever way I possibly can, God willing.”

“I'm also an ordained minister,” Lawhon added.

Next was Jo E. Shell. Shell has lived in Alexander since November 1989 and resides on Kelli Place.

“I've been here for 33 years,” Shell said. “I'm interested in, because I know there are children who are hungry, some on my street that sometimes they get food that's sent home with school teachers and especially with weekends. I want to be able to do whatever I can do to help our community, whatever it takes.”

“I will be retiring from my full time job, and I'm less than two years,” Shell continued. “Whether I get to [sic] honor holding this position or not, I still want to help.”

Mitchell W. Smith, who goes by Wayne, is a long-time resident of Alexander. He is the brother of City Recorder Sharon Bankhead and the son of former city council member, the late Dortheria Smith.

“I do like to help the community,” Smith said. “I would like to do that.”

He says he’s “prudent” and “then I do the effort.”

Unfortunately, when it came time to vote the voting procedure was not explained to council members. Under state law, to fill a vacancy, the majority vote is based on the number of council members minus the vacant seat. In this case eight seats becomes seven and the majority changes from five to four.

Council Member Joe Pollard made the motion to appoint Mitchell W. Smith to the council and Council Member Joy Gray seconded. In a roll call vote Joe Pollard, Joy Gray, Harold Timmerman, and Juanita Wilson voted “Yes.” Gina Thomas and Angela Griffin voted “No.” Council Member Tony Staton was absent due to illness, which also counts as a “No” vote.

Even though the final vote was four to three, due to the misunderstanding, Council Member Angela Griffin nominated Jo E. Shell to fill the vacancy. Council Member Gina Thomas seconded. As expected the vote was two “Yes” and five “No.” Staton again was counted as a “No” vote.

Once council members were made aware of the error the second nomination was rescinded. Mayor Crystal Herrmann then swore-in Smith to fill the vacant seat.

During the interim time between the January and February meetings Council Member Joy Gray researched the process required to fill a vacancy on a city council. Prior to the February 27 meeting Gray released E-mail threads that were developed during her research. The first thing she did was to send an E-mail to the mayor asking for the response from the Arkansas Municipal League (AML).

---- On Wed, 25 Jan 2023 12:16:20 -0600 ... wrote ----

Good afternoon Mayor,

I have been thinking about the Municipal League emailing you to state that the council made a procedural mistake in how we handled the vacating of the last position on the council. Which of course led to us not being able to fill the position per the instructions of the League. At the meeting you stated that someone from the League had emailed you and stated they were looking into it and that we could not fill the position until the League provided further guidance. I was wondering if I might get a copy of that email so that I can see where exactly we went wrong so that we don't ever make a similar mistake. It was something I thought of asking for the other night but it was a busy evening so it slipped my mind until my current lunch break. I look forward to seeing what the problem was and what our corrective action should be. Thanks in advance for sending it.

Regards,

Joy Gray

Mayor Crystal Herrmann responded with the following.

From: Crystal Herrmann

Sent: Monday, February 6, 2023 at 02:13:12 PM CST

Subject: Re: Mistake from December meeting

Good afternoon Joy,

Does Elizabeth Bland have a letter of resignation?

If so it needs to be filed at the Election Commission office in Benton.

Without it the city could be at risk for a lawsuit if the vacancy is filled and she shows up saying she didn't agree. It puts the city at risk for lawsuit if that happens.

The vacancy can be filled this next meeting with the resignation letter is on file at Election Commission.

Sincerely,

Mayor Herrmann

It had been stated during the January council meeting Bland had provided a resignation letter. To verify the Mayor’s assertion Gray contacted Caleb Alexander with the Arkansas Municipal League (AML).

From: Joy Gray
Sent: Monday, February 6, 2023 2:46:54 PM
To: Caleb Alexander

Subject: Fw: Re: Mistake from December meeting

Please see below. Do we need to get Elizabeth Bland to file something with the election commission in order for this move forward? The vacancy was declared in December if you recall, nobody ran for that seat, and she no longer lives in Alexander. I'm willing to track her down if I need to, but if we can do it without me hunting her down that would be great. Any guidance you can provide is much appreciated. As I said in my prior discussions with you, I have been unable to find much in the way of exact specifications required to declare the vacancy beyond what we have already done. If a letter must be on file somewhere I will get it.

Regards,

Joy Gray

Alexander forwarded the question to Lanny Richmond, another attorney with AML. He responded with the following.

----- Forwarded Message -----

From: "Lanny Richmond"

To: "lanajoy@*****.com", "mayor@cityofalexander.org"

Cc: "Caleb Alexander"

Sent: Tue, Feb 7, 2023 at 9:32 AM

Subject: RE: Mistake from December meeting

All,

Caleb and I have conferred on this issue, and it seems we are running out of advice to offer. A resignation does not have to be in writing, but would certainly be preferable, particularly if the alternative is only a verbal resignation to one person. However, a verbal resignation is an option.

As an initial matter, the election commission does not have any role in the appointment of municipal officials, they only have roles in regards to the election of municipal officials. Of course, if they have offered some legal advice please forward it over. But, no law requires a resignation get filed with the election commission.

I hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Lanny Richmond, II

Senior Legal Counsel, Arkansas Municipal League

Gray then E-mailed the following to council members and the mayor.

2/7/2023

Please see below. Should anyone have any further questions, I think the Municipal League has been CLEAR on this matter.

What we did in December was fine. There is no threat of legal action and any word otherwise is untrue.

Gray then took it a step further and spoke to Charlie Morris; Election Administration Supervisor with the State Board of Election Commissioners. She followed-up the phone conversation with an e-mail.

Thank you for speaking with me earlier. I wanted to confirm my two questions that I asked.

1. A letter of resignation received by the city is sufficient for a city council vacancy. We do not file resignation letters with the county or state election commission.

2. If no citizen petitions to run for a specific position on the council, and therefore no one is elected to that seat, the seat is by default a vacant seat that can be filled.

Thank you again for taking the time to speak with me today.

Regards,

Joy Gray

Morris responded with the following.

You are correct on both points........… I would advise the letter just be filed with your city clerk or recorder.

Glad to be of assistance...........

Charlie Morris

Election Administration Supervisor

State Board of Election Commissioners

According to Morris not only was the Ward-1 council seat vacant by a letter of resignation and declaration by the council, it was vacant January 1, 2023 due to no one running for it in the General Election.

The next meeting of the Alexander City Council is Monday, March 20 at 6:00 PM in the courtroom at the Alexander Municipal Complex. The public is invited to attend.