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.