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.