Eliminating Alexander treasurer's position tabled

An ordinance, that will eliminate the elected position of treasurer and transform it into a position for hire, was tabled until the next council meeting to allow the mayor time to advertise a Request For Qualifications (RFQ). Council Member Juanita Wilson wants to know what type of choices the city will have when the elected position is eliminated and the position can be filled by any individual or accounting firm,

Former City Treasurer JoAn Churchill resigned effective December 31, 2023. As an elected position the council was limited to finding someone who lives within the city to fill the vacancy. No one submitted a resume. Also, no one filed a petition to run for city treasurer in the upcoming November election.

"And I was told by municipal league (Arkansas Municipal League) several times that they have to be city qualified," Wilson said. "At the time when I checked on it three to four years ago, there were only two. ... And I checked the last couple of weeks. And I haven't found anybody else that's listed that is city qualified. My thought is we may have to contact the municipal league" and ask "If there is anyone else who is qualified to do city audits and all that, that's what we need to have done for a treasurer. And we need to find out what (it) is going to cost the city."

"So two things," began City Attorney Chris Madison. "First off, the appointment of a city treasurer does not affect the issue that you're raising. So the appointment of a city treasurer is basically taken an employee or somebody and said, hey, keep our books like we have been doing. But offer us an opportunity to do so."

"The issue you're talking about is the retaining of an outside firm to do either audit work or what's called agreed upon procedures," Madison continued. "They do have to be government certified, which means they know how to do government accounting."

"So the question is how much work do you want them to do," Madison asked? "If you're hiring the outside firm to do all of it, that's what it costs a lot more. If you're appointing an employee under the city treasurer for what we have here, the employee is protected under the city umbrella of doing the work. And then what I would suggest and want to argue is to look for an outside firm to do what's called agreed upon procedures, where they would check to make sure we're reconciling the bank records correctly. If they would do spot audits of paperwork so that they have a more limited scope of work, thus lower the cost, but still provide an oversight of the work that's being done by the city folks."

Wilson asked, "Well, then why would we not go ahead and contact someone instead of doing all this right now?"

With a voice vote the motion to table the ordinance until the next meeting received three "Yes" and two "No" votes. Voting "Yes" were Joe Pollard, Mitchell W. Smith and Juanita Wilson. Voting "No" were Joy Gray and Angela Griffin. Absent were Tony Staton, Gina R Thomas-Littlejohn and Harold Timmerman. Since absent council members count as "No" votes the total was three "Yes" and five "No."

When the voice vote was not unanimous, Mayor Crystal Herrmann asked for a roll call vote. Gray cut-in and said, "Never mind. They'll win anyway."

Other actions taken during August 19 Council Meeting;

Animal Control Ordinance gets second reading

A new Animal Control Ordinance received its second public reading. A third reading is required for the ordinance to go into effect. The new ordinance will replace all animal control ordinances currently on the books. It combines the treatment of dogs and cats along with the operation of a city animal kennel.

Stormwater Regulations Ordinance receives first reading

An ordinance establishing stormwater regulations received its first public reading. This new ordinance essentially duplicates the existing ordinance but with the addition of a permitting process to control stormwater related construction.

Zoning regulations amendment gets first reading

An ordinance, amending the zoning regulations passed in 2019, received its first public reading. The ordinance amends two items. It adds text to the definition of "Recreational Vehicle" which reinforces that its illegal to live permanently in an RV within the city. The ordinance also removes the term "Duplex (site-built)" from Section 9 Mixed-Use Residential District.

Next Meeting

The next meeting of the Alexander City Council is Monday August 16, at 6:00 pm in the courtroom of the Alexander Municipal Complex (City Hall). Meetings are open to the public.

Alexander gives away old hospital; Temporarily

The Alexander City Council decided to temporarily give up ownership of the hospital building, located on the former Alexander Human Development Center (HDC) property, in order to conduct the required environmental assessment to apply for EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) hazardous cleanup grants. At a special meeting held Thursday, August 22, council members approved an ordinance and a resolution to correct an error made when the State deeded the HDC property to Alexander.

An environmental assessment should have been done by the State of Arkansas, Development Disabilities Services Board prior to deeding the 65.69-acre property to the city. Council members were told a municipality can't qualify for grants to conduct an environmental assessment. But, a state agency can.

As laid out in the ordinance and resolution, Alexander will deed four-acres of the property containing the hospital to Central Arkansas Planning and Development District (CAPDD). Once the environmental impact studies, that weren't done originally, are completed CAPDD will return ownership of the four-acres to Alexander. The city will then qualify for Brownfield grants.

Mayor Crystal Herrmann has been attempting to acquire a Brownfield grant in order to make the HDC property safe for development. The grant program is funded by the EPA. According to the EPA website, "A brownfield is a property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant." The expectation is the hospital building contains asbestos, lead paint and potentially other unknown hazards.

The HDC property, along Highway 111, was originally built as a tuberculosis sanitarium for African-Americans. Eventually it was converted into a home for adults with special needs that required care and training from professionals.

After losing a lawsuit the state turned over care of the patients to Pathfinders, Inc.. The organization operated homes for adults, with physical and mental health issues, in the southeast corner of the HDC. They moved out when their lease expired in August, 2022.

When the Arkansas Department of Human Services no longer had a use for the property it was deeded to Alexander in 2018. Under state law the property could not be sold to an individual. It could only be taken over by another government entity such as a municipality or county.

Hospital days after fire.

The hospital caught fire Wednesday night, March 18, 2020. The fourth floor and roof sustained most of the damage. Prior to the fire there was always a discussion of whether the hospital should be renovated or removed. The fire has ended those discussions. Now the question is what will the process be to raze the structure and dispose of the hazardous materials.

Alexander incumbents draw for position one and two in November municipal election

On Friday (August 23) the Saline County Clerk's Office conducted the drawing to decide what position candidates will be placed on the November ballot. Some candidates attended the ceremony to draw their own number. Any candidates who were not in attendance had their position chosen by county staff.

Attending the drawing for two seats on the Alexander City Council were Council Member Harold Timmerman (Ward-3; Position-1) and Council Member Juanita Wilson (Ward-4; Position-2). Timmermann drew the second ballot position while Wilson drew the number one spot.

In the race for Ward-3; Position-1 challenger Daniel L. Bates will be listed on the ballot first with Timmermann second. In the race for Ward-4; Position-2 Wilson will appear on the ballot first followed by her challenger Trevis Bentley.

Candidates running unopposed are Council Member Mitchell W. Smith (Ward-1; Position-2), Council Member Joy Gray (Ward-2; Position-1), Christopher Prowse (Ward-2; Position-2), Amy Lyons (Ward-3; Position-2), Council Member Angela Griffin (Ward-4; Position-1), and Megan Chapman for City Recorder.

The two offices that do not have a candidate are Ward-1 Position-1 and City Treasurer. Former City Treasurer JoAn Churchill resigned effective December 31, 2023. Since then no one could be found to fill the vacancy. Council members are discussing whether to eliminate it as an elected position, converting it to a position where someone can be hired without the requirement of living in the city.

Early voting begins Monday, October 21. The General Election is Tuesday, November 5.