MINUTES OF COUNCIL

MAY 13, 2008

The Batesville City Council met in regular session on May 13, at 5:30 PM at the Municipal Building. Mayor Rick Elumbaugh presided over the meeting. Councilmember Terrell gave the invocation. Upon roll call the following councilmembers answered present: R.L. Carpenter, Fred Krug, Doug Matthews, Matt McDonald, Trula Pectol, David Shetron, Stephen Smart and Paula Terrell. Also present were the City Clerk and the City Attorney.

Councilmember Shetron moved to approve the minutes from the previous meeting and Councilmember Pectol seconded. All voted for.

Councilmember Smart moved to approve the prepared agenda. Councilmember Shetron seconded and all voted for.

COMMENTS FROM CITIZENS

None

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

None

NEW BUSINESS

A) RECOGNIZE THE BATESVILLE JR. HIGH LADY PIONEERS BASKETBALL TEAM

Mayor Elumbaugh read a proclamation in recognition of the Batesville Jr. High Lady Pioneers Basketball Team for their accomplishment of being the undefeated 26-0 Class AAAAA 2008 State Champions. Each team member was introduced by Coach Stave and given a copy of the proclamation.

B) RECOGNIZE THE BATESVILLE LADY PIONEERS CROSS COUNTRY TEAM

Mayor Elumbaugh read a proclamation in recognition of the Batesville Lady Pioneers Cross Country Team. The Lady Pioneers are the 2007 Class AAAAA State Champions and have held that position for four years in a row. Each team member was introduced by Coach Diane Treadway and given a copy of the proclamation.

C) ACCEPT A CHECK FROM THE BATESVILLE JAYCEES

Mr. Chris Poole, President of the Batesville Jaycees, presented the Mayor with a $20,000.00 check for the purchase of playground equipment at Riverside Park. Mayor Elumbaugh thanked the Jaycees for their contribution and for all help in previous years.

D) REPORT FROM BUDDY WILLIAMS ON THE 2007 UTILITY AUDIT

Mr. Allen Wade Turner and Mr. Buddy Williams, CPA’s with Allen Wade Turner & Associates, P.A., addressed the council to review the Utility September 30, 2007 and December 31, 2007 audits. Mr. Turner explained that the Utilities had two audits in 2007 to convert them to a calendar year. Mr. Turner said his firm did all the requested and required testing and the audits were clean. Councilmember Terrell moved to accept the audits and Councilmember Smart seconded. All voted for.

E) JASON FUNKHOUSER WITH THE USGS

Mr. Jason Funkhouser with the USGS addressed the council regarding the three gages on the White River. Mr. Funkhouser said the USGS recently mandated that they change their transmit frequencies from 4 hour transmissions to 1 hour transmissions. He said although the change is good for data purposes, funds were not provided for the upgrade. The City currently pays approximately $7,000 per year for the Allison gage. The upgrade for that gage will be $8,000. USGS is asking the City to pay for half the cost, $4,000 and USGS will pay the remaining $4,000. The council discussed the fact that the City is paying annual cost without any help from the County, which also benefits from the gages. The council all agreed that the County should contribute in the upgrade cost and Mayor Elumbaugh said he would contact Judge Hicks for help.

F) ENGINEER’S REPORT, DAMON JOHNSON

City Engineer Damon Johnson updated the council on all the activities going on through out the City. Mr. Johnson said the city had received a bill for the engineering fees for the St. Louis Street stop light rehabilitations at Myers, Lawrence and College Streets. In January the council passed a resolution for the State of Arkansas to do the stop light improvements. The actual improvements won’t take place until approximately 2010. The invoice is for $13,000.00 and was not budgeted for this year.

G) EXECUTIVE SESSION

Councilmember Terrell moved to go into executive session. Councilmember Shetron seconded and all voted for.

Upon returning from executive session, Mayor Elumbaugh said no decisions were made.

H) REPORT FROM ADJUSTERS INTERNATIONAL ON FLOOD DAMAGE

Mr. Bob Farnum and Ms. Luanne Prinicpe with Adjusters International addressed the council with a proposal to assist the City in our FEMA applications and grants for the recent floods. Mr. Farnum explained the process and what their company does to help the City recover from and plan for disasters. A portion of their fees will be reimbursable by the State and FEMA. Councilmember Terrell moved to enter into a contract with Adjusters International. Councilmember Carpenter seconded and all voted for.

I) REVIEW PAID BILLS REPORT

The council was given a copy of the paid bills report for April, 2008.

MAYOR COMMENTS

The second Charette is planed for June 12th at 6:00 PM at the Batesville High School Cafeteria.

Mayor Elumbaugh thanked the Rib Ticklers, Citizen Bank and First Community Bank for their contributions to the recent Employee Appreciation Lunch held for City and County workers. Approximately 240 employees were fed.

The Mayor said the City only received one bid for the new mower for the Cemetery Department. The bid was from Williams Equipment for $42,000.00. Councilmember McDonald moved to accept the bid and Councilmember Krug seconded. All voted for.

The Mayor said he notified our local banks for a bid for the financing of the mower. After opening the bids, Citizens Bank and First Community Bank tied and both agreed to rebid. Citizens Bank came back with the low bid of 3.19%. Councilmember McDonald moved to accept Citizens Bank’s bid and Councilmember Smart seconded. All voted for.

LIAISON REPORTS

None

COUNCIL COMMENTS

None

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business, Councilmember Smart moved to adjourn and Councilmember Terrell seconded. All voted for.

RICK ELUMBAUGH, MAYOR

DENISE M. JOHNSTON, CITY CLERK