May 2021 Council Minutes
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING
OF THE OZARK CITY COUNCIL
May 10, 2021
Ozark City Council Meeting Room
The Regular Meeting was called to order by Mayor Roxie Hall and upon a roll call, a quorum was declared to exist for the meeting. Present were Alderpersons Rex Anderson, Rusty Cagle, Brandy Flanary, Susan Holman, Charlie Meeker and Randy Melton. The Invocation was given by City Attorney Kevin Barham and City Clerk Susan Stevens led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Charlie Meeker made a motion to approve the Minutes of the April meeting, seconded by Rusty Cagle. Upon a roll call vote, all Alderpersons answered aye and the minutes were approved. Susan Holman then made a motion to approve the Financial reports, seconded by Charlie Meeker. Upon a roll call vote, all Alderperson answered aye and the Financial reports were approved.
There were no Department reports to be given and no Old Business to discuss.
Don Robinson from the Planning Commission presented a Rezoning Request from Bank OZK and two Rezoning and one Variance Request from Candy Bonds from Rafter 8 Construction. These were all approved in their monthly meeting. Ms. Bonds presented a folder with information of the proposed residences. There would be 10 residences with utilities provided. There would be one landlord receiving one bill per utility, so city workers would not be impacted. Susan Holman questioned if there had been any negative feedback from neighbors and there has not been. She also stated that the utility variances need to be confirmed before any building is begun. Ms. Bonds is to draw up an Ordinance for these requests and send to City Attorney Kevin Barham as soon as possible. We may call a Special Council meeting to finalize these requests so as not to delay the project.
A motion was made by Susan Holman to read Ordinance 2021- 6 concerning the Collection of Fines Levied by the District Court. This was seconded by Rex Anderson and upon a roll call vote, all Alderpersons voted aye and City Attorney Kevin Barham read the Ordinance.
A motion was made by Susan Holman to dispense with the2ndand3rd reading and approve by Title only. This was seconded by Rex Anderson. All Alderpersons voted aye and Kevin Barham read the title. A motion to approve was made by Susan Holman and seconded by Charlie Meeker. All Alderpersons voted aye and Ordinance 2021- 6 was approved.
A Disaster Recovery Plan was presented by Mayor Roxie Hall and City Clerk Susan Stevens. It is required by the State Auditors that cities have a plan in place that has been approved by the Department of Information Systems. This plan is to be enacted twice a year and
led by the Fire Chief. Randy Melton made a motion to approve, seconded by Susan Holman. All Alderpersons voted aye and the Disaster Recovery Plan was approved.
A discussion regarding an Ordinance for the rental of meeting rooms at the Community Center followed. There is a need for enforceable rules to be in place to avoid the same group or groups monopolizing all the weekends. Susan Holman asked if an Ordinance was the way to go and why not cover it under a policy and procedure. The proposed Ordinance limits rentals to four times per year to be booked not more than 90 days in advance. City Attorney Kevin Barham asked that any suggestions be e-mailed to him for discussion at the Parks & Recreation meeting on May20th
Next was a discussion of the ongoing vandalism at the Overlook Park. City services are currently being used to unlock the gates and make sure the park is clear of visitors before locking up for the night. There is no water available at the park due to a water line problem. The restrooms are also not available due to no water plus constant vandalism. Even with the locked gates, vandals are coming in up the hillside. Alderperson Rusty Cagle suggested having an on site caretaker like Bluff Hole Park in Mulberry has, but Vernon McDaniel stated that the park is not in the city limits. Alderperson Randy Melton suggested closing the park for 2- 3 months to see if that would prompt more citizen involvement. Alderperson Susan Holman asked if we could charge for pavilion rental to help cover the costs of the repairs. We have the park leased until 2035. If the lease is broken it will revert back to the Corps of Engineers. In 2015, The City of Altus had said they would take over the park, but the change was never followed through. Mayor Hall is going to see if the County might be willing to split the costs for care of the park with the city. She also stated that windows in the Rock House at the East Side park had been broken out last weekend. These issues were turned over to Parks & Recreation.
A handout was given from the Ozark Fire Department stating the Standard Operational Guidelines of Vehicle Response. This is a guideline only. Situations may arise that dictate a different response which is determined by the Office in Charge. At no time would all engines be outside of City limits. This handout is in response to questions that have been called in by citizens.
Motion to adjourn was made by Rusty Cagle and seconded by Susan Holman. All Alderpersons voted aye and the meeting was adjourned.
Minutes for the Ozark City Council Meeting held Monday, May 10 were approved and passed this 14th day of June, 2021.
Mayor Roxie Hall, City of Ozark
City Clerk Susan Stevens, City Of Ozark