City board votes to stop televising public comment sessions By: DON THOMASON - The Sentinel-Record The Hot Springs Board of Directors voted 5-2 Tuesday night to televise future board meetings only from the start of the meeting to the end of the regular business meeting. The vote was the result of an order handed down by Special Judge Ted Capehart last week stating the city must vote in a regular public meeting whether or not to televise the public comment sessions which take place after the end of the business portion of the meeting. The suit was filed earlier this year by several citizens alleging the city violated the state’s Freedom of Information Act when it held a work session in which a consensus was reached to cease televising the comment session. Although the directors state that no vote was taken, the judge felt their action was a vote and had to be ratified in a regular public meeting. Although the issue was not listed as a business item on the board’s meeting agenda, District 3 Becca Clark brought it to the floor for discussion and District 1 Director Suzanne Davidson made a motion to only televise the meeting “from gavel to gavel.” District 2 Director Elaine Jones later made an amendment to the motion to provide televised coverage of the beginning of the meeting, which includes the prayer and Pledge of Allegiance. After more than 40 minutes of discussion in which two of the parties who filed the suit expressed their belief that the board should still allow the comments to be televised, and Mayor Ruth Carney voiced her displeasure that the issue was not something previously made public, all but District 5 Director Karen Garcia and Carney voted to not televise the public comment sessions. The directors voted unanimously to award a utility relocation contract, and amend the Park Whittington Neighborhood Plan as part of its consent agenda. The $570,928.85 contract awarded to On-Line Construction is to relocate water and wastewater lines to facilitate the next phase of widening Higdon Ferry Road. Once the utilities are moved, Higdon Ferry will be widened from Printer’s Place, north to Crawford Drive, City Engineer Gary Carnahan said in his board action request form. The construction company has completed other projects for the city’s utility department and “has consistently performed well,” he said. Carnahan said estimates for the work had been about $650,000 for the complete project. The cost of relocating the water lines is $369,743.60 and wastewater is $201,185.25. The projects will be funded from the water and wastewater capital budgets, Carnahan said. The amendment to the Park Whittington Neighborhood Plan that was approved is to “articulate a clear vision for future redevelopment in the Whittington Valley,” Planning Director Kathy Sellman said in her board action request form. While many of the goals identified in the original plan, which was authored more than 10 years ago, are still applicable, much has changed over the years, Sellman said. The original plan articulated a broad redevelopment strategy for the Whittington Valley and the Park Avenue communities, and while the communities share many significant characteristics, each faces its own unique challenges. The Whittington Valley neighborhood describes its vision for the area as “a largely residential community with historic charm, abundant green spaces and numerous parks; commercial development in the neighborhood is located along Whittington Avenue and is primarily focused on quite tourist and residential-friendly recreational activities,” Sellman said. She said the Whittington Valley’s 2013 Plan Amendment updates the 2001 Park Whittington Plan in its re-articulation that the plan is one element in a larger on-going process intended to revitalize all of Hot Springs’ central city neighborhoods. There is no direct fiscal impact in approving the resolution, she said. The directors also approved the following: Consent agenda • A resolution extending an agreement with Avfuel Corporation for the provision of aviation fuels at Hot Springs Memorial Field. • A resolution appointing Sandy Hatch, Richard “Dick” Antoine and Sandy Scott to the Animal Control Committee. • A resolution extending an agreement with Catamaran Pharmacy Benefit Management Services for fiscal year 2014. • A resolution extending an agreement with Healthscope Benefits/Gallagher and Associates as third-party administrator-agent for the city’s self-funded employee group health insurance program. • A resolution extending an agreement with Imwell Health for wellness and disease management services. • A resolution approving a contract with Metlife Travelers for group life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance. • A resolution entering into an agreement with Tru Services Insurance Co. for re-insurance. • A resolution extending a contract for auditing services to Jordan, Woosley, Crone and Keaton. • A resolution approving a cost allocation procedures for the Municipal Utility Administration Fund and repealing resolution No. 7855. • A resolution adopting a cost allocation plan for the allocation of certain administrative services across all city funds and repealing resolution No. 7854. • A resolution amending the employee handbook regarding uniformed fire vacation carryover. • A resolution approving a bid to River City Hydraulics for a sanitation side loading vehicle. • A resolution approving a bid to Truck Center of Arkansas for a sanitation recycling collection vehicle. The board also held a public hearing on the possible annexation of land known as the Cedar Glades Northwest Star-step Enclave into the city. An ordinance adopting the Arkansas Fire Prevention Code, 2012 Edition was taken from the agenda for further study. Discussion on an ordinance adopting the 2012 Standard Swimming Pool and Spa Code did not conclude in time for today’s article. Published: 12/04/2013
Posted on: Wed, 04 Dec 2013 12:42:16 +0000
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