Malvern holds first city meetings of the year
The city of Malvern has been busy this week as the city council and quorum court both held their first meetings of the year. Coverage on both events can be found below:
City Council:
The Malvern City Council held its regularly scheduled monthly meeting online Monday evening, making the decision to meet virtually due to increasing COVID numbers and safety concerns. The city’s Facebook page posted a virtual link for anyone who wanted watch the proceeding and stated that future meetings will be held virtually, until further notice. A recording of the meeting can be found on their Youtube channel, along with videos of several past sessions.
After the invocation and Pledge of Allegiance, roll call was taken, and all members were in attendance. City Clerk/ Treasurer Phyllis Dial and City Attorney Cecilia Ashcraft were also in attendance.
The first order of business was a motion made and seconded to approve the minutes of the last meeting, and all council members voted in the affirmative. After a motion was made to approve the various department reports and Mayor Weldon opened the floor for discussion, Council Member David Cross sought clarification from Malvern Water Works General Manager David Coston.
Cross had questions on the customer service report, which evidently showed that the utility lost a lot of water during the last year. Coston responded that the water loss was estimated every month and that the numbers were derived from estimate formulas the Health Dept. provided him years ago.
Cross stated that the numbers he was seeing indicated that 872 million gallons of water were produced by year’s end, and 652 million gallons were sold during the same time period, which added up to close to a 25 percent water loss.
Coston replied that the report was automatically generated from information supplied by the water treatment plant and the office manager, and he would have to go back and look at the formula used to see if an error was made.
The lost water raised concerns, but when Cross asked how they could address the issue, Coston said the only way to combat the loss would be to hire more employees and start replacing every service line in the system, because he figured 90- 95 percent of the loss is occuring in service lines, and the water service report indicates most of the leaks fixed last year were, in fact, in the service lines.
Coston said he wasn’t making excuses, but several factors play into the loss, fixing the leaks takes time and effort and the department does what it can, but more hands on the problem and more time spent addressing the issue was the only real way to decrease the loss.
As there was no old business to put forth, the meeting turned to new business. First on the agenda, City Clerk/ Treasurer Phyllis Dial introduced an ordinance which would waive the requirements of competitive bidding for acquiring vehicle, property, and health insurance coverage for the city.
The ordinance stated that purchasing the insurance through Arkansas Municipal League “is an exceptional situation where competitive bidding would not be feasible or practical” and that such requirement should be waived. After motions were passed to suspend the rules and read the motion by title only for a second and third time, all members present voted for, and the ordinance was adopted.
The members then made and seconded a motion to declare an emergency so the ordinance could be put into effect at once. Section 4 of the ordinance states that the move is necessary “in order to provide for the immediate protection of the public peace, health, and safety. All members voted yes, and the emergency declaration passed.
Next on the agenda, City Attorney Cecilia Ashcraft read a resolution to adopt the 2022 edition of the Malvern Fire Department Policy Manual, officially entitled “City of Malvern Fire Department”. The members saw no need for discussion, and the 60page document was adopted after a unanimous vote in the affirmative.
After new business, Weldon stated she had no new information for the Mayor’s Reports. Weldon then shared that Hot Spring County’s Covid count stood at 522, adding that she hopes that the situation would get better with time.
Before adjourning, Weldon suggested the council members wait and see how things stand next month to determine whether the next meeting will be in person or online, and the members agreed.
The Malvern City Council meetings take place every 2nd Tuesday of each month at 6: 30 p. m. The public should refer to the city’s Facebook page for future updates on the City Council meeting time and place.
Quorum Court:
County officials met once again for their regularly scheduled session of the Quorum Court, gathering Tuesday evening in the big courtroom at the Hot Spring County Courthouse. County Judge Dennis Thornton began the session by asking those in attendance to remember Justice of the Peace Don Hilyard and his wife as they battle Covid and the flu, and also County Attorney George Hopkins’ son as he deals with health issues in Montana.
Thornton gave his heartfelt condolences to Justice of the Peace Alan Cansler, whose father passed away that day after a long illness. Thornton remarked, “We’ve all got people that are hurting, suffering, and these are hards times that we live in now, so let’s remember to pray for one another,” after which, Justice of the Peace Andrew Daily gave a moving invocation.
The agenda was light but contained some important items, the first of those being a proposed resolution to establish an income tax credit for fulltime law enforcement officers. The resolution points to the fact that the Governor’s Task Force to Advance the State of Law Enforcement in Arkansas had previously recommended that law enforcement officers’ entry- level salaries be equivalent to, or above, the average annual wage in Arkansas.
The resolution notes that “the average annual wage for full- time law enforcement officers in Arkansas
ranks 49th in the nation and averages $ 40,750 annually, below the average statewide wage in Arkansas of $ 42,690; and the average entry level wage for law enforcement officers in Arkansas is $ 28,610, barely above the yearly earnings of a minimum wage worker.”
Resolution # 21- 21 states, in part, “law enforcement officers in the State of Arkansas risk their lives every day, working long hours for subpar wages, while Arkansas has one of the highest violent crime rates in the U. S. and ranks as the 4th most dangerous state in the nation.”
The resolution states that the Governor’s Task Force had recommended the tax credit, but during the regular 2021 session of the 93rd General Assembly of the State of Arkansas, legislators failed to vote on the proposed SB 304, which would have established the $ 3,000 non- refundable state income tax for full- time officers.
It further states that the sponsors of SB 304 intend to file legislation to establish a similar refundable tax credit, to be considered during the next special session of the General Assembly. The resolution states that the Quorum Court resolve to “Back the Blue” and to advocate for Arkansas lawmakers to sign legislation creating the proposed tax credit. Members of the Court seemed fully in support, as all those present and in attendance virtually voted in the affirmative.
Next on the agenda, the Court passed an ordinance to appropriate funds in the amount of $ 535.80 from Unappropriated American Rescue Plan Fund # 3046 to pay the Malvern Daily Record for running an advertisement for COVID- 19 Response and Recovery Consulting Services.
After mentioning other minor items of business, Judge Thornton presented a Covid update for Hot Spring County, noting that the county stood at 72 active cases exactly one month prior and now sits at 542 active cases. Thornton noted that the virus is running rampant, but he’s hopeful the county will experience a quick decline in cases, as other areas have seen with the Omicron variant.
Thornton then introduced guest speaker, Julie Mullenix, who was there as a representative of Mullenix & Associates LLC. Thornton said he was in communication with the firm for guidance on how the county should spend the funds it received from the American Rescue Plan Act.
Thornton said discussions he’s had point to several ways the ARPA money could benefit the county, including an Arkansas Wireless Information Network ( AWIN) system for law enforcement; an ankle- monitoring system for parolees and early release; a water project in Lono; a water and sewer project at Jones Mill Industrial Park; and HVAC upgrades at the courthouse, annex, and jail.
Thornton said more discussion was needed, but that he and Hopkins were both in agreement that it would behoove the county to seek legal counsel with Mullenix & Associates to ensure the ARPA funds were spent appropriately and in-line with all the legal requirements, so that the county would never be found liable for using the funds for the wrong purpose.
Mullenix met with the members of the court in person, and her associates Austin Grinder and Tucker Brackins joined the session virtually. Mullenix shared her firm’s commitment to helping the county navigate the muddy legal waters caused by the constant changes applied to the ARPA guidelines.
Mullenix stated that the county needs someone who is on top of all the legal questions the ARPA funds raise, and her firm is familiar with the program and has assisted other counties in this aspect. She said one action her firm will immediately take is to put professional liability insurance in place, so that the county is protected from any legal action against them if federal auditors allege that funds were misused.
Thornton pointed out that a contract with Mullenix & Associates would include a 30-day “out clause” if the county decided they wanted out of the agreement. One of the JP’S asked if the lawyer fees could be paid out of the ARPA funds, and Mullenix replied in the affirmative.
After Mullenix spoke, Thornton moved to news from the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee of the State of Arkansas, who sent a letter stating that an audit of the county’s elected officials who served in 2020 found no issues that needed to be reported to management. Thornton stated that it was a first since he’s been in office and that he was very pleased with the news. A similar federal audit of work programs in the county also noted no issues that needed reporting.
The Quorum Court meets the 2nd Tuesday of every month at the Hot Spring County Courthouse. Meetings start at 6 p.m.
Hot Spring County Quorum Court will meet in person. In an effort to practice safe social distancing, the public is asked to attend via Zoom. Please use the following login information:
Join from PC, Mac, Linux, IOS or Android:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86182639308?p-wd=AVFKQVJCOHDVND-DVCFO4OVVQWSTOQT09
Meeting ID: 861 8263 9308
Passcode: 3322261
Or join by phone:
+1 312 626 6799 (US Toll) or +1 301 715 8592 (US Toll)
Meeting ID: 861 8263 9308
Passcode: 3322261
If you have any questions, please call the Hot Spring County Judge’s Office at 501332-2261.