Sulphur Springs offers police job to Cooper

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

— After being without a city peace official for some time, the Sulphur Springs City Council during its first 2013 regular session, on Jan. 10, voted 5-1 to offer the chief of police job to William Cooper.

Mayor Bob Simon said he would supply more information about Cooper if Cooper accepted the council’s offer of $30,000 annual salary. The announcement before the 15 people gathered in the city hall meeting room Thursday evening came after the council emerged from a previous unannounced closed-door session.

After approving the Dec. 13, 2012, council meeting minutes as recorded, other agenda items covered by the nearly two hour session included city financials, department and commission reports.

City’s office manager Freedom David’s balance sheet report as of Jan. 8, 2013, revealed the city’s short-term plus long-term liabilities total $393,887. With assets totaling $221,685, the city appears to be heading for a shortfall of $172,202. The liability total includes two long-term loans of $380,595 owed to the USDA for the city’s rural water and wastewater development.

The fire department’s assistant chief, Charlie Orr, said his department responded to eight calls in December of 2012.

Public works director Sherman R. Buckley’s report revealed the city had been losing more than $1,000 upon installation of any new home or business construction that requires taps to the city’s main water line.

“It costs us about $2,300 to install a tap,” Buckley said. “Of that, about half is the cost of materials.” He said the current tap fee of $375 fell well short of the cost to the city. He suggested raising the tap fee to at least half the city’s installation cost. He presented the council with two fee schedules, one from the city of Bentonville of $1,100, and the other a copy of Gravette city ordinance 12-06, with a fee charge of $1,000 for each water tap. The council voted 5-1 to increase Sulphur’s water tap fee to $1,100 with, like Bentonville and Gravette, an additional charge for street cuts.

After a short discussion, the council voted to raise street cuts from its present fee of $210 to $300 for what Buckley described as a half cut and $600 for a full cut. A half cut, he explained, was when the city’s main water line ran on the same side of the street as the proposed building site, and a full cut required crossing the road.

Other city projects which Buckley asked the council’s approval to fund included $1,500 to replace the clutch in the department’s Ford tractor, an estimated $1,300 for electrical service redo after last year’s windstorm damage to what council members referred to as the “Green Building,” the historic Jack’s Place billiards house still located at the city park’s south entrance, and two projects in the park. The council approved funds for the tractor and “GreenBuilding” electrical redo but tabled funding repairs to the park’s picnic tables and tennis court.

While the library commission had no new news to report, Sulphur Springs museum commissioner Rhonda Barnett asked the council’s approval of two new members and one resignation. The council accepted Deborah Medley and June (Brackney) Murray as new members and accepted the resignation of Aubrey Young.

Under unfinished business, the council unanimously approved city ordinance 2012-4, which addresses any person or business distributing or selling supplied city water. It seeks to prevent anyone from dispensing or selling city water except in a declared city emergency.

New business

Mayor Simon presented to council members a five-page document outlining his proposed new ordinance to force city property owners to fix up and clean up property or face a fine or possible city condemnation of buildings and property. The council voted to table the proposed ordinance, agreeing to hold a special meeting on Jan. 14 to further discuss it.

Citing Article 12, Section 4, of the Arkansas Constitution, city attorney Seth Bickett said the city could not raise millage rates as proposed because the current rate matched the maximum amount allowed by Arkansas law.

The council unanimously passed an ordinance which makes the National Electrical Code, 2011 Edition, the “benchmark of safe electrical design, installation and inspection to protect people and property from electrical hazards” (Section 1 of the ordinance).

Independent insurance agent Gabe Landau, representing AFLAC, addressed the council asking permission to approach city employees about health insurance. He said if three or more employees decided to make payroll deductions for insurance, all city employees could get a “group rate.” The council approved Landau’s request.

Before voting to adjourn, Mayor Simon said that any fund-raising event using the name Sulphur Springs must first get approval and all collected money be routed through the city financial services.

All city council members were present for the meeting, including Mayor Bob Simon and Alderpersons Greg Barber, William Medley, Martha Kreder, Deborah Medley, Lynnette Struble, Susan Buckner and City Attorney Seth Bickett.

News, Pages 7 on 01/16/2013