Decatur Council approves land purchase for park

DECATUR - The Decatur City Council met June 10 and approved purchase of land for a new park.

The speed limit ordinance on Jo Avenue was the first item of discussion. A resident of Jo Avenue went before the city council during the May meeting asking that the speed limit be reduced. She complained that people were exceeding the posted limit. In that meeting, the council decided to write an ordinance reducing the limit to 10 miles an hour. They had to wait until the June meeting to approve this measure.

Decatur city attorney Michael Nutt wrote the Jo Avenue speed limit ordinance and presented it to the council. Linam, after review of the city’s ordinance codification book, discovered that the city has no sections on speed limits. He referred to the State of Arkansas regulations on speed limits. According to the state, the lowest allowable speed limit within a city is 30 miles per hour. Since the city cannot drop the limit below 30, Alderwoman Sandy Duncan made a motion to table the ordinance until the July meeting. The motion carried.

Further study of this ordinance will ensue. While the legal issues are studied, Decatur Police Chief Terry Luker said he will keep a logbook on Jo Avenue activity and file a report during the July meeting.

The purchase of land on 7th and Hill Avenue was next on the agenda. In the May meeting, Linam proposed purchasing this land and building a new park.Since this side of Decatur does not have any recreational facilities, Linam felt this would benefit the residents living in the area.

Alderman Tharp presented the park and recreation committee recommendation that the city apply for a GIF grant to purchase the piece of land. The proposed price of this land is $27,000. Alderman David Sutton asked how much this item would cost the city.

Linam replied, “All it will cost the city will be half of the surveying and half of closing cost. Once we get the GIF grant, then we can apply for a FUN parks grant which would amount to $45,000 and does not require any match from the city.”

Alderman Tharp made the motion, “to purchase that piece of property which should cost $27,000 and proceed with the grant application.” The motion was seconded by Alderwoman Nan McClain and the council, through a roll call vote, passed this measure 6-0.

Raises for city and water employees of Decatur were discussed. The raises only apply to those full-time non-elected city and water department employees. They would get a 1.4 percent raise starting July 1, 2013. This move would cost Decatur a total of $4,266 for the remainder of the year (through Dec. 31).

Normally, raises for these employees are given in January at a rate of 3 percent. This cost would be reflected in the city budget for that year. Starting in January, 2014, city and water employees would receive their raises based on evaluations and not across the board.

Alderman Tharp made a motion to give raises to non-elected full time employees. The motion was seconded by Alderwoman Robin Heath. A roll call vote was called for by secretary Kim Wilkins. It passed 6-0.

In other action, public works director James Boston requested purchasing a new zero-turn-radius lawnmower for the street department. The two units the city currently owns are 5 and 7 years old respectively. One of these mowers has been out of service for several weeks. Boston found a Kubota 72-inch zero-turn diesel lawnmower with a one-year warranty for $13,100 (government pricing). The council approved the purchase 6-0.

After hearing departmental reports from police, fire and water waste water, the meeting was adjourned.

News, Pages 1 on 07/10/2013