Decatur council swears in two, pays off APERS loan

Photo by Mike Eckels The Decatur City Council pose before their Feb. 16 meeting at city hall. The council consist of Linda Marin (left), James Jessen, Sandy Duncan, Kim Wilkins (city clerk), Mayor Bob Tharp, Robin Heath, and Ladale Clayton. Missing from the Feb. 16 meeting is David Sutton.
Photo by Mike Eckels The Decatur City Council pose before their Feb. 16 meeting at city hall. The council consist of Linda Marin (left), James Jessen, Sandy Duncan, Kim Wilkins (city clerk), Mayor Bob Tharp, Robin Heath, and Ladale Clayton. Missing from the Feb. 16 meeting is David Sutton.

DECATUR -- The Decatur City Council swore in a new member during the Feb. 16 special meeting held in the conference room of city hall. The meeting was rescheduled from Feb. 9.

The first order of business for the council was the swearing in of Ladale Clayton. She took the oath of office from Mayor Bob Tharp. Clayton was appointed during the special meeting Feb. 3 to fill one of two open positions in Ward 3. Linda Martin filled the other open position and she took the oath of office during the special meeting Feb. 3.

Mayor Bob Tharp updated the council members on the APERS (Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System) unfunded liability loan that was taken out in December of 2005. The council decided during the Jan. 12 meeting to pay back the remaining balance of $58,140.94 to APERS. Tharp and city clerk Kim Wilkins went to Little Rock, check in hand, to the APERS office to pay off the loan. Wilkins requested and received a receipt and a document showing the account has been paid in full.

"It is good to finally be out from under this loan," Tharp said. "I know that former mayors Bill Montgomery and Charles Linam tried to take care of this matter but weren't getting answers from APERS."

The council also approved the purchase of a used yard dog truck for the wastewater treatment plant. The vehicle was purchased from one of the city's vendors for $8,800. Normally, a truck of this quality runs $10,000 to $50,000, depending on the make and year of manufacture. This vehicle will be used to change out two trailers used to hold solid waste which is shipped to another plant in Missouri. The yard dog will stay at the wastewater treatment plant and will not be licensed for road use.

In other business, the council considered an appointment request by the Decatur Housing Authority to replace Ken Setser with former mayor Charles Linam. Stacy Brooks, the new chairman of the housing authority, brought the appointment before the council as required by state law. The council approved Linam's appointment.

The Decatur City Council meets on the second Monday of each month. Decatur area residents are invited to attend the meetings and are encouraged to bring any city matters before this body. To address the city council, contact Kim Wilkins, Decatur City Clerk, at 752-3912.

General News on 02/25/2015