By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
A possible contract for a new caterer at the Forrest City Civic Center was discussed by the city council Tuesday, and there could be a vote at the next meeting to seek bidders.
There was also a brief discussion of a proposal to provide additional kitchen space.
Most of the discussion on the contract centered on two particular sections -- Section V, dealing with the term of the contract, and Section XV, dealing with records.
Section V states that the contract will be for two years, and that the Civic Center Commission will have the option to extend the agreement under the same terms for up to two years, but not for more than a total of four years.
The Civic Center Commission has been a source of controversy for several months.
Alderman Brent Ponder called attention to Section V, and said, "With us having problems getting our commission to meet, I think we need to be able to get that problem resolved also."
To that, Alderman Steve Hollowell said, "Personally, I'd like to scratch them off of it."
"If we start going down that route," said Mayor Larry Bryant, "every time we don't like something a commission does, or perceive that we don't like, we need to do that with every commission, not have any."
"That's a good thing," said Hollowell.
"Then we won't have public input," said Bryant. He said the Civic Center Commission is short several members.
"I think it's a matter of just having more people on the commission, so that they would have a little more foresight," Bryant continued. "Some of the things they've done and put together, they haven't gotten credit for, but they've tried to do certain things."
He said the Civic Center Commission needs guidance from the city council.
"I don't have any problem with letting them (the commission) extend the contract," said Ponder. "I just don't want to be in the same boat that we're in two years from now, where a contract ends and they don't renew it."
"This is a unique situation," said Bryant.
Concerning Section XV, Alderman Cecil Twillie asked if it was feasible.
The section requires first, that the caterer keep full and complete records. Secondly, it states that "the Commission shall at all reasonable times, have the right to examine books, papers, cash register tapes and other pertinent contractor records. The bookkeeping records for the food and beverage services under the agreement shall be kept separate and apart from any other Contractor business or businesses."
City Attorney Alan Cline answered that if a person signed the contract, agreeing to the terms of the contract, it was indeed feasible.
"I would say a person agreeing to it on the front end, says, 'I agree to let you examine my books,' then, yes," said Cline.
Bryant said he believed the original purpose of that section "was to make sure that the person who was doing the catering would keep prices down based on the fact that they had a contract with the city where they didn't pay anything."
Hollowell argued, "Well, you know what the price is. All you need to know is what the price is."
Bryant also said he believed that another purpose of the section was to make sure there wasn't any outside catering going on.
Twillie agreed, "I kind of read into it that they were trying the best they could to insure that someone wasn't cooking food at this site and taking it to another site."
Cline reiterated that the inspection of records can be done if a person agrees on the front end and signs a contract. "Now, whether or not you're going to get anybody to agree to that on the front end..." he added, leaving the question open.
It was the sense of the council that Cline should go over the contract with a "fine-toothed comb," and then the council will give permission to bid out the contract.
On the subject of additional kitchen space, Tuesday's discussion centered more on one or two warming rooms, rather than a second commercial-grade kitchen, which had been mentioned at a previous meeting. The idea is still being studied.
Alderman Roger Breeding asked that a printout be provided to all council members of how much business the civic center has done so far this year and how much business has been booked for the remainder of the year. He said he believed that would help the council make decisions.
On another matter, the council gave Bryant permission to bid out striping for railroad crossings.
At the request of Alderman John Gadberry, a discussion on the exact location of the multi-purpose building will be held at the next meeting.
On a final matter, Bryant told the council that the mosquito sprayer is now running every night, and he added a call for people who know where there is standing water to contact the city so the water can be treated.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Members of the St. Francis County Transportation Commission decided to continue with its current contracts to four companies after one commission member raised several financial questions in the first meeting of the five-member board since late last year.
A motion to cancel contracts with Transportation Mall Coordinator Frederick Freeman; consultant Bobby May; Sorrells Engineering and accountant Ebony Mills, from commission member Regan Hill, failed to pass Tuesday. After yes votes from Hill and Rausch Hodges, a no vote from Jack Crumbly and an abstention from commission chairman Buzz Haven kept the move from being approved. The fifth member of the commission, Cecil Twillie, attended much of the hour and 45 minute meeting, but left early due to a previously scheduled meeting. The vote was taken after Twillie left the meeting.
Hill told commissioners that he feels the contracts need to be canceled until the commission has more time to evaluate the situation.
Hill questioned several issues surrounding one contract in particular, which he said had been paid approximately $157,000 of all funding that has come in. Those payments, which were to Freeman, were for salary, fringes and expenses from the inception of the commission in October of 2001. Hill first questioned what happened with an initial cash deposit to open a checking account for the commission in November of last year.
"In November, the county placed $10,000 into an account as a matching fund for one of the grants that we were seeking. Three days after that money was placed in the account, a check for $9,000 was written to Mr. Freeman to pay for past travel and expenses. That request went along with a request two days after the account was opened from Mr. Freeman for $956, and that's fine because people should be paid for work that they do," Hill said.
"But then, last week we receive the $60,000 payment from the DRA (Delta Regional Authority) and immediately more checks are written for past work with $25,000 going to Mr. Freeman and $14,000 going to Mr. Mills, along with payments to the other contractors. We seem to be spending a large portion of the money that we have coming in on salaries and expenses and nothing else, and I think we need to take a long look into what's going on. The kind of money that we're paying out, when you look at the money that's coming in, it is just out of line," Hill said.
According to Hill, about 64 percent of all funding presented to the commission in the two and a half years of its existence has gone towards the salary and expenses of Freeman. Hill, who did not directly mention Freeman, told commissioners that of $154,000 that has gone into the account since Oct. 1, 2001, approximately $99,000 has gone towards the salary, expenses and fringe benefits for Freeman.
According to a breakdown of grant expenditures by line item from St. Francis County Judge Carl Cisco's office:
$59,994 has been paid to personnel (all to Freeman)
$15,336.14 was paid in fringes and benefit
$13,502.04 for travel
$2,432.76 for equipment
$245.72 for supplies
$58,000 for contract labor (which included approximately $15,000 paid to Freeman Resources Inc., since February of 2003)
$4,639.48 in miscellaneous spending
According to Mills, over $500 is currently in the account with a remaining $39,000 payment expected from the DRA grant. Of that funding, $30,000 is earmarked for past expenses and salaries.
Mills and Freeman both responded to questions from Hill.
According to Mills, the payments to him were in accordance with his contract. He said that the payments were for services rendered under his contract as an accountant, along with paperwork generated for the commission.
Freeman responded to Hill's questions by presenting the commission with documentation showing the work he has done for the commission. He also told commissioners that he was in accordance with his contract and in accordance with the terms of the grants.
"Gentlemen, at every meeting I present you with an update as to what has been accomplished since our last meeting. What I present to you is just a small portion of the work that I actually do. I document that work and just highlight the portions that I feel are important to you, but I have that documentation available for your review. I also would like you to know that I have not violated the contract that I have with this commission, and I have not violated the terms of the grants that we have received. If I presented the fiscal agent with a request for something that did not comply with the grant arrangements, then that request would not be honored. I would also like for this commission to know that everyone under contract right now has been working for the past nine months without being paid anything and work has continued to progress," Freeman said.
Twillie also commented on the grant payments saying, "One of the things that I like about grants is that they lay out the criteria as to what the money can be spent for. If you are not in line with those criteria, then they won't pay for it. Apparently, the requests from Frederick have been in line with the line items in the grant," he said.
"Looking at the work that has gone on since we started this, I look at it a little like any business. In its inception, you're having to spend more money so that you can get things kicked off. The funding that we have been receiving is like start-up capitol and in the end it should balance itself out. Frederick has done some wonderful work and we're making great strides," Twillie added.
Hill also questioned the continued use of counter checks on the commission's bank account.
Commission treasurer Rausch Hodges questioned the checks that were issued last week saying that as treasurer he should have been contacted.
"I have a little problem with the fact that I'm the treasurer of this commission, and last week I get a telephone call concerning the checks being issued and I have no idea about it because no one has contacted me. I understand that we have three people who can sign off on checks, but at least an effort should have been made to contact me," Hodges said.
According to Freeman attempts were made to contact Hodges. The other commission members authorized to sign on the checks are chairman Buzz Haven and vice-chairman Cecil Twillie.
Following the two-to-one vote, with the abstention counting as a no vote, Crumbly explained part of the reasoning behind his no vote. According to Crumbly, the entire discussion of Freeman's contract should have been done in an executive session.
"I just want you all to know that my no vote was not due to any friendships with anyone involved in this discussion. It is my feeling that this entire discussion should have been handled in executive session because we've discussed some private and personal information concerning Mr. Freeman. The way that he was blindsided on this issue influenced my decision and my vote, and the whole thing just could have, and should have, been handled in a better way," Crumbly said.
During the same period of time, Bobby May was paid $24,000 for consulting work done for the commission. On Tuesday, May told commission members that any funds owed to him did not need to be made. According to May, the focus of the grant funds should be used to assist in seeking other funds, not in salaries.
"The effort to get this Transportation Mall should be as much a volunteer effort as anything. The work done from a consulting standpoint shouldn't be any person or persons' primary job. This is something that we have to work at so that we can bring jobs and opportunity into St. Francis County," May said following the meeting.
"We have to be flexible with the grant funds that come in and be able to make trips to Washington, because that's where the money is, and other places, and use those funds for meetings and hotel rooms and travel so that we can get money from those places so that we can get the land purchased, because once that happens, we can really move forward," he added.
During the meeting, May suggested that the commission explore the possibility of using a lobbyist to seek funds in Washington D.C. In other business, Freeman gave an overview of the project and said that the major stepping stone to moving ahead continues to be the purchase of land.
"Once we get the land, we've got the private sector ready to jump on board. We've just got to get the funding to get the land and move forward," he said.
According to an engineering plan from Sorrells Engineering, five possible locations have been selected with a site near the intersection of U.S. Highway 70 and Arkansas Highway 38 being the primary location, and a site near 75 junction as the secondary site. The plan also calls for the total cost for construction of the Transportation Mall to be more than $38 million, with $30 million projected from the private sector.
By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
The Forrest City Advertising and Promotions Commission is looking to recruit more softball and baseball tournaments for the Forrest City Sports Complex, with the help of Kenneth Taylor, the city's Parks and Recreation Director.
Taylor attended Tuesday's commission meeting to answer questions regarding the process of tournaments being selected for this area.
"I am the one who puts in for tournaments," said Taylor. "If a Junior Babe Ruth, Cal Ripken or USSSA tournament is looking for a place to play, I put in to have Forrest City considered as the site."
Taylor was then asked how many people attended the AAA District Men's and Women's Softball Tournament that was held this past weekend at the complex. "We had 800 to 960 people show up this past weekend at the complex, and that was a little over 20 teams. If we could get a 50- or 60-team tournament here, the attendance would really increase and the money from the gate, concessions and hotel rooms will go up.
"We have the facilities now to host a regional tournament," added Taylor. "We have never done that before. I think it would be great to host one here."
A&P Chairman Kem Merrell stated that he felt the commission should contract with Taylor in an effort to have more tournaments in the city, citing the potential benefit of business and tax revenue such events create. Commissioners asked Taylor to set up a tournament for early fall and come back to them with figures on how much promotion and overhead would cost for the tournament. They also agreed to speak to Forrest City Mayor Larry Bryant about their proposal to enter a contract with Taylor.
In other business, Mightymite director Wyndell Robertson and public/media relations coordinator Andrew Holliday gave a recap of the past weekend's event and offered some ideas on how to increase interest in the event, especially among those in the local area.
"The event went well this year," said Robertson. "Of the three years that I have been doing the event, I believe this year was the best. The weather was nice and finishing at the (Sam Smith) football stadium was great. We had the post-race meal in the fieldhouse. It went smoother this year.
"We did have a decrease in the participants this year," continued Robertson. "We had 250 race this year, which is down about 50 racers from last year. We want to work on getting these numbers up and get more local participation for the event."
Holliday also spoke about the plan to increase the amount of both athletes from out of state and locally.
"There are a lot of competitors out there that are the same age and live about the same distance from Forrest City as they do from Memphis. The Memphis In May Triathlon has 1,600 racers participate in it. We promote it. We give it a lot of pre-race build up. We need to increase the advertising of the event in triathlon magazines and advertise it on the Internet. We can also have a grassroots campaign at the Memphis In May race. We can consider giving a price break to those who sign up for the Memphis race if they sign up for the Mightymite at the same time," Robertson said.
Merrell stated that he felt another event held in conjunction with the annual triathlon would increase local interest. "I was thinking maybe of holding a music festival at the same time. We need to give people something to do after the race is over to bring in more money from the event."
Holliday added that he sees the need for more local participation in the event. "I was thinking that a 5K run added to the Mightymite could increase local interest. What I am looking for is an event that will keep the people from Forrest City interested. You live here, so you would know what would work best in this area."
Commissioners asked Holliday to return to the A&P in October to discuss a marketing plan for the 2005 Mightymite.
In other news, a request from the St. Francis County Branch of the NAACP to help fund the state convention that will be held in Forrest City did not come to a vote. Commissioners agreed that since the organization stood to make a profit from the event, according to information provided by branch president Frank Shaw, they felt they could not provide funding for the event.
By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
Forrest City Water Utility customers may soon see an increase in water bills.
FCWU Manager Jim Beazley told members of the water commission Tuesday there are several reasons why he feels it is time to discuss a price hike.
"I think that it has become time to discuss our rates and our future financial situation," said Beazley. "A couple of months ago (April), the board voted to restructure a bond to help us pay for certain projects that we need to have completed. We fell $50,000 short of what the finance company needs from us to restructure the bond. They are willing to work with us, but that got me thinking about the rates.
"It might not sound like a large amount of money, but we have not been able to put back money into our capital accounts for about six months," Beazley continued. "We are not going broke, but we aren't moving anywhere either. We will need some sort of rate increase to complete the projects down the line on the water supply. I would like to discuss it at next month's meeting and talk about how much of an increase you feel is necessary."
Beazley also noted that, according to FCWU records, the last increase was in April of 1997. "That increase was only a quarter," added Beazley, "and that was seven years ago. We have done very well with that increase and are probably due for an increase in rates anyway."
Commissioner Charles Bradshaw said he felt that the issue should be taken care of with an increase that would prevent the need for frequent increases in the rates.
"We need to talk this through thoroughly and give an increase that will cover what we need, but it should be enough that we are not asking for a 10-cent raise one year and another 10- cent raise the next. We should go up enough so that we don't have to increase the rates again for a long time."
Chairman Jimmy King echoed Bradshaw's feelings. "I don't want us getting into a situation like they have in Memphis where they are passing increases one year and then turning around and passing another increase the next year," King said. "We have some of the lowest rates in the area as we are, but this increase is necessary to repair the plants, sewer and water supply problems we have. To do those repairs and projects, we have to have an increase in the rates."
Before adjourning, King proposed that the board have an informal meeting with the Forrest City City Council to discuss the need for the increase in rates.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
The St. Francis County Quorum Court voted Tuesday to approve a measure which will repair the most severe damage to the roof at the St. Francis County Jail.
By an 8-to-1 vote, justices approved allowing St. Francis County Judge Carl Cisco to enter into a contract with Innovative Sealants to make repairs to the roof at the jail. Building and Improvement Committee Chairman Sam Armstrong pointed out that the repairs at the jail would not be patch work.
"This is going to be a full re-construction of the most damaged portion of the jail. It's not going to be a patch and I want that to be understood," Armstrong said.
Justice Evans Seawood, who was the lone dissenting vote and questioned only repairing a portion of the roof at a meeting of the budget committee last week, again questioned the move.
"If this isn't going to fix that entire roof, than I can't vote for it. I understand what Mr. Armstrong is saying, but if we're not fixing the whole thing than it is a patch," Seawood said.
"Either we're going to be true justices or we're going to be no justices, and I for one am a true justice. We need to fix the whole thing and not just part here and part there," he added.
In other business, justices agreed to increase the pay for mileage accrued by St. Francis County employees and elected officials. Prior to Tuesday's vote, the county paid 30 cents per mile, and Tuesday's ordinance increased that amount to 34 cents per mile, which St. Francis County Judge Carl Cisco said was in line with state mileage payments.
Justice Regan Hill also told the court of a letter of intent regarding the opening of a landfill in St. Francis County. The letter scheduled, to be sent to the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, is the first step in the county's attempt to open its own landfill.
Justices also heard briefly from Dr. Beverly Divers-White with the Foundation for the Mid-South and Director of Communities of Opportunity. Diver-White spoke to the court about the Communities of Opportunity program currently under way in St. Francis County.
The program, which is being funded through a grant from the Walton Foundation will focus on efforts to bring community change in order to transform distressed areas into healthy communities for individuals, families and institutions. Divers-White told justices that meetings are currently being held in several locations throughout the county to establish leadership programs and get community input. St. Francis County is the only Arkansas county selected for the program.