The city's board of directors declared an emergency to waive competitive bidding for property insurance for $115,363.60 during its meeting Tuesday.
Adrienne Barr, human resources manager, said property insurance companies wait until the last 3o days of a current policy to release quotes to ensure there aren't any open claims that weren't taken into consideration, which is why the agenda item is requested as an emergency. The city's coverage expires June 30.
Barr said city staff reviewed property insurance coverages from Moss Financial Group and the Arkansas Municipal League and recommended the city move forward with it's current relationship with Moss Financial Group. According to a staff report, AML's property insurance quote is up to $94,335.39 from $90,222.75 from last year. While MFG will cost the city more than $20,000 more than AML, Barr cited that differences like a lower deductible and the process for newly added property, which won't affect the city's budget throughout the year, made MFG the preferred coverage provider.
City Administrator Phillip Patterson said that the "additional amenities in the Moss package are sufficient enough to justify the additional $20,000 in case something were to happen."
Directors also placed on its first reading an ordinance that would establish minimum safety rules and regulations at the city's municipal airport. According to a city staff report, the safety standards manual was created "to provide airport users with documents representing a compilation of rules, regulations, standards, and general information governing their activities at the airport." The same report read the minimum regulations manual was created "to ensure that entities that have been approved to provide commercial aeronautical services are not exposed to unfair or irresponsible competition."
In all, the manuals total 35 pages, which are substantially longer than other local guide manuals, noted Mindy Hunt, ward 1. Hunt's husband is a pilot and they rent a hangar at the Siloam Springs Municipal Airport. Hunt volunteered to recuse herself from assisting in making a decision. Board members didn't feel that was necessary and suggested her knowledge in aviation would be valuable in decision making.
The minimum standards for commercial operations includes definitions and minimum standards for all operators. The rules and regulations manual reviews definitions, general rules of activity and conduct and aircraft operations.
In other business, the board:
• Approved a contract between the city's electrical department and Johnson Construction to fully enclose the department's truck shed for $71,065.50. The project was originally estimated to cost $80,000. The remaining $8,934.50 will be spent on dirt work and other interior improvements.
• Approved a capital budget amendment for the city's public works department. The amendment clarifies that the department seeks to purchase a positive displacement blower, "used in the digestion process where the excess bacteria used from treatment are prepared for dewatering and ultimate landfilling," not a centrifugal blower, "used for the biological portion of the process where the treatment of wastewater occurs," according to a staff report.
• Approved the purchase of a John Deere compact track loader from Stribling Equipment for $84,720.19 for the city's public works department, street division. The anticipated purchase is expected to replace a 1995 Bobcat 853H skid steer.
• Placed on its second reading an amendment to the municipal code that would allow for the Sunday sale of beer. The amendment would allow small breweries, nano breweries and microbrewery restaurants operating in accordance with state law to sell "beer, malt beverages, and hard cider for off-premise consumption on any day of the week during all legal operating hours." Casey Letellier, owner of Ivory Bill Brewing, first proposed the idea to the board during an April 16 meeting. Since the June 4 meeting, when the amendment was placed on its first reading, Letellier spent a Sunday afternoon tracking the percentage of taproom sales, what he says is a driving force behind his business; of those who inquired, an estimated 30 percent of sales were lost from potential Sunday sales.
General News on 06/23/2019