Fayetteville City Council recap: Aug. 15, 2023

Action taken

Approved

• Accepting a $25,000 grant from the Excellerate Foundation to provide shelter beds for people experiencing homelessness during extreme weather.
• Purchasing a $106,149 virtual reality training system to provide de-escalation training techniques to police personnel.
• Changes to the rental equipment procurement procedure.
• A change order for work related to the cultural arts corridor project.
• Consolidating the Fire Relief and Pension Program.
• Codifying a uniform “final action” date for administratively approved development applications.

Held

• Changes to water and sewer rates.
• Rezoning 20.23 acres on North Truckers Drive.
• Authorizing a payment to resident whose home was damaged after a city water main broke.

» Download the agenda (PDF)

Background:
For over 15 years the Pension Review Board has reported the Local Fire Pension Fund to be actuarially unsound based on annual reports. Until recently, interest earnings and revenue sources, including a dedicated property tax, provided sufficient resources to pay pensioners the total amount of their current benefits. However, staff said available assets have been decreasing as benefit payments have exceeded investment earnings, and in 2021 the assets available fell below $2,000,000 which placed additional legal restrictions on investments. Staff said it’s now clear that in the near future, current pension benefits cannot be maintained due to both the reduced assets and the new restrictions on investment options.

Earlier this year the Local Fire Pension Board reviewed the feasibility of consolidation, and the trustees voted to pay for an actuarial study, which was later completed and after a discussion, the board voted unanimously to request the City Council approve a consolidation with LOPFI.

This item would approve that requested consolidation.

Discussion:
This item was moved up from the New Business portion of the agenda.

During public comment, two people spoke in favor of the consolidation.

Decision:
The council advanced the ordinance to the third reading, and voted 7-0 to approve it.

Background:
A public hearing is required before the council can vote on changes to the city’s water and sewer rates, which are up for discussion in the Unfinished Business portion of the agenda.

Residents in West Fork and Elkins would have the highest monthly increase (around 18%-20%) under the proposed new rates since those cities purchase water wholesale from Fayetteville and send their sewage to be treated in Fayetteville. The industrial rates, which affect eight customers in Fayetteville, would have the next highest increase (around 16%). Monthly bills for all other residential and business customers – both inside and outside of Fayetteville’s city limits – would not see any significant increase.

Discussion:
Heith Caudle, mayor of West Fork, said he’s against the proposal since the sewer rate changes will have a major affect on West Fork residents.

Elkins Mayor Troy Reed agreed with Caudle and said it feels like their cities are being punished for being wholesale customers of Fayetteville’s water services.

Several residents from West Fork spoke and said they don’t want to see a significant increase in their monthly bills.

Anna White with Black & Veatch said her team today reevaluated the sewer rate estimations for West Fork and it’s possible the actual increases would be lower for some – possibly in the 10-12% range.

Background:
This ordinance would make the recommended changes to the city’s water and sewer rates as discussed in the public hearing on tonight’s agenda.

The changes would apply to water and sewer customers who live outside the city limits. Rates would stay the same for those whose addresses are inside the city limits.

July 19 Discussion:
Paul Becker, the city’s chief financial officer, asked that the ordinance be tabled to allow time to meet with Farmington city leaders to negotiate a new contract. He requested the item be held until Dec. 6.

Mayor Jordan said he would also like to table the item to allow time to make some changes to the recommendations. The council agreed and voted unanimously to table it.

Dec. 6 Discussion:
Paul Becker, the city’s chief financial officer, asked that the ordinance be tabled to allow more time to negotiate with Farmington city leaders on a new contract. He requested the item be held until March 7, 2023. The council agreed and voted unanimously to table it.

March 7 Discussion:
Paul Becker, the city’s chief financial officer, asked that the ordinance be tabled until April 18, 2023. Becker said staff needs more time, partly because they’re still negotiating with Farmington city leaders. The council agreed and voted unanimously to table it.

April 18 Discussion:
Paul Becker, the city’s chief financial officer, asked that the ordinance be tabled until May 16, 2023. Becker said staff needs more time with the proposal. The council agreed and voted unanimously to table it.

May 16 Discussion:
Paul Becker, the city’s chief financial officer, asked that the ordinance be tabled until July 18, 2023. Becker said staff needs more time with the proposal. The council agreed and voted unanimously to table it.

July 18 Discussion:
Paul Becker, the city’s chief financial officer, asked that the ordinance be tabled until Aug. 15, 2023. Becker said staff needs more time with the proposal. The council agreed and voted unanimously to table it.

Aug. 15 Discussion:
Because some new information was presented tonight during the public hearing portion of the agenda, city staff recommend this item be tabled until some new increase estimations can be provided for consideration.

The council voted 7-0 to table the item until Sept. 19.

Background:
City policy requires the Purchasing Division to competitively solicit purchases over $35,000 with the same vendor for like or similar goods and services. Staff said various departments use equipment rental vendors and they are unaware of other departments’ usage, and as a result, it is difficult for each department to verify and maintain compliance.

With the nature of rental equipment having unknown variables such as size, duration of rental, and availability at the time of need, staff said it is not practical or feasible to solicit rental equipment, so the recommendation is to apply quote thresholds by department at the time of need, rather than aggregate spends annually city-wide.

Discussion:
There was no comment.

Decision:
The council voted 7-0 to approve the resolution.

Background:
This item is for a change order related to the construction of the Cultural Arts Corridor, including demolition, earthwork, storm drainage, electrical, structural and miscellaneous steel, permeable pavers, and architectural precast. Also included is the addition of infrastructure for new street lighting from Dickson Street to Watson Street, which will connect the arts corridor to the new parking deck.

Discussion:
There was no comment.

Decision:
The council voted 7-0 to approve the resolution.

Background:
Councilmember Turk sponsored this amendment which would create a uniform “final action” date for administratively approved development applications. City code already includes this for large site improvement plans, but not for the other two admin-approved applications – small site improvement plans and lot splits. However, city staff said they have always included a list of admin-approved projects at the end of Planning Commission agendas as a form of public notification even thought it’s not required.

Since this item would simply codify a practice that staff said is already in place, there should be no staff or budget impact by this amendment.

Discussion:
One person spoke in favor.

Decision:
The council advanced the ordinance to the third reading, and voted 7-0 to approve it.

Background:
This property is in north Fayetteville between Highway 112 and Deane Solomon Road, and contains one parcel originally part of the Park West residential planned zoning district. That district was a mixed-use development approved by the council in 2006, but it expired in 2011 after no development had occurred on the property, which is now effectively without a zoning designation. The Park West development was originally planned on about 140 acres, but much of the original RPZD has been rezoned since the original approval expired. This request includes areas currently developed with a church to the north and a retirement home to the south. This item would rezone 20.2 acres of the remaining 59.6 acres of the remaining RPZD.

Staff said the request is compatible with the surrounding area, because it’s adjacent to residential properties of mixed densities to the west and south, with a commercial property to the north and another parcel with the existing RPZD zoning to the east. In fact, staff have previously recommended the property be rezoned to Community Services, which has no density cap, whereas the requested district has a cap of 18 units per acre.

Both city staff and the Planning Commission recommend in favor of the request.

Location:

Discussion:
One person spoke in favor of the request and one spoke against. A third said the Environmental Action Committee should be given time to review the application before a decision is made.

The council left the item on the first reading. The discussion will continue on Sept. 5.

Background:
This item would authorize a payment to Misty Simpson for water damage that occurred at 2425 E. Sharon St after a 36-inch city water main broke in September 2021 causing substantial amounts of flooding and damage to the neighborhood and to the Simpson residence.

Staff said partial payments have previously been made to Simpson, Privacy Fence Inc., A Clean-Cut Lawn Care, Stanley Steemer, and Hall Engineering in the amount of $19,961.77 for loss of personal belongings, flooring and ductwork cleaning, structural investigation, fence replacement, and landscaping services. The total repair amount Simpson is requesting, excluding those repairs already paid by the city, is $97,938.31.

Discussion:
Councilmember Berna said he visited the home and it’s “amazing” how much damage occurred from the flooding incident. He asked City Attorney Kit Williams about the homeowner’s claim that a contractor who has already been paid by the city may have performed some improper work that caused further damage which isn’t accounted for in the city’s proposed payment of $50,000.

Williams said he needs to look at that contact to determine whether the city may be entitled to any claim for that alleged damage which could then be transferred to the homeowner if a lawsuit is successful.

Moore suggested passing the resolution tonight and then exploring options for retrieving more money for the homeowner if it’s available.

Turk asked whether it would be appropriate to amend the city’s code which limits a damage claim. Williams cautioned against that, and said historically, the higher the amount of money available, the higher the damage claims the city receives, which means water and sewer rates would have to be raised city-wide to pay for those higher claims.

Berna suggested tabling the resolution before awarding any money to consider increasing the city’s damage claim amount.

Hertzberg said while she would like to give as much money as is needed in this particular case, the only way that is possible is if the council increases the damage claim limit which, like Williams said, could lead to monthly rate increases for all of the city’s water and sewer customers.

Turk said she’d like to look into whether the city can use ARPA funds to help the homeowner as a way to avoid changing city code.

The council voted 7-0 to table until Oct. 17.