Public Works Council Committee - Regular Meeting

All right, it's 5 o'clock. We're going to go ahead and call the Public Works Council meeting to order. First item is approval of minutes, so please mark your attendance. No, I'm sorry, roll call. Please mark your attendance when posted. All right, tell me something else. Again, we do have a quorum. Next item is approval of minutes. Minutes 26 to 59 from the meeting on Tuesday, July 7th, 2026.

Move to adopt. Second.

Motion second to adopt. Any comments or questions by anyone on the committee? If not, please mark your vote. Okay, and those will be forwarded. Approved. Next item, new business. Resolutions to be introduced. Resolution 26089. Resolution by the City of Jonesboro, Arkansas to accept the attached fee proposal for construction administration and inspection services for the Marionbury Parkway multi-use trail project. Whereas Pickering Firm Incorporated was selected for the Marionbury Parkway multi-use trail project, whereas City of Jonesboro desires to accept the attached fee proposal in the amount of $100,000 for construction, administration, and inspection services, whereas funding for the execution of the fee proposal shall come from capital improvement budget and compensation shall be paid in accordance with the fee proposal. Now, therefore, be it resolved by the City Council of the City of Jonesboro, Arkansas, Section 1, that the city of Jonesboro hereby accepts the attached fee proposal from Pickering Firm Incorporated in the amount of $100,000 for construction, administration, and inspection services for the Marionbury Parkway multi-use trail project. Section two, that funding for the execution of the fee proposal shall come from the capital improvement budget and compensation shall be paid in accordance with the fee proposal. Section three, the mayor and city clerk are hereby authorized by the city council for the city of Jonesboro to accept the fee proposal and direct the purchasing finance specialist to issue a purchase order.

We recommend to the full council.

Second. Motion second to recommend forward to full council. Any comments or questions by anyone on the committee?

Chairman? Yes, sir. Brian or Craig or whoever, I'd just be curious for an update on this and the next one. So, I mean, combine them all at once or do it on the second one or whatever on this and Higginbotham Trail.

On this project, we're waiting for authorization to advertise from RDOT. As soon as we get that, we'll advertise for bids on it. Plans are 100%. Plans have been approved. We're just waiting on the last letter saying we can actually advertise the project.

And we're completely funded on this one?

We have the grant funding. We have some money in capital improvements. I believe there's an agreement with Arkansas State for the other portion of it of the funding. I don't have the answer to that question personally, but I think there's been some conversations had about that estimated cost. One is, say, 1.7, something like that. So it's a little bit more than what it was originally estimated. But we'll have a deductive alternate in it to get us down below the 1.5, which was originally budgeted for the project. And then on Higginbottom Creek, there should be a resolution before you tonight to send a council design contract with a firm to design that project. So we're just getting in the kickoff stage. It'll be this time next year probably. Hopefully we'll be looking at going to construction.

Thank you. Greg, if you will, I wasn't familiar with the engineers on Higginbottom. Who is that?

It's a firm. They're a multi-state firm. They have an office in Paragould. They're doing plan review and stuff for Paragould. They're marketing this area. They're a pretty good-sized engineering firm. We're trying to build some capacity in Jonesboro. Do they have an office here? They do in Paragould. They have an office in Paragould.

I just wouldn't, I saw that name and I wasn't familiar with those.

We're trying to build a little bit more capacity with companies in Jonesville, engineering companies, so we're not always executing them with the same firms all the time. But this was a firm, the selection committee kind of weighed all the alternatives and this was one of them that they came up with. Thank you, Craig.

Any other comments or questions about anyone? I have a question. Hey, Craig, hang on just a second.

One question. Dr. Compton. I know this is, we're only talking about $303, okay? So I want to make sure that's on the record. So it's not much money I'm dealing with here. But I was looking at the contract and versus the proposal. It said $100,000 and the contract is $99,000. 690 something, 696. So at 303 dollars and I was looking at the contract itself and it said, not for me with the the words, but it said we propose to complete the work in the scope of basic services plus client reimbursable expenses. So I'm just asking, was that the 303 dollars or it's just, they just rounded it up, just to round it up?

It is a hourly. It's a cost plus project. So they're estimating their hours. And that's where they came up with the 99.7. And for the contract, we just rounded it to $100,000 because it is an estimate. So they'll bill us their actual man hours on the job.

So this will help me with the next couple of questions. things that we're gonna be talking about and the resolutions rather. And on here, it says on this particular one, there's no reimbursable costs like mileage, meals, lodging, that type of thing. And then the other one that we'll read further in the future, it does. So I'm just asking, is that common to charge or reimburse for mileage and meals and lodging? I'm just asking.

yeah it is okay i mean for for out-of-town firms it is um the the the project the marion berry project is a local firm it's it's basically a resident inspector on the job they'll be there every day or checking in on the project every construction day they're completely different type projects so we wouldn't be paying a per diem for that but for travel from out of state, the designers are going to come in from from Missouri for part of the work. So it's typical we we have firms that charge us for travel from Little Rock. I mean, that's common for reimbursables.

Any other comments or questions by anyone on the committee?

Craig, I just asked Carol. It's been a minute or two since I looked at professional services contract. But on professional services contract, you can't hire an engineer or an architect based on price, though, can you?

No.

That's what I was going to say. Yeah. And it may go to Dr. Coleman's questioning and reimbursements. Under professional services, we can't even really hire you based on how much you charge. which is crazy, you know, but it is what it is.

Thank you. Any comments or questions by anyone in the audience? Staff? If not, we have a motion to second. Please cast your ballot. Resolution 26089. And that item does pass before full council. Next item, resolution 26090, resolution by the city council of the city of Joanborough Arkansas to enter into agreement with Bacon Farmer Workman Engineering and Test Incorporated to provide professional services for Higginbottom Trail, whereas the city of Joanborough desires to enter into an agreement to provide professional services for the Higginbottom Trail project, whereas The selection committee has determined that Bacon Farmer Workman Engineering and Testing Incorporated is the most qualified firm for the project, whereas Bacon Farmer Workman Engineering and Testing Incorporated has agreed to provide professional services for the Higginbotham Trail project as described in the attached agreement. And whereas funding for the execution of the agreement shall come from the capital improvement budget and compensation shall be paid in accordance with the agreement. And therefore be resolved by the city council of the city of Jonesboro, Arkansas, section one, that the city of Jonesboro shall enter into an agreement with Bacon Farmer Workman Engineering and Testing Incorporated to provide professional services for the Higginbottom Trail project, section two, the funding for the execution of the agreement shall come from the capital improvement budget and compensation shall be paid in accordance with the agreement. Section three, the mayor and city clerk are hereby authorized by the city council for the city of Joanborough, Arkansas to execute all documents necessary to effectuate the agreement.

Move to adopt. Second.

And motion second to adopt. Any comments or questions on this resolution by anyone on the committee? Any questions or comments by anyone in the audience? Patty, state your name and address for the record, please, ma'am.

Patty Lack, 4108 Forest Hill Road. On this one here, I noticed that on the resolution that you just read, Mr. Street, is that it does not show a dollar amount on that. And if you click on the contract of this bacon, it does list the $131,839.77. So, I'm not understanding why it doesn't reflect it on the resolution that you guys would be approving.

Great. You address that.

I assume that the resolution references the contract. It's in the contract what the fee is. I know that I'm not sure why it wasn't included in the resolution itself. And if you wanna add that, that's fine. But.

A problem with any of that, Carol? Is that fine to reference that?

The contract? Sure.

Okay.

Y'all wanna, you'd need a motion to amend the resolution.

I move to amend the motion or the agreement that that amount be placed on the resolution. of the state contract.

DAVID BURRAGE- Did anybody second that? I'll second it.

DAVID BURRAGE- I have a motion and a second to amend the resolution to place the dollar amount on the resolution. Any comments or questions about anyone? If not, please signify by saying aye. Aye. DAVID BURRAGE- Any opposed? OK. Thank you. Thank you correctly. So we have a motion and a second on resolution 26090. Any other comments by anyone in the committee room or staff? OK, if not, please cast your ballot on 26090. OK, and that we forward to full council. Last item, resolution 26091. Resolution by the City of Jonesboro, Arkansas to enter into an affiliation agreement with the Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas, acting for and on behalf of the University of Arkansas Fayetteville UARC for the Turtle Creek Wetland Partnership and amend the capital improvement budget. Whereas City of Jonesburg desires to enter into an affiliation agreement with the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees for the Turtle Creek Wetland Partnership to explore the expansion of the partnership wetlands to improve function and create an outdoor learning experience for area youth. Whereas the Board of Trustees has agreed to provide the services as described in the attached affiliation agreement for the Turtle Creek Wetland Partnership. Whereas the City of Jonesburg desires to amend the capital improvement budget by $50,000 is to fund this planning project, now therefore be resolved by the City Council for the City of Jonesboro, Arkansas. That's section one, that the City of Jonesboro shall enter into an affiliation agreement with the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees to provide services as described in the attached affiliation agreement for the Turtle Creek Wetland Partnership. Section two, the capital improvement budget is hereby amended to allocate $50,000 to fund this project, section three, the mayor and city clerk are hereby authorized by the city council for the city of Jonesboro to execute all documents necessary to effectuate the agreement.

Can you kind of give us an oversight what that covers?

Can we do a motion and a second first? I'll make a motion to approve.

Second.

Motion and a second to approve. Craig, could you address that please?

Might as well just get a chair up there, Craig.

Well, for this one, I wish Beverly Parker was here, because this was really pushed by Keep Jonesboro Beautiful to get this project started. But basically, we're looking at developing a landscape architecture studio project in Jonesboro on the Turtle Creek detention pond. to come in and begin developing that piece of property for a more engaging use by, possibly by the schools. We're gonna reach out. We've actually reached out to Middleton schools, the STEM school. We're looking at designing some sort of boardwalks to put into the detention pond. or into the wetlands area. They're looking at enlarging the wetlands area and doing some research with aquatic species and plants and animals. But it's basically to turn this into an outdoor classroom type space and develop a project where people actually want to go to the Turtle Creek wetlands area and visit it. We have a trailhead there. a trail, a bridge that goes across Tover Creek, and it's really an underutilized resource, and so this project's kind of a planning of what does that look like in the future, and how do we better engage the community to use that facility. So.

Any other questions or comments from anyone on the committee? Anyone in the audience? Staff? If not, please cast your vote. And that carries. It will be forwarded to full council. Next item, pending items. I know of none. Other business? Anyone on the committee have any other business for the committee today? If not, next item is public comments. Any public comments by anyone in attendance on anything that is not on the agenda today? If not, the last item is adjournment. So moved. Second. Motion and second to adjourn. All in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay. Motion carries and we're adjourned. Thank you.