City Council - Special Meeting

Hey, let's be on my level. I'm the expertise. I'll let you handle it. Appreciate you. I tell you, baby, that's where the meat is.

That show you up there in Station 1, right there.

I didn't go to traffic and aviation. So you want a flashing sign there? We do need something there.

We can try that out there. I'll get with Tisha and see you next time she's having a meeting to see if we can get that. Tiger was supposed to give me some numbers on how much those stop signs cost. And I think if we can get that one with that solar panel on the top, it does this. Then how we can get people up. indicator that speed's about to change or they need to slow down or stop or something. So that's a good thing. I like those glowing signs, especially when you've got a straight strip of, you know, you're coming off 530, you get rolling, and then 47 is the first place you have to stop. I think you do need something right there to let people know, like, hey, it's time to break it down. Okay, so I'll get back with him. See if we can get like a solar sign there. Like I said, the lights around it. That'd be nice. The sign actually has the speed on it. It'll tell you how fast you're going. The speed sign, it'll show how fast you're going on that. Okay. Yeah, man.

Yeah, I'm going to sit here because she's not coming tonight.

Yeah, Ms. Frazier's not going to be here. Oh, my gosh.

Oh, this is Velcro?

Yeah. She thought that was baby.

I don't know. I was like, okay.

I did not know it just had a piece of Velcro behind it. I didn't know what that was. I thought maybe it was like a little glue or something. How do you do it? Well, it might have been. That is so awesome.

It's 930.

So we can switch them around.

I think we have enough on me. Front's is pulling up. Yeah. All right. We'll come back.

We'll just have to.

I said it. Well, it doesn't matter.

No, you could have left it where it was.

Because we'll miss around and forget next time.

Next time, we'll be trying to figure out what happened. That one has a different type of adhesive. It peeled everything back with it. That's what happened. What do you say to that?

Good job, everyone.

I didn't say anything.

How many else you have? Let me see. One, two, three, four, five. She said, she said, once and outside. Okay. Don't think maybe, maybe crazy.

What's going on? They're going to fire all them nice cars. I want to know what you'll be doing about these.

Yeah. And Fails is going to be here a little late.

I don't know. He'll be here later.

I don't know that we have to meet.

We can go ahead and get started because

Okay. Good evening, everyone. Thank you for attending our special call meeting tonight, September 1st. And we will begin as there are no residents signed up to make public comments on agenda items. We will call the meeting to order. and begin with invocation. And we'll ask athletic director, Mr. Randy Lills, who lead us in prayer and the invocation, who is a deacon at Old St. James Baptist Church. Please stand.

Heavenly Father, we just want to say thank you right now. We come right now thanking you for all of your blessings, all of your benefits. Father God, we just ask that you look over and bless everyone, bless their hearts and minds, keep everyone on one accord. We ask all things in your son Jesus' name we do pray. Amen.

Amen. And then we will ask Councilwoman Denton to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Would you put your right hand over your heart? And let's do it in unison. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. You all may be seated.

All right. Madam Clerk, please call the roll.

Council Member Mayes. Council Member Holcomb.

Here.

Council Member Brown.

Here.

Council Member Lockett. Here. Council Member Frazier. Council Member Brunton. Here. Council Member Denton. Here. Council Member Fields.

Okay. And we will go ahead and begin with the proposed ordinances and resolutions.

It's the same thing. Agenda item number one, an ordinance appointing Lisa Kosmitas to the City of Pinewood, City of Pinewood, Arkansas Convention Center Hotel Public Facilities Board waiving the notice and availability requirements of Section 2-183 of the Code of Ordinance of the City of Pound of Arkansas with respect to the employment declaring an emergency and for related purposes of the first reading.

Whereas several vacancies exist on the City of Pine Bluff Arkansas Convention Center Hotel Public Facilities Board and the body lacks the form to conduct business with important issues pending and requiring action. And whereas the time within which the Arkansas code authorized the board to fill vacancies has passed and under law the mayor is vested with the authority to fill the vacancies. and whereas the term of the of roland whatley as a board member has expired and the mayor has appointed lisa cosmitas to succeed mr whatley subject to council approval and whereas the requirements of section 2-183 of the code of ordinances of the city of pablo of arkansas respect the notice and availability of a vacant of a vacancy on a board or commission is waived with respect to the appointment now therefore be it ordained by the city council of the city of pablo of arkansas section one The Mayor's appointment of Lisa Cosmitas as a member of the City of Pine Bluff Arkansas Convention Center Hotel Public Facilities Board to serve a term to expire July 31, 2031 is hereby approved and confirmed. Section 2, the notice and availability requirements of Section 2-183 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Pine Bluff Arkansas are waived. With respect to this appointment, Section 3, this ordinance not being of a general and permanent nature, it need not be published. It shall take effect immediately. Section 4, emergency clause. The business pending before the Public Facilities Board requires immediate action and the necessity for the board to have the needed membership to lawfully conduct business is essential to the ongoing administration of the construction of the new Commission Center Hotel and related matters impacts public peace and welfare. Therefore, an emergency is declared to exist and this ordinance shall be enforced and effect from and after the date of its adoption.

Moves that we suspend the rules and places the ordinance on its second reading. Second.

It's been moved and seconded that we suspend the rules and this item be placed on the agenda for a second reading. Any discussion?

I have a question, Mayor.

Council Member Brinson?

I just want, I don't know, maybe just some... an update on what the status is with the hotel construction and what's kind of going on with that. I know we've probably heard some different things, but just, I know we're appointing someone, but I would like to just have an update on what that means.

Absolutely, it's my pleasure to share that. I was contacted by the P3 group, who is the developer, for this project and was secured in 2024 for that role. And the bottom line is that we engaged in this emergency meeting because there were some serious issues and corrections that needed to be made. And what ultimately happened is that Mr. Brown terminated the contract with the general contractor because of the the issues of concern and that there had been numerous attempts to get the general contractor to provide a plan for corrective action. We have since had a tour. I didn't go on it, but there was a tour. Mr. Matthews attended in my stead. And I subsequently met with Mr. Brown. And the bottom line is they have met with the Assurity Bond Company. And so that's what we're waiting on. And that's why work has ceased until such time as they make their determination. There are also, I think, two insurance claims based upon the issues involved, which relate not only to the work and the corrections that need to be made, but also with the breach of contract and some issues around a couple of the subcontractors involved now and previously. These are all issues that have been made aware to me this year. More recently, the more serious activity. One of the reasons that I had not sent anything out is because we're waiting to hear back from the Assurity Bond Company. We did also meet with the lender prior to the termination of the contract. have fleshed out what we're gonna need to do no matter what. But we feel very confident and I can tell you that I was given a very full update of all of the things that have happened and haven't happened at this point. And I can assure you that Mr. Brown provided a lot of receipts a lot of details, videos. He made sure that the property had the proper surveillance. And that helped not only to keep the site safe, but also to document what was happening on the site and what wasn't. So if someone said, well, this many people were working this day and that wasn't the case, which was one of the things that was revealed, that he was able to provide this kind of information and this kind of documentation to the Assurity Bond Company. So I feel pretty confident that we will be able to move forward fairly soon, and I will keep all of you updated as information is provided to me, and I'd be happy to answer any questions.

I guess one last question. So we're waiting on that, but in the meantime, have they... try to secure another contractor to finish the work?

Well, that may happen later, but the way that this works with the Assurity Bond Company is if they have to step in because the general contractor who had the contract previously did something wrong, they use their contractors to correct it because they're the ones that are covering it.

Okay.

OK, and that's the only reason we're not continuing. Otherwise, we would keep moving. And also, I know that there have been rumors that we ran out of money. That absolutely is not the case. Obviously, if something's been wrong and you have to go back and pay to fix it, then you've got to find the money, but that's why you insure these kinds of projects. And there's insurance on the subcontractors. This assurity bond is something that the general contractor had to take out to get the job. So we're covered. It's just going to take a little more time, but this is going to happen. And one of the reasons that we're trying to get this done ASAP is so that the full committee, the full board with all of the new members will come in at the same time and be able to meet as soon as possible and continue the business of the board. They haven't met in a while. They also need to elect a chair. And so I wanted to go ahead and make this last appointment. so they can meet ASAP appointed chair and the chair can work with the P3 group for whatever needs to happen with regard to the business that the board has to conduct in that regard. Okay. Any other questions? Okay. So with no further, where are we? On the road. Yeah. So with no further discussion, Madam Clerk, please call the roll.

Council Member Bates. Council Member Holcomb.

Aye.

Council Member Brown.

Aye.

Council Member Lockett. Aye. Council Member Frazier. Council Member Brunton. Aye. Council Member Denton.

Aye.

Council Member Fales.

Motion passes.

I went on the second reading.

Okay, second reading. I was just counting, making sure we had six.

That would be five. Oh, we have to have six?

Yes. Oh, Mayor. Aye. An ordinance appointing Lisa Cosmitas to the City of Pine Bluff, Arkansas Convention Center Hotel Public Facilities Board, waiving the notice and availability requirements of Section 2-183 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, with respect to the appointment declaring an emergency and for related purposes.

Move we suspend the rules and place this ordinance on its third and final reading. Second.

So motion on the table to suspend the rules and place this item on the agenda for its third and final reading. Any further, any discussion? Madam, I mean, Council Member Brunson.

Just last thing. possible at some point that the P3 group can come to the council meeting just so we can talk? Absolutely.

But I would like to do that after we know what's going to happen with the Assurity Bond Company after they have secured their contractors. If they say no, not at this time or under these conditions, I just think we have to let them kind of do their job as the developers on this project, get us back to a stable place, which I do believe and hope that will happen pretty soon. Once we are there, then I would absolutely ask, be happy to ask them, to put them on the agenda and ask them to come answer your questions and provide a report to the council and to the people. Okay. Any further discussion? With no further discussion, Madam Clerk, please call the roll.

Council Member Mayes. Council Member Holcomb.

Aye.

Council Member Brown.

Aye.

Council Member Lockett. Aye. Council Member Frazier. Council Member Brunson. Aye. Council Member Denton. Aye. Council Member Fales.

An ordinance appointing Lisa Cosmitas to the City of Pine Bluff, Arkansas Convention Center Hotel Public Facilities Board, waiving the notice and availability requirements of Section 2-183 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, with respect to the appointment declaring an emergency and for related purposes.

Move for adoption. Second.

Motion's been made and seconded to adopt item number one. All of those in favor of voting for the adoption of item number one indicate by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Motion passes.

Move we accept the emergency clause of this ordinance. Second.

It's been moved and seconded that we accept the emergency clause. Any discussion? With no discussion, Madam Clerk, please call the roll.

Councilmember Holcomb.

Aye.

Councilmember Mayes. Councilmember Brown. Aye. Councilmember Lockett. Aye. Councilmember Frazier. Councilmember Brunson. Aye. Councilmember Denton. Aye. Councilmember Fields.

Does this one have to have six votes, Madam Attorney? This is pass it, correct? This is the emergency clause.

Only six.

Mayor Flowers. Aye.

Agenda item number two, a resolution modifying the salary ranges for certain district court clerk positions and final district court division two law provides retroactive information that will provide ranges amending the 2026 municipal budget and for related purposes.

Whereas the City of Pine Bluff conducted a comprehensive compensation study in 2020 through the Johansen Group, which was implemented in 2022. And whereas at the time compensation, the compensation was study updated, I'm sorry, whereas at the time compensation study updated position description for certain district court clerk positions within the Pine Bluff District Court Division 2 were not submitted for evaluation and therefore not included in the compensation study and the resulting salary structure. And whereas Pine Bluff District Court Division 2 has requested that the affected district court clerk positions be reviewed and that the salary ranges be adjusted to accurately reflect the duties and responsibilities associated with the revised job descriptions. And whereas the updated district court clerk job descriptions have been since evaluated utilizing the city's compensation and classification software and documentation has been prepared reflecting both the current salary ranges and the proposed revised salary ranges for the affected positions. And whereas, based on the compensation study conducted by the Johanson Group and the formula and tools provided to the City of Pine Bluff's Human Resource Department used to calculate salaries and longevity raises, the compensation received by the clerks employed by the Second Division of Pine Bluff Jefferson County Arkansas District Court may be modified to reflect the increases which would have been realized if the positions were included in the 2021 Johansen salary survey. And whereas the city council finds that because the effective decisions were omitted from the original compensation study, implementation of the revised salary ranges should be applied retroactively to January 1, 2022 to correspond with the effective date of the city's compensation plan. And whereas city ordinance requires that an adjustment to the municipal budget be memorialized by ordinance or resolution, depending on depending upon which form was used and approved the annual budget, and whereas the 2026 municipal budget was adopted by resolution, and whereas it is necessary to make amendment to the 2026 municipal budget to provide for adjustments to the salaries paid to the clerks employed in the second division of the Pine Bluff Jefferson County Arkansas District Court for the reasons as detailed and explained in the attached budget adjustment. now therefore be resolved by the City Council of the City of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Section 1. The City Council hereby approves the revised salary ranges for the district court clerk positions assigned to the Pine Bluff District Court Division 2 as reflected in Exhibit 1. Section 2, the revised salary ranges shall be effective retroactively to January 1, 2022, and the finance department is hereby authorized and directed to implement the approved salary adjustments and calculate any compensation due as a result of the retroactive application. Section 3, the city council files that the effective positions were not included in the 2020 Johansson Group compensation study and should be implemented immediately. Section 4, the source for funding the positions will be, do we know what that will be?

Retroactively, the AOJ fund. The AOJ fund. And ongoing from the city general fund. Okay. That's what we talked about. Okay.

I don't think she's finished. Let's let her finish and then we'll do discussion.

Okay. Okay. In section four, the source of funding for the positions will be the AOJ fund initially and in the 2027 budget and forward will be the city general fund. Section five, the attached budget adjustment has been reviewed by the council and is approved. The particulars thereof as detailed are incorporated herein as if set forth word for word and number for number. Section six, that the 2026 municipal budget adopted is amended to incorporate the adjustments and changes authorized by this resolution. Section seven, the finance department will ensure that the budget is implemented as amended.

Move for adoption.

Second. The motion has been made and seconded for adoption. Any discussion? Council Member Lockett.

So we're going to use the AOJ funds for this?

For the retro.

For the retro for this calendar year and then we're going to budget it from the general fund starting in 27?

So the AOJ funds will be for back pay.

I'm understanding that.

And then the general funds will be used to cover the salaries now and moving forward. And I understand what your concern might be in terms of the difference. But what we're anticipating is to do a budget amendment within the budget. And if, let's say, the budget for the District 2 court doesn't allow for that, there are positions that we have budgeted for that we will not have hired until October that were budgeted for the whole year. So I do know where there are funds if we do have to make up for that.

Okay. Now, here's what I'm having a problem with, Mary. Now, retroactively, it's going to be a lump sum.

That's from the AOJ fund.

That's from the AOJ fund.

Okay. So what I'm saying is the increases. Right. Well, I'm trying to figure out retroactively as of.

The increase is?

January 2022. So what I'm saying is, so we're going to do retroactive from 27, from 26 to 22? Hold on.

January 1st, 2022.

Okay.

Now, what I'm trying to figure out is... To now.

To now.

Right. That's back pay.

That's back pay. So from...

So if we put this in place and the next pay period that we can get all this together would be, let's say, in two weeks. Or what was it? The next pay period. Let's say next Friday. I don't know if we could get that all together. I'm thinking we can. So let's say if that's next Friday. That's when we start paying the new salaries. All the back pay... is covered by the AOJ funds.

Okay.

But from September, I guess back pay will be from September 1 until- Unless we're just going to do it for the 2027, just start it in 2027 from the general fund, and then that way AOJ can just cover it all the way up until the end of the year.

That's not what I said to Judge Kearney. What I said to Judge Kearney is When we get this done, we pay the salaries. We get the back pay paid out of the AOJ fund. Okay.

Okay. So I'm trying to get... So from September, I guess, 15, going to the end of the year, we'll pay that out of the general fund? Correct. Okay, okay, okay. And so that's what I'm trying to get to.

But we already pay their existing salaries. So what you're looking at is... What that difference is I can't tell you what that exact number is But I feel I'm confident that we have that money in the general fund now that doesn't mean that we may not have to do a budget amendment for within the district twos budget or I may have to find a An extra thousand dollars. I don't know. But what I do know is that we do have the money in the general fund to pay those salaries. And I do know that what we discussed in committee previously and today is that, and what is in this resolution is that back pay would be covered with the AOJ funds.

Okay. Okay. So, so. So what I'm saying is that AOJ will cover the retroactive, and we would take the any difference in salary.

Moving forward.

Moving forward out of unused salaries, I suppose. I mean, what I'm saying is, matter of fact, we don't do budget adjustments out of what we might do. It's got to be a specified.

No, it's not about what we might do.

I'm just saying, but unused salaries is specific. Oh, okay. I see what you're saying. But to say that we take it out of anything.

It's unused salaries.

Okay. I got what you're saying. I can live with that. Okay, well, we want you to live with that.

Right, because I can't live with it. We're just going to take it out of anything we can find.

Well, yeah. I mean, I'm not saying anything we can find. I think what you want to say is what I just said, put it in writing. Right. Okay.

Unused salaries.

I can live with that, too. Okay, so we'll say that unused salaries. Yes. Unused salaries from the general fund.

Madam City Attorney, do you understand? Is that clear? Yes.

Okay.

All right. I just have one amendment, section 3, page 10. I'm sorry, second page, line 10, section 3, where it says the city council finds that the affected positions were not included in the 2020 Johansson Group to amend it to reflect that the updated salary descriptions were not included in the 2020 Johansson Group.

Or proposed.

Or proposed. Proposed. All right. So that's my motion to update that language.

So do we need to vote on that amendment or are we just doing that as a correction?

He said that. What's it? Where was your?

So on section three, where it says city council finds that the effective positions were not included in the 2020 Johansson group compensation study. They were included. The updated descriptions. Descriptions. Salary descriptions. Okay.

You don't need to change that. No, we don't need to.

Okay.

So we're just going to update it.

Okay.

Okay.

I just want to say for the record, this resolution came without a recommendation from the committee. To the council.

Madam Mayor, I have one question. Council Member Lockett, sure. Can I direct the question to our personnel director in reference to the salary survey and this being potentially the last adjustment to the salary survey that we did, because there are a lot of disputes about, well, it's not disputes, but there are conversations about how one can adjust things that are in the salary survey. So my issue is that I know we've been through this for about the last couple of years in relation to this, but I'm trying to get some understanding on is this the last of the salary positions and descriptions that can be adjusted in the salary survey?

Yes. If it was not included in the survey, this is the reason for the adjustment. And that will be the only reason for the adjustment until we do another market study whenever we do that to raise everyone's salary or across the board raise. But this is just addressing what was not in the 2020 salary survey.

So until we do another survey, it's pretty much unlikely that one would find any adjustments in any salaries throughout the city?

That's correct.

And if I could just piggyback on that, because I did do probably a little bit of comprehensive, I think, presentation in committee. And I think it would be beneficial. And I'll try to keep it brief. The reason that we are here and that I met with the clerks and have met with Judge Kearney, that we are even doing this, is because after the compensation study, part of the survey included directors and chiefs departments sending in accurate descriptions of every position to ensure that the study would accurately provide a salary for those positions based upon those comprehensive descriptions submitted by those departments. And just as you know, I think since I have been mayor, we've gone back and provided updates to three positions that for, is it three or two? I know the chief of staff, the director for inspection and zoning. Yes. And was that it? That was it. So there were two positions that for whatever reason before I got here, Those descriptions were not included. The positions were, but the descriptions were not, the updated descriptions. That's what we're doing now. We can talk about why, who, what. That's irrelevant at this point. What we're trying to do is make the correction so that We're just trying to ensure that every position that is included in the survey has an accurate description of those positions so that there is a fair and accurate salary associated with it. And I think with this, we get there so that we are no longer dealing with anyone saying, presenting, alleging that these positions are not appropriately salaried or described based upon what the people in those positions really do. And I want to make clear, this is not really, I mean, there's consideration. This is not really about litigation and all the things that have happened before. It's about the people who get up and go to work every day and do the work in that court. who work for the city. And whatever happened that their jobs were not accurately defined in that survey, we want to make sure they are. We want to make sure that they're treated as fairly as all the other city employees were treated. And so that's what we're trying to get to. And I can also assure you that since our last committee meeting, that Director Conaway and I met with the gentleman representing the, they're not called Johansson Group anymore, J-E-R-H-R group. So we met with the company representative on several occasions, including a meeting where Judge Kearney met and posed his questions. I think probably for the first time saw this salary scale and was able to kind of hear what it was we were trying to do. A couple of things happened as a result. He went back after receiving all of the information that was shared with us from the court after seeing what Director Conaway calculated based upon our current software, after making sure that our current software has been appropriately updated, because there are annual updates, and also there may have been some changes as a result of the acquisition of the Johansson group to the current company whatever all of that is we made sure that we are on par with what we are supposed to be doing with our current software and with our salary study I mean survey and he confirmed that we are updated that everything was considered that the he complemented actually the I would call it a study and a comparison that Director Conaway did and provided to him, which he said was very helpful. And then the other thing he did was went back and looked to see whether or not the workload and the caseload of District 2 could be considered at this juncture with our current software. He provided us an answer with that, reviewed everything we did, met with us. And so I feel very comfortable, confident, certain that we have done our due diligence. I know I have done everything that I promised the clerks at Division II that I would do. It's taken much longer than I thought it would, but it took longer so that we could do everything we said we would do, so that we could check everything that we said we would check, but still stay in keeping with our compensation study, with our salary survey, and the framework that we use to define the salaries. So that the form that you have in your packets that list the proposed and the existing salary scale is the product of, I would say, several months of meetings, work, and discussion, including that of the committee. And even though it did not pass out with the blessing of the committee, we did get one vote. And I just believe that moving forward, we will do what is right for the people who work for the city in Judge Kearney's court. And I think we will also go a long way to prevent further just legal battles that we have had to endure and just move forward. And so with that, I just would ask for an affirmative vote for this resolution. Thank you. Any further discussion? Councilmember Fells? move at all is there a reason we have to vote on this tonight versus yes so the yes this is something we were trying to get done a while ago the clerks who have been doing this work and been begging for relief have done so for the last few months and have been, I think, caught in the middle of an unfortunate situation for years. And while many other employees of the city have had their positions accurately defined and been paid accordingly. These ladies have not. And I have not enjoyed some of the arguments back and forth, social media, whatever. But I don't operate according to that, and most of us up here don't either. We just do our work, and we do it for the benefit of the people. that we work for and that's what I'm doing here. I mean I know it's very sensitive and like I said it's been a long-standing issue but Judge Kearney has asked for relief and asked that this be done as quickly as possible in committee probably more than two months ago. We pledged to get this done, and we couldn't get it done in that time because we had to interface with the Johansen group. And so now that we have heard back from him, we want to go ahead and get this done. Because I don't imagine that this is going to be something that is going to happen in two days. And I just don't think there's any reason with all the information to push this out any further. There are employees that have

been negatively affected like i said and caught in the middle and i just think we need to go ahead and do what we need to do or whatever it is we're going to do um so i don't on the face of it i don't really have an issue with it but i will admit that um you know since it was called this morning i haven't really had a chance to like go through this and there are some questions i do want to ask um our city attorney, our human resources department, if there's no big reason why we couldn't push it out so much.

But it is.

I just, and I'm telling you. But my thing is, in terms of, I mean, it's not like they're not going to get a paycheck if we don't pass this. This is just about us correcting the salary on the books, and it is Wednesday, and Monday's only a few days away. That would just give us some additional time to read it.

Councilmember, I hear what you're saying, and there are a lot of things that have been issues and that are remaining issues that grow more intense. And without going into all of those nuances, if there was a, if we could push this out on the 8th and I could just have conversations, I would.

I'm just telling you that. Right. And the only reason I say that is just because. That it is a big reason. Right. And the only reason I say that is I just know whenever we do Any type of salary adjustments, you know, that can be kind of a can of worms, you know, other departments or employees might, you know, want to reevaluate. I'm not saying this is going to cause an issue. What I'm saying is that I just haven't had enough time to read through it and ask some of the questions that I have. And so before feeling comfortable voting for it. There are just some questions that I have to have answered. So I'm not saying that I'm opposed to this. I'm just saying I just got it this morning, and I'm not sure I have all my questions answered.

I hear you. And I just would ask for you to, in this case especially, give Director Conaway and myself, Judge Kearney, the Johansson group, the committee, the benefit of the doubt, since we have been dealing with this particular effort to put this to bed for months, and since I think the city has been dealing with this conflict for years. And I really would have no dog in the fight to wait even another week. There are just many extenuating circumstances that... that I think we need to pay close attention to and would ask that you, whatever questions you do have, especially in the implementation of this, allow me to provide you with any and all of your answers but i'm i'm telling you i i would just be like let's just wait till next week but there is a reason several reasons that we have tried to wade through over time and that i think negatively impacts judge kearney and his court and so i just think we need to provide that relief so they can move forward so are these reasons that we can share i'm just trying to Well, what I can say is, not really, because it has to do with employee privacy. So no.

Can I speak? Sure.

Let me say to you and Ms. Connery, you've done a fantastic job. And I'm all for people getting their just pay. I'm not a hard person to work with. But I do have an issue. And there's no need for me speaking on that issue. We know what it is. We do have to have some closure.

We do.

But that's what I want closure. I don't want to be in a situation another two years from now.

Exactly. That's why we are here, council.

With the same group.

Thank you. And I do believe that this would provide that closure for sure. And what I would ask the council to be mindful of is this is not just about one person. This is about an entire court that valiantly serves this city and about a judge who has served with distinction and has worked with us to bring closure. And again, this is not about one employee. It is about several, and I think that many of them Most of them have not been a part of that which we seek closure for. They just want to come to work and be paid fairly. And I think that's what's going to give us the closure that we're seeking. To your point. Any further discussion? Yes, ma'am. Council Member Lockett.

I think we can cut to the chase. Ma'am, I just require one thing on this one. I think going forward that whatever we do with salaries in district court that Somehow we can get the judge to sign off on it before we submit it and to make sure that what we're submitting is what his court desires to happen.

Councilmember, if I could, if I could ask Director Conaway to come back to the mic because we actually... went over these numbers and we went over this matter and legislation with Judge Kearney. And if I could ask Director Conaway to recount what Judge Kearney said about the numbers that you all are looking at in your packets, and I'm not I don't even remember his exact words, but if I could ask Director Conaway to recount what she heard.

Well, he did ask if the information had been shared with Ms. Young, and the mayor said it had been. He looked at the numbers, and they seemed fine to him. He said it really aligns with what the county is already doing, which is true. And they have no issue.

OK. The only thing I'm saying is we went through a lot of stuff that I think that we could have abated if we could have had a conversation with the judge from the beginning. And I just want to make sure going forward that this is a special thing in that district court is really not supervised by the city. It's in the city's budget. But it's not something that we spend not one hour over there. But the only thing I want to do, a lot of us on this council that have been through this three-year ordeal, we feel kind of hurt that we couldn't have had a conversation before it got real. And I don't know. It got kind of just real messy. And I just want to know going forward, and I know Judge Kearney to be a fair man, and I just want to know, man, going forward, that we'll have a conversation with him before. Oh, we're talking about before implementation. No, just before. We're going to solve this tonight. But I'm just saying that going forward, we just want to assure us that we can have a conversation with the judge before it goes to any other level.

Oh I mean that's what I've tried to do since I've been here. I mean and that's what I'm trying to do now and that's what I believe in. There are many other commissions and boards that we fund that get city money. We have no oversight over and we don't get reports. I think we should get a report. I mean, so I think that's up to the council.

What I'm saying is, not to cut you off, but I'm just saying that when we went through this process with the Joey Hanson thing, it got to a point where it was personalities, it wasn't about facts, it wasn't about numbers, it was about personalities and things of that nature. And I think going forward, if we can cut to the chase of the personalities,

Agreed. For the record, that preceded me.

Yeah, it did. But I'm definitely trying to find resolution now. Basically, what you're saying is to bring the judge in on the front end.

Right, on the front end. Because I'm just saying, we went through litigation, we went through arbitration, we went through a whole bunch of stuff that if we... I just believe we could have had a conversation with the judge on top to say, man, let's be fair. What do these numbers look like? What was the process about? Agreed. Totally agreed. Yes, because that's what happened now.

And I think it's a level of respect that each one should have, each officer, official should have for one another. I don't think that it should be this back and forth. I think, you know, a level of respect should be given, even if it's not for the position, for the person. Because you shouldn't be publicly downgrading the place where you work and where you get your livelihood from. That's not respect. Regardless of how you feel about somebody personally, you need to keep that to yourself, and we need to handle business. Handling business does not mean being disrespectful. And I think that's where the angst comes from, from the majority of the people on the council.

Thank you, Director.

thank you director um any further discussion council council member fails and then council member holcomb i don't want to belabor the point i'm just trying to get a little bit of clarification so from my understanding of the situation the city did a salary survey and whether it's true or not i'm not trying to re-litigate it hr requested information from the district court they didn't receive it i don't know i'm not getting into that Well, my question is that original survey that the city did, are we saying that if we had gotten all the information, this is what would have been? I don't know. Is that correct? So, okay. So this is what should have come in originally if you had gotten all that information. Okay.

And the only reason I said I don't know is I don't know about all the positions. I don't know who was doing what then. I know what the description of the positions reflect now. And that's what we're doing and what could have been done then. You know what I mean? I don't... But basically they haven't had a salary survey since... There was not a job description that reflected the work that is being done now and i suspect that has been done since then so what i'm saying all we can do now is take corrective action so i'm hesitant to say this is what would have resulted then i don't know you know what i mean i don't know what was happening in 2022. i don't know and i think what what what was put in in 2008

was what was put in in the 2020. It was the exact same thing with no changes to those descriptions. But there were changes. It's just they weren't updated for that 2020 survey.

And I would say, for example, don't we know that the court does evictions?

Yes.

Right. And so, you know, that's a thing. One of the things that, there were several things that they added that I think, that I know for sure are reflective now. I wasn't here and I didn't do that research to say it affirmatively then. That's the only reason I'm hesitant to say it would have been the exact same thing. But it would have been close. I feel comfortable saying that if it wasn't exact. Yes. Any further? Oh, Council Member Holcomb.

No, ma'am. You good?

Yes, ma'am. OK. With no further discussion, we will call the question. All of those who wish to vote for the adoption of item number two, indicate by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Motion passes. Thank you, council.

Agenda item number three, a resolution amending the 2026 municipal budget to allocate funds to the Parks and Recreation Department.

Whereas consistent with ordinance number 6849, an adjustment to the municipal budget must be made by ordinance or resolution depending on the form of adoption, and whereas the 2026 municipal budget was adopted by resolution, and whereas an adjustment and change to the budget is needed and is as described and detailed in the attached budget adjustment for the purpose of allocating funds to the budget for the Parks and Recreation Department. Now, therefore, be it resolved by the City Council of the City of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Section 1, the 2026 Municipal Budget is amended to transfer from the Mayor's Special Projects Account the sum of $158,366.16 to the Athletics Repair and Maintenance Grounds account of the Parks and Recreation Department, which will facilitate the upgrades to Townsend Park and Regional Park ball fields. Section 2, that the 2026 municipal budget is amended to incorporate the adjustment and changes set out in the attachment. Section 3, the finance director will ensure that the 2026 municipal budget is amended accordingly.

Move for adoption. Second.

It's been moved and seconded that item number three be adopted. Any discussion? No discussion. All of those who wish to vote for the adoption of item number three indicate by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes.

Agenda item number four, a resolution amending resolution number... 5067, 5068, and 5069 to remove grandfather clause in each resolution.

Whereas it is desired to remove the grandfather clause in resolutions number 5067, 68, and 69 past August 3rd, 2026, so that the additional certifications and qualifications added to the effective positions take immediate effect. Now, therefore, be it resolved by the City Council of the City of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, that section two of resolution number 5067, 5068, and 5069, each resolution have been passed on August the 3rd, 2026 are hereby repealed.

Move for adoption. Second.

It's been moved and seconded that item number four be adopted. Any discussion? Yes. Council Member Lockett.

Could you explain to me what does this mean?

Yes. So there were several certifications and several positions that you all approved several meetings ago for the Aquatic Center. And A couple of those positions required us to include a grandfather clause, and those are positions where people were already employed and had become employed when these certifications were not required. But the other positions also included the grandfather clause that shouldn't have been in them, and this is just a correction.

So do that mean that the people in those positions are no longer employed? No. Because I thought the meaning of the grandfather clause was to make sure, I'm just trying to get an understanding, do we... unilaterally fire the people in those positions because they don't have the qualifications because I thought that was the reason for the grant clause was to allow the people in the positions to maintain the positions without the new certifications and qualifications.

That's right. So, for example, the lifeguard position, there is no one in that position currently. And actually, it should be the lifeguard position, the... Manager. Actually, directress. No, not you, directress, the other way. So I know Director Conaway worked on this with Attorney Hayden Scott. So if you could give some explanation.

I think we're talking about five positions. Two of them were grandfathered in. But the way it was reading, all five were grandfathered in. But the three that were not grandfathered in, they do have to get the certification. And that's only like a CPR certification. Yes. So it was not supposed to read for all positions, just the two. Or all certifications. Yes.

Okay, the office. So the office coordinator.

And the pool operator.

And the pool operator.

Those are the only two that are grandfathered at this point. Yes.

They are? They should be grandfathered in. However, the mayor said they are going to get the certifications.

Now, I'm missing something, y'all. Now, you're saying that the position of office coordinator is grandfathered in?

Yes. But in this ordinance, that's 667.

And this ordinance is removing the grandfather clause. So how is that so? Is that what it's doing? So the office coordinator, according to resolution 5067, is grandfathered into the position. But according to this particular ordinance, we're removing the grandfather clause from it.

It was my understanding we're taking it off of the lifeguard, which already has the certification. We're removing it, the grandfather in, removing it from the front desk personnel and also the janitorial. They should not be grandfathered. Okay. But it's my understanding that the two, who operator and the office coordinator, would be.

Okay. So who operator, according to this particular resolution, we're removing it from there too?

And let me ask this question, Mary. If they are going to get the certification at this point, does it really matter if we leave that clause out? Because if they've already agreed to do so, they will not need to be grandfathered in. This is for anybody hired after them would have to get certifications as well. The purpose of grandfathering it is if they do not have it, we're not going to terminate them. It would be for a new person coming to board. But since they've agreed to go ahead and do it, I'm not even sure if we need to leave the grandfather in at all.

I would say this. Unless the positions are already, I guess changing at this point would affect the people that are in the job. But if we leave it alone... And if they do get the certification, great. If they don't get it, they'd be grandfathered in. And then for the position that was unfilled that had a grandfather clause in it, it's not going to hurt anything because the new person will have to fulfill the requirements anyway.

And we can pull this. Right now, we are doing... We're about to do interviews for the manager anyway. So the five full-time positions are the manager, the full-time lifeguard, the coordinator, the pool operator, and I'm missing somebody else. I want to say it's four.

Huh?

It's only four? OK. So those are the four full-time positions. Only two of them were supposed to be grandfathered, and I think that there were grandfathers on this and other positions, and that's what was supposed to be corrected. And I was contacted and advised we needed to correct them. So let me pull this. I'll reconnect with Director Conaway and Attorney Hayden Scott. And if we do need to do something on this, we just did this because we're about to do interviews, and we're kind of moving in that direction. Some of the certifications have already been done by the full staff in terms of CPR. Some of the certifications have been done with certifications we're not even requiring. So let's just pull this, and then we'll come back to it if we need to.

Right, and I'll just say that unless the people were in place when we passed it, then the grant for the club wouldn't apply.

Right, two of them are, and two of them did pledge to get them, and they've actually gotten, I think, the aquatic center operator certification, which wasn't even required. So they're moving, I think, forward in terms of, better professionalized in the aquatic center. But let us go ahead and correct this, because it's not right. And thank you for that, Council Member Lockett.

OK. For the record, agenda item number four has been pulled. Are you raising your hand?

Yes.

Agenda item number five, a resolution to create a position for economic development specialist within the Economic and Human Development Department.

Whereas it is desired to create a position for the Economic Development Specialist within the Economic and Community Development Department. Now, therefore, be it resolved by the City Council of the City of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Section 1, there is created a position for an Economic Development Specialist within the Economic Community Development Department. Section 2, the necessary qualifications and respective job duties for the position are set forth in the attached job description, which is approved and incorporated here and by reference. I forgot to attach it. Adjustments to the 2026 Municipal Budget shall be undertaken when the position is filled. Section 3, said position shall be funded within the Economic and Community Development Department.

Move for adoption. Second.

It's been moved and seconded that we adopt item number 5. Any discussion?

Madam Mayor.

Council Member Lockett.

We already have one in this position. How many would this bring us to?

Okay, so this would bring us to two, and both are already funded. And just for the record, the housing and... Small business has long been a focus of our Economic and Community Development Department. Since last year, we have focused, number one, on fully staffing our department, and we have done that. The only thing we have to do now is add this position to the funding that already exists. So the three areas that we are providing, I think, more intensive focus on that wasn't there before or that wasn't there at the same level are retail development, downtown development, and port infrastructure.

What's the last one? Port infrastructure.

For PRT. Yes. And so this would, I think, help us leverage those key economic development leverage points and increase our capacity to do so. And with that, we would ask for your support with this resolution. Any further discussion? No further discussion. All of those who wish to vote for item number five, indicate by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes. Thank you, council.

Item number 6, a resolution to adopt and allocate funds for an outdoor fitness court as part of the 2026 National Fitness Campaign.

Whereas the City of Pine Bluff has submitted a grant application to National Fitness Campaign for participating in the 2026 initiative to install and activate outdoor fitness courts in over 1,000 municipalities and schools across the country. And whereas the City of Pine Bluff will accept a $60,000 national grant from the National Fitness Campaign Grant Committee and statewide partners an endeavor to provide local funding confirmation in the amount of $270,000 in compliance with the attached grant program requirements to promote and implement a free to the public outdoor fitness court. And whereas the City of Pine Bluff understands the scope of this project includes the installation of a concrete pad as well as the assembly of the fitness court both to be completed by separate vendors external to the National Fitness Campaign. Additional funding requirements for the concrete installation and fitness court assembly can be found on the attached grant program requirement provided by the National Fitness Campaign. And whereas the City Council believes joining the National Fitness Campaign is an important step in building a healthier community, commits to funding and fundraising to participate in the National Fitness Campaign's 2026 campaign and will earn local and regional recognition as a leader in providing accessible health and wellness infrastructure programs. Now, therefore, be it resolved by the City Council of the City of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, that the City Council will collaborate with the National to join the National Fitness Campaign, implement the Outdoor Fitness Court Program, and make fitness free for community residents and visitors.

Move for adoption. Second.

Item number six has been moved and there's been a motion and a second for item number six. Any discussion?

Yes.

Council Member Lockett.

Now where would this be located?

So there, and I apologize that I didn't bring it. They did a whole parks assessment for us and there are two, there are several parks that were recommended. We're looking at Regional Park and I think the other one, there was one, I think Oakland? MLK Park was recommended, was probably the first recommendation that they had. And so we are still looking at that. And we would, of course, when it comes time to actually do this, there are a couple of things that we would have to do. Obviously, we would have to get council support and identify the funds. And with this particular organization or company and project we have the option as other cities have done including in Arkansas Fort Smith has used them twice is find sponsorship for the funding of this fitness circuit and add that to the grant funds and the data that they have provided us with. So it's a short, long process, and there are other steps to it, but the first step is for us to be able to pass this resolution, accept the grant, and I'd be happy to forward you all the information that they've provided us thus far, along with the website, so that you can see what they've been doing across the country.

Okay, any further discussion?

I have a question.

Council member Denson.

Once this gets accounted, I mean not accounted, the council accept to grant everything when you do exercises and stuff for seniors.

Well, that is what is so awesome about this project because it really helps make our park a workout facility that anyone can use. You don't have to get a membership, you know, even though it is outside. And it has sort of a fitness circuit of... some different kinds of exercises you can do. And we have a little bit of that at the Blues and Wellness Park, but it would be out in a larger facility. And the one we're interested in on the other side, you can do, like you can be a part of a boot camp or you can hire a trainer and go out and do yoga or do Zumba or whatever. So there's a whole nother part of this where you can do different kinds of fitness as well. And to answer your question, it is for everybody. But I'm asking, will she do classes for seniors? Well, so this isn't classes. It's an actual, like, infrastructure. So you don't hire anyone. Just seniors can come out and use the park like they can use the park now. But still, maybe she can do a class for seniors outside.

Oh, you're talking about... Like aerobics or...

I'm not making that promise. Look, if we add that other duty to her, we might have to come back and reorganize her position, so no. Okay, any further discussion? Okay, with that, all of those who wish to vote for the adoption of item number six indicate by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes. Thank you so much, council.

Motion to adjourn. Second.

And we are adjourned.