WARREN, Ark. – Warren’s City Council met Monday evening to conduct their regular monthly business for the month of February 2023 at the Warren Municipal Building with four Council members present and two absent.
Warren Mayor Gregg Reep presided over the meeting and informed the Council that Council members Memory Burks Frazer was unable to attend due to illness, and Council member Joel Tolefree was helping with the Junior High District Tournament being held at Lumberjack Arena. Present were Council members Latanza Atkins, Dorothy Henderson, Angela Marshall, and Emily Moseley.
Top photo: Orange safety cones cover the spot where a street light was mounted in front of the old Bryant’s furniture building until the last day or so. The lights have been temporarily removed in preparation for the demolition of the building after the City Council set aside $75,000 Monday evening to go towards the tearing down of the Main Street building which is already falling apart.
The Council approved the January 2023 minutes from the previous meeting, as well as heard and approved other regular monthly items such as the City Clerk’s report.
As requested at the January City Council meeting, Mayor Reep read Resolution A-677 honoring the late Sue Wagnon, founder of what was formerly Wagnon Place Nursing home in Warren. To watch the complete Resolution, skip to the 8:32 mark in the full Council meeting video.
Council member Henderson asked that the same type of honorary resolution be prepared by the administration for the late Sam Fullerton who recently passed away. Mayor Reep said his office would have the resolution ready for the March meeting. Council member Marshall added that she would like to see a resolution honoring the late Coach Don Whittemore that passed away last week. Reep also said he would prepare that as well for the next meeting.
Parks and Recreation Director Kyle Wagnon presented a report on a variety of issues and updates dealing with City facilities. Wagnon informed the Council that baseball and softball are about to begin at the City baseball and softball parks, as well as at the Warren Baseball/Softball Complex. Work has been ongoing to prepare those fields and facilities for the upcoming spring sports season.
Wagnon also gave an update on the City Pool, which as Saline River Chronicle has reported in recent months, has been notified by the State that multiple portions of the Pool must be upgraded and brought up to code before opening again for the summer of 2023. Wagnon said that work has begun on the toilets, showers, sinks, and more. With the remodel started, a new hot water heater is on the way, and the City is working on several grants that could help the City Pool further. It was stated that multiple Council members would like to see a re-grand opening held once all of the renovations are complete.
Mayor Reep then put forward for nomination former Mayor Bryan Martin for a vacancy on the Intermodal Authority Board. Council member Henderson made a motion to accept the nomination. Council member Marshall made the second, and the nomination of former Mayor Martin was approved. He will serve a six-year term on the Intermodal Authority, the governing board over the industrial prospect site across from the Monticello sports complex in Drew County, which is jointly controlled.
In preparation for the spring growing season, the City considered submitted bids for all of the City property mowing. The law states that the lowest and best bid be accepted. Carlos Yepes’s bid of $400 per mowing was accepted.
The Council approved the low bid from First State Bank for a new sanitation garbage truck lease interest rate. First State Bank’s bid was a 24-month lease at 4.45 percent interest. Council member Henderson made the motion and Council member Moseley gave the second.
Police Chief Shaun Hildreth told the Council he anticipates hires soon at the Warren P.D. He stated that it’s “pretty much business as usual,” outside of the potential hires. There was a question asked about police body cameras, and if the officers wear them regularly. Chief Hildreth confirmed that indeed the officers do wear them. “It is our policy that they have to wear them,” said Hildreth. He also commented that officers have the ability to charge the cameras both at home and at the Station, and that the Station has additional cameras ready to be worn at any time.
Some further discussion was had regarding how the dispatch at the Warren Police Department is utilized by entities outside of the City, and how much money that is potentially costing. This is a subject that has been looked into to some degree in the past. However, during Monday’s meeting, the Council voted in favor of putting together a study and review of the City’s dispatch system. Currently, the City is running not only the City of Warren emergency services dispatch communications and the County-wide 911 system(which the City is compensated for), but also the City of Hermitage, the Bradley County Sheriff’s Department, as well as all the rural fire departments in Bradley County. “The bottom line is it’s costing the City of Warren quite a bit of money,” said Mayor Reep. He went on to say that the Police Committee just “wants this researched,” including “how much manpower” and time it’s taking, as well as the cost which is all being paid for by the taxpayers of Warren, except for the 911 system.
Fire Chief Chuck Moore noted that the Fire Department responded to 12 calls in January, only two of which were required to be toned out. The Department held a training session January 10 and 20 firemen were present. Inspections of downtown buildings have also been stepped up by the Fire Department. Mayor Reep said the City is “going to try to beef up our preemptive inspections, especially commercial buildings for the obvious reasons we’re running into some issues.” He said this is in an effort to make sure buildings don’t deteriorate to the point that the City ends up having to deal with them. He said that type of problem can be “a very expensive matter,” and “the Fire Department is certainly helping us with that.”
Sanitation Manager Rob Johnson noted that his crew is running full. They’ve had some equipment expenses, but they are busy picking up limbs from the recent freezing rain storm.
Street Foreman Monty Hearnsberger stated later during his report to the Council that his crews were working with the Sanitation Department when they could to expedite the limb cleanup effort. Many of the limbs that were cut prior to the ice storm were cut by Entergy. Entergy is responsible for picking those up and the Council was assured that process would be completed by the company.
Mayor Reep also noted that some tree cleanup work near the Town Branch on Pine and Myrtle Streets was being done by the Street Department. Several trees in the City’s public domain were at risk of falling on private homes near the Branch.
Hearnsberger reported that the City has big issues that need to be addressed soon in terms of many culverts needing repair. He stated that many of them are 50 to 60 years old and have been in bad condition, but are nearing a point at which they must be fixed.
In the final portion of the meeting, during the Ways and Means Committee report, the Council voted to move forward with the Mayor’s recommendation to move $75,000 which had previously been budgeted for economic development to help pay for the tearing down of the old Bryant’s Furniture building on Main Street. The Mayor has agreed to take on the task of economic development in order to allow the City to use the funds to help take down the already crumbling Main Street structure. According to a recent estimate, the tearing down of the building could cost just over $100,000. That full discussion can be seen at the 1:08:00 mark of the video.
The Council was made aware that four street lights in front of the Bryant’s building were removed over the last day or so to make room for the equipment used to take down the building, as well as protect the lights during the demolition.
The City will observe President’s Day February 20, 2023. The Municipal Building will be closed, but trash will be picked up that day as normal. Mayor Reep applauded the dedication of the Sanitation crews. He explained they have chosen to not take the February 20 President’s Day holiday off because they feel it helps them stay further ahead on regular trash pickup. The crews do receive holiday-time pay for their work on that date.
To watch the complete City Council meeting, please see the video below.