Benton officials will consider tennis, swimming, and soccer agreements at an upcoming meeting.
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The City of Benton Parks Committee is scheduled to meet Tuesday September 10th, 2024. It will be immediately after the Streets & Drainage Committee, which begins at 5:00PM. The public is invited to this meeting, located in the Council Chambers in the Benton Municipal Complex, 114 S. East Street.
AGENDA
Chair – Judd Hart; Vice-Chair – Steve Brown; Staff Liaison – Stephanie Jones.
I. Call to Order
II. Recognition of Attendees
III. Approval of Minutes
IV. BHS Tennis Program Agreement
V. BHS Swim Program Agreement
VI. Wolves Youth Academy Program Agreement
VII. Other
VIII. Adjourn
MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING AUG 13 2024
In attendance: Judd Hart; Chair Evelyn Reed; Stephanie Jones; Staff Liaison Shane Knight; Junior Rodemeyer; Staff Liaison Jeff Morrow; Mayor Tom Farmer; Jeff Hamm; Frank Baptist; Ann Spencer-Cole; Bill Donnor.
The Parks Committee met on Tuesday, August 13, 2024, in the Council Chambers and agreed to the following:
Chairman Hart moved to the approval of the July 9th, 2024, minutes. Alderman Baptist made a motion to accept the minutes. Alderman Hamm seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Chairman Hart moved to the next item on the agenda, Miracle League Field Discussion – Jones stated that the Parks Department would like to dedicate this field to a former Recreation Programmer, Logan Bussard. Logan worked for the department for nearly three years and was very instrumental in building the Miracle League program as well as the other adaptive programs. Jones said that Logan took Miracle League and made it what it is today, and we have expanded upon that after he left the department. Unfortunately, Logan passed away this year and we would like to dedicate the Miracle League Field to him. There is an example of the plaque with a brief write-up on Logan in the packet. Alderman Hamm made a motion to dedicate Miracle League Field to Logan Bussard and was seconded by Alderwoman Spencer-Cole. Motion passed.
Chairman Hart moved on to Pest Control Service Contract – Jones reported that McCauley has taken care of our termite and pest control at all facilities, including the Boys & Girls Club which McCauley sponsors and services at no cost. Jones stated that we are up for renewal, and we typically do three-year extension with the contract. Alderman Hamm made a motion to accept the proposal and was seconded by Alderwoman Spencer-Cole. Motion passed.
Chairman Hart moved to the next item on the agenda, UV Service Contract (River Center) – Chairman Hart stated that Sunbelt is the only vendor that provides this service and have done the service since we opened in 2017. Jones stated that UV kills anything that chlorine does not which is very important when dealing with a public pool. Alderman Hamm made a motion to enter into a contract with Sunbelt. The motion was seconded by Alderwoman Reed. Motion passed.
Chairman Hart moved on to UV Service Contract (Tyndall Park) – Chairman Hart stated that the splash pad at Tyndall Park has a circulating system. Alderman Knight made a motion to enter into a contract with Sunbelt. The motion was seconded by Alderman Hamm. Motion passed. There was a discussion regarding the price difference between River Center and Tyndall Park.
Chairman Hart moved to the next item on the agenda, Elevator Maintenance Service Contract – Chairman Hart noted that we received a bid from Otis Elevator Company who has been servicing the elevators at the Boys & Girls Club and River Center. Jones stated that the current proposal has a 5% increase for the next three years. Alderman Baptist made a motion to approve the proposal and was seconded by Alderman Morrow. Motion passed.
Chairman Hart moved on to Lawn Care Service Contract – Jones stated that in previous years we took care of Tyndall Park, Ralph Bunche Park, and Sunset Lake, but now we are including Riverside, Holland, and Misty Lane. This does not include any of our playing surfaces. Our crew will handle that. This will give us the ability to put more staff on the Mt. Bike Park and any other properties or capital improvements we improve upon. Jones stated that there were two bids, Abshure Lawn Care is the low bid. Alderman Knight made a motion to approve the lowest bid. Alderwoman Reed seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Chairman Hart moved to the next item on the agenda, Photography Contract – Rodemeyer stated that we currently use MVP Sports Photography. Rodemeyer reported that we received two bids, and since we have been satisfied with the quality of work from MVP Sports Photography we would like to proceed with their bid. Knight questioned if the quality of work was the determining factor, and Rodemeyer agreed. Alderman Knight made a motion to approve MVP Sports Photography and was seconded by Alderman Hamm. Motion passed.
Chairman Hart moved to LED Contract – Rodemeyer stated that we received three bids to replace the LED sign by the interstate. One was ACE Sign at $142,840.00, the second bid was from Custom Advertising of AR at $194,358.99, and the third was Blink Signs at $229,454.77. Our bid specs were based on a Watchfire 8mm board. Unfortunately, ACE Signs did not put that in their contract. We reached out two times for ACE Signs to give us details, but they did not respond. Our recommendation is to go with Custom Advertising of AR. There was a discussion regarding the issues with the LED sign. Alderman Knight made a motion to approve Custom Adverting of AR in the amount of $194,358.99. The motion was seconded by Alderman Hamm. Motion passed.
Chairman Hart moved on to Athletic Apparel Contract – Rodemeyer stated that we had three vendors respond to our RFQ. Protime Sports, Triangle Sports, and Empire Printing. At the time, Protime Sports was the only vendor that provided pricing so we reached out to the other vendors to see if they could give us prices for comparison. Empire Printing was unable to because their ordering system is so unique that they could not do a baseline price. Triangle Sports said that they would get us quotes. We reached out twice but Triangle Sports never responded. After comparison with Protime Sports and our current vendor, we believe that Protime Sports will be slightly lower that what we are currently paying. Alderman Knight made a motion to approve Protime Sports and the motion was seconded by Alderman Hamm. Motion passed.
Chairman Hart moved on to Other – Mayor Farmer stated that we brought the contract for the Arkansas Wolves before Council three years ago. The end of their contract is in December, 2024. If you look at the contract, which he and Stephanie have along with the City Attorney, we must give a letter 90 days before the end of their contract letting them know we do not wish to renew. Mayor Farmer stated that their recommendation is to not renew their contract. Part of the contract is that they will provide a youth program which they did the first year but then the youth program separated completely. We would like to form a MOU with the youth program to allow them to use C.W. Lewis. Alderman Knight made a motion to issue the 90-day severability. The motion was seconded by Alderman Spencer-Cole. Motion passed.
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
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