City officials have tabled a proposed city ordinance that would require the El Dorado City Council’s approval on change-orders for city contracts and city-funded projects.
Council members said April 18 that they agreed with the ordinance proposal from Council Member Billy Blann, but after a moderate debate, they said the draft needed some tweaking before they could vote on the matter.
Blann initially read a portion of the proposed ordinance, explaining its intent, and made a motion to approve it, but City Clerk Heather McVay said City Attorney Henry Kinslow would have to read the ordinance in its entirety for an official first reading.
McVay reminded Blann that the ordinance would have to read three times before the council could take a final vote.
After Kinslow read the ordinance draft, Blann made a motion to suspend the rules and place the ordinance on its second reading.
The motion was seconded by Council Member Andre Rucks and then defeated with a vote of 6 - 2. Blann and Rucks cast the yes votes.
The proposal was spurred, in part, by a $2.2 million funding request that was presented last fall by MAD.
The request was to cover cost overruns for construction of the MAD amphitheater and Playscape, which were completed in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
The amount was in addition to $13.4 million the city had pledged from its El Dorado Works and the former El Dorado Forward economic development taxes to assist with the development of MAD.
The properties are owned by the city and leased to MAD for a nominal fee to operate and manage.
When MAD presented the funding request last fall, city officials and members of the El Dorado Works Board, which administers the sales tax, expressed frustration about not being notified in advance about the cost overages.
At the time, MAD officials said they would turn over the property deeds to the city once the payments had been made.
After months-long conversations, which included legal counsel from the Arkansas Municipal League, the city council approved the request in February.
On April 18, Blann referred to a question Council Member Willie McGhee asked during a city Finance Committee shortly after the matter was resolved.
“You asked, ‘What can we do to keep this from happening again?’ If we had an ordinance, we might have been able to prevent that,” Blann said, adding, “We were out of the loop and we spent a lot of money.”
Blann then thanked Mayor Veronica Smith-Creer for notifying council members about bid openings for city contracts.
“I had asked for that before, but we never had that,” he said.
He stressed that city officials should be kept abreast of any changes and updates of projects and contracts that are funded by taxpayers’ money.
Council Member Vance Williamson said he appreciated Blann’s efforts, but he expressed concern about the council’s availability to immediately address such issues when they arise.
“My problem with this is if we approve this tonight and if something comes up in the morning, then the contractor will have to wait two weeks for a change order,” Williamson said, referring to the council’s monthly schedule for regular meetings.
The council meets the first Thursday after the first Monday of the month and again two weeks later.
“There’s not a contractor in the state that’s going to shut down a project for two weeks,” Williamson said.
A change in verbiage
Council Member Mike Rice suggested a simple change in verbiage in the ordinance draft, noting that if a significant issue arises, such as a budget overage, the council should be notified about the issue in advance.
Council Member Paul Choate agreed, saying that even minute changes would require council approval, per the draft ordinance that was presented by Blann.
“You couldn’t change the paint color in a bathroom stall with this in place,” Choate said.
Blann later explained that he intended for the ordinance to address other issues, such as the quality of the work that is done, as well as changes in anticipated start and completion dates or the scope of the project.
Council Member Dianne Hammond said Robert Edmonds, director of public works, typically provides such updates for city projects.
“When we’re working with other entities, we don’t know when it’s going to be changed,” Hammond said.
McGhee said he also felt a change in verbiage was in order for the draft ordinance.
“I believe Mr. Blann has the right idea. Sometimes Mr. Edmonds can get locked down with other stuff. Whoever has got to contract needs to let us know about any changes,” McGhee said. “We need someone down there watching the project on a daily basis.”
Hammond noted that Edmonds was keeping a watchful eye on the MAD project and was aware of the budget overruns.
“Yeah, but that never got back to us,” McGhee said.
Blann said the council needed an ordinance that would shore up “any potholes,” contending that the council can schedule specially called meetings to address any issues that arise with city projects.
“If you give any leeway at all, it’ll take us out of the loop. With a bathroom stall, you can paint it the color in the contract and come back and repaint it later,” he said.
“We’ve had projects not come off with the wishes of this council or the intent,” Blann continued.
McGhee agreed, saying, “We’ve had several incidents where we got burned so I see where you’re coming from.”
He referred to a street project to widen a portion of Timberlane to prepare for increased traffic with construction of the new El Dorado High School on Wildcat Drive in 2011.
McGhee said additional costs arose due to unforeseen circumstances with the roadbed and the council had to tend to the matter more than a year after the project was completed.
The council agreed to allow Kinslow to work with Edmonds to revise the ordinance proposal.
Blann was initially cool to the idea, saying that the council, not Edmonds, sets city policy.
“We’re not asking Mr. Edmonds to make any decisions. We’re just asking him to give us some examples,” McGhee said.
Blann later said he was open to Edmonds reviewing the matter with Kinslow.
Tia Lyons may be contacted at 870-862-6611 or by email at tlyons@ eldoradonews.com.