The Board Report, capturing major elements of the latest regular meeting of the Hot Springs Board of Directors, is part of the City of Hot Springs’ efforts to broaden its communications with the public. City Board meetings are open to the public, and agendas, minutes, and more information can be found at www.cityhs.net/Board or by contacting [email protected]. September 19, 2023 One step closer to additional funds for the 2023 Housing The Board passed Resolution 23-158, approving the filing and acceptance of Federal Grant Funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to implement the 2023 Housing Strategy. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has fore casted a new grant, Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing). The grant application period has not officially opened but HUD has published that applications are due on October 30, 2023 and provided a preview copy of the Notice of Funding Opportunity. No local match is required of grantees. The minimum grant amount is $1 million and the maximum is $10 million. Grantees will have 6 years, until September 30, 2029, to implement the grant, with work expected to begin in January 2024. The grant purpose is to remove barriers to affordable housing, resulting in more housing production and lower housing costs. Eligible activities may include, but are not limited to, the following; Developing or updating housing plans, community development strategies, and zoning and land use policies to simplify, streamline, or change overlays that create a barrier to affordable housing development or preservation, Developing new incentive programs for affordable housing development, Developing proposals to streamline and modernize local permit processing, including reducing fees, Developing proposals to eliminate restrictions on lower-cost housing types such as prefabricated or manufactured homes, and Creating affordable housing planning resources. • The Board passed Resolution 23-154, approving amendments to the 2023 Budget for the City of Hot Springs, Arkansas. Amendments were made to the 2023 Parks & Trails budget to re appropriate grant match for the Greenway Trail that was inadvertently left off of the list of re appropriations the Board approved February 21, 2023 by Resolution No. 10157. There is also a need to amend the District Court, Solid Waste, and Parking budgets at this point in the fiscal year due to increased costs for postage in District Court, vehicle repairs in Solid Waste and repairs to the elevators in the Downtown parking deck that were not anticipated when the 2023 budget was developed and adopted. • The Board passed Resolution 23-155, awarding a contract to replace the roof at 324 Malvern Avenue to Ketcher & Company, Inc. A “Request for Bids” was duly advertised and issued. Bid packages were sent to two hundred and forty-eight (248) different vendors with only two vendors responding. The vendors responding were Ketcher and Company, Inc and Industrial Roofing. The recommendation is award the bid to the lowest responsive bidder, Ketcher and Company, Inc. • The Board passed Resolution 23-156, awarding a term contract for electrical contractor services to Stephens Electrical, LLC as primary vendor and Welco Electric Service Co. LLC as secondary vendor. A “Request for Bids” was duly advertised and issued. “Bid packages” were made available to one hundred and ninety-six (196) different vendors with four (4) vendors responding. Based on the bids of the respondents, Stephens Electrical was the lowest with a close second from Welco Electric Co. Recommends that the Term Contract for Electrical Contractor Service with Stephens Electric as the primary and Welco Electric Co as secondary should the primary not respond. • The Board passed Resolution 23-157 approving the Community Development Block Grant Program Year 2022 consolidated annual performance evaluation report for submission to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The CDBG program provides annual grants on a formula basis to entitled cities to develop viable urban communities by providing decent housing and a suitable living environment, and by expanding economic opportunities, principally for low- and moderate-income persons. • The Board passed Resolution 23-159, approving the purchase of Sensus water meters and associated components from Core and Main LP. The City’s Municipal Water system has an automated water metering system utilizing water meters, software and related components manufactured by Sensus. In order to ensure compatibility throughout the City’s system, meters should be of the same model and brand and such meters and components are only available in Arkansas through Core & Main of North Little Rock, AR. • The Board passed Resolution 23-160, approving a change order to the contract with Crist Engineers, Inc. for construction management and inspection services for the Lake Ouachita Water Supply Project awarding them a time extension of 555 days. • The Board passed Resolution 23-161 acknowledging the review of the 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial (Audit) Report. • The Board passed Ordinance O-23-22 waiving the requirement of competitive bidding and approving the emergency purchase of required materials and installation of the yard-water pump at the Davidson Drive Wastewater Treatment Plant. Coming Events • Heels to Hammers -Habitat for Humanity Oct 5th-9th 6 - 8 p.m. 200 women will build two houses for two deserving families. Anyone may volunteer to assist. (Director Karen Garcia, Dist. 5) • The Giving Team - 10am-1pm on Sept 23rd Accepting teams of 4 - Parking lot at the corner of Church and Malvern Ave. (Director Phyllis Beard, Dist. 2) • The Big Steam Music Festival - Sept 29-30 at the Hill Wheatley Plaza, 629 Central Ave. (Mayor Pat McCabe) • Garland County Reads Kickoff - Sept. 26th 5pm-7pm at the Hot Springs Historic Downtown Farmer’s Market (Mayor Pat McCabe) Other Board actions
Board of Directors City of Hot Springs Pat McCabe Mayor Erin Holliday District 1 Phyllis Beard District 2 Marcia Dobbs-Smith District 3 Dudley Webb, III District 4 Karen Garcia District 5 Steve Trusty District 6 To contact a board member, view a meeting agenda or check the date of the next board meeting, visit the “Board of Directors” webpage under the “Your Government” tab at www.cityhs.net. City Government at Your Service [email protected] • City of Hot Springs Public Information Department • 501-321-6806 www.cityhs.net