JULY 2011 VOL. 67, NO. 7 OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE ARKANSAS MUNICIPAL LEAGUE Mayor Chris Claybaker Camden First Vice President Mayor Frank Fogleman Marion President New leaders named during 77th Convention Alderman Herman Coleman Mayor Virginia Hillman West Memphis Sherwood Vice President, District 1 Vice President, District 2 Mayor Laura Hamilton Mayor C.T. (Chuck) Hollingshead Garfield Arkadelphia Vice President, District 3 Vice President, District 4 2 CITY & TOWN JULY 2011 VOL. 67, NO. 7 OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE ARKANSAS MUNICIPAL LEAGUE Cities, towns prep for year at 77th League 6 Convention Municipal leaders from across the state reviewed a successful 2011 legislative session, shared ideas on mutual challenges and more at the League’s 77th Convention, June 15-17 in Hot Springs. 8 League Executive Director reports solid year 9 Workshops cover variety of municipal concerns 10 Convention snapshots 12 League honors individuals, cities for service 14 Convention delegates listed 22 Thank you, sponsors and exhibitors 26 Certificates of appreciation ON THE COVER—The League has a new slate of Ordinance and resolutions: a guide officers for 2011-2012. They were elected and began At the heart of good local government are good ordinances and their terms June 17, the final day of a successful 77th 28 resolutions, and League legal counsel David Schoen provides an Convention, held June 15-17 in Hot Springs. New overview of the state statutes guiding their adoption. League President Frank Fogleman, mayor of Marion, will appoint a new Executive Committee, the members Beebe dons engineer cap of which, along with advisory council members, will 32 The last of the Union Pacific steam engines, No. 844, made a run appear in the August issue of City & Town. Revisit our through Arkansas in June, and Gov. Mike Beebe was honorary 77th Convention inside beginning on page six.—atm engineer for a leg of the journey. IRT medical mission serves McGehee, Delta 36 region Arkansas Municipal Officals Directory Changes . .. 51 The Innovative Readiness Training mission, a training-through- a'TEST . 39 service initiative of U.S. military medical teams, held two weeks Attorney General Opinions . 53 of free medical and dental care in June for citizens in McGehee Calendar . .. 62 and four other Delta communities. Economic Development . 54 Fairs & Festivals . .. 26 Harrison redefines itself Grant Money Matters . 50 42 Harrison strives to create an inclusive community and make League Officers, Advisory Councils . 5 negative associations a thing of the past. Municipal Mart . 62 Municipal Notes . .. 46 Parks & Recreation . 37 Planning to Succeed . .34 Publisher Communications Director President’s Letter . 4 Don Zimmerman Whitnee V. Bullerwell Professional Directory . 60 Editor Graphic/Layout Designer Sales Tax Map . 57 Andrew Morgan Mark Potter Sales Tax Receipts . 58 Urban Forestry . 44 Here’s where to reach us: Your Health . 48 501-374-3484 • FAX 501-374-0541 Cover Photos by Andrew Morgan [email protected] • www.arml.org City&Town (ISSN 0193-8371 and Publication No. 031-620) is published monthly for $20 per year ($1.67 per single copy) by the Arkansas Municipal League, 301 W. Second St., North Little Rock, AR 72114. Periodicals postage paid at North Little Rock, Ark. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to City&Town, P.O. Box 38, North Little Rock, AR 72115. JULY 2011 3 PRESIDENT'S LETTER Greetings to all: Let me start by saying “Thank You” and that it is an honor and a privilege for me to serve as your president for this coming year. I am pleased to serve the great cities of Arkansas. I will do everything pos- sible to assist you in order to persevere and to make our cities great, which of course helps make a great state. I would like to take this opportunity to commend Alderman Murry Witcher of North Little Rock for a job well done during his tenure as League president. The implementation of the Voluntary Certified Continuing Education program and a successful legislative session are just two of the accomplishments of his presidency. We just finished a great 77th Convention in Hot Springs. What a great combination of exhibitors, training opportunities and timely information for all attendees. I hope that you also found time to take advantage of the attractions of Hot Springs. With a record overall attendance of more than 1,400, it is fair to say that we had a very suc- cessful Convention. If you missed “Common Mistakes Made by Municipal Officials” as presented by Ken Wasson and Mark Hayes, you missed an entertaining and pointed presentation about government. I understand that Ken and Mark are thinking about starting a show at Branson with their routine. Perhaps their presentation can become part of our certified municipal official training program. We also had a record number of exhibitors. I hope that everyone had a chance to visit with our exhibitors and that you will follow up with those that were of interest to you. Our exhibitors put a lot of time, expense and effort into our Convention and I hope that everyone will utilize this valu- able resource. We had great participation in our voluntary certification program on both Wednesday and Friday. One of my goals for this year is to continue this program, which started last September. I have attended many of these classes and they offer valuable information to both veteran and newly elected city officials. If you haven’t been a part of the program, I encourage you to get started this year. I believe that you and your citizens will benefit from your participation in the training. I would like to see the program expanded to include some type of continuing education for those who have completed the initial 21 hours of training. Perhaps some additional topics can be added to the offerings. Surely, the aforementioned “Ken and Mark Review” should be added to the required training. I also want to continue to put an emphasis on economic development. For me, this is a critical area of concern and through regional alliances, coalitions or individually, there is no reason for a city or town not to be involved in the economic development of their respective communities. Perhaps some of our future training sessions can include a bit on economic development. The planning meeting in August kick starts our year, and I look forward to beginning work on next year’s policies and goals. I think that the coming year will be another productive year for the League and I will be counting on you, the membership, to become more involved with League activities and bring subjects and issues that are important to our cities to the League’s attention. Remember: Working together we can build great cities that, in turn, build a great state. Frank Fogleman Mayor, Marion President, Arkansas Municipal League CITY & TOWN 4 Arkansas Municipal League Officers Mayor Frank Fogleman, Marion President Mayor Chris Claybaker, Camden First Vice President Alderman Herman Coleman, West Memphis Vice President, District 1 Mayor Virginia Hillman, Sherwood Vice President, District 2 Mayor Laura Hamilton, Garfield Vice President, District 3 Mayor C.T. (Chuck) Hollingshead, Arkadelphia Vice President, District 4 Don A. Zimmerman Executive Director EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: TBA ADVISORY COUNCILS: TBA PAST PRESIDENTS: Mayor Tab Townsell, Conway; Mayor JoAnne Bush, Lake Village; Mayor Stewart Nelson, Morrilton; Mayor Patrick Henry Hays, Alderman Murry Witcher, North Little Rock; Mayor Mike Gaskill, Paragould; Mayor Robert Patrick, St. Charles; Mayor Gene Yarbrough, Star City LARGE FIRST CLASS CITIES: TBA FIRST CLASS CITIES: TBA SECOND CLASS CITIES: TBA INCORPORATED TOWNS: TBA PUBLIC SAFETY: TBA MUNICIPAL HEALTH BENEFIT FUND BOARD OF TRUSTEES: Clerk/ Treasurer Mitri Greenhill, Stuttgart, District 1; Mayor David Morris, Searcy, District 2; Clerk/Treasurer Barbie Curtis, Van Buren, District 3; Mayor Billy Ray McKelvy, DeQueen, District 4; Mayor Frank Anderson, Bella Vista, At-Large Member WORKERS’ COMPENSATION TRUST BOARD OF TRUSTEES: Mayor William Johnson, West Memphis, District 1; Mayor Mike Watson, Maumelle, District 2; Clerk/Treasurer Sondra Smith, Fayetteville, District 3; Mayor Bryan Martin, Warren, District 4; Group Manager City Attorney Howard Cain, Huntsville, At-Large Member CASH MANAGEMENT TRUST-PENSION MANAGEMENT TRUST- MOPEB TRUST BOARD OF TRUSTEES: Finance Director Bob Sisson, North Little Rock, Chair; Finance Director Jane Jackson, Stuttgart, Vice- Chair; Finance Director Paul Young, AML; Finance Director Karen Scott, Benton; Clerk/Treasurer Donna Jones, DeQueen; Treasurer Mary Wiles, Highland; Finance Director Dorethea Yates, Hot Springs; Police Sgt. (Ret.) Lee Harrod, Little Rock; Finance Director Steve Miller, Pine Bluff JULY 2011 5 77th Convention sets agenda for year By Andrew Morgan, League staff HOT SPRINGS—City and town leaders from across Mitchell thanked Arkansas cities and towns that are Arkansas prepared for the next year, studied issues participating in the NLC and first lady Michele Obama’s of mutual interest and elected a new slate of officers Let’s Move! Cities and Towns campaign to combat child- for the year at the Arkansas Municipal League’s 77th hood obesity. Convention, held June 15-17 at the Hot Springs Convention Center. Beebe touts Arkansas’s strengths Attendance at the League’s 77th annual gathering Despite the slowed-to-a-crawl economic recovery, broke records, with 799 delegates representing 223 cities Arkansas has a lot to be thankful for, Beebe told munici- and towns. Overall attendance, which topped 1,400, pal leaders at the 77th Convention’s Opening General beat the previous record set at the League’s historic Session. A look around at how other states are faring is a 75th Convention in 2009. Participation by companies good way to put things in perspective, he said. and agencies offering services to municipalities was also “There are only four states that don’t have a budget strong, with 96 setting up in the Hot Springs Convention shortfall, and the other three don’t have any people,” Center’s exhibit hall to meet and network with delegates.