Baxter County Friends of the Taxpayers

MEETING NOTES

BAXTER COUNTY FRIENDS OF THE TAXPAYERS

SATURDAY, MAY 7, 2005

BCFT Director Frank Kaye called the meeting to order at 10 am in the meeting room of the Baxter Inn Restaurant. Nineteen members were in attendance.

Frank notified the group that a correction needed to be made to the previous Treasurer's report; correct bank balance as of that meeting should have been $263.58, rather than the $638.58 reported (math error -- oops! ). As of this meeting, balance is $298.73, with a $25 donation check that had just been received, and not yet deposited.

Frank also reported on his "tour of duty" at this morning's Republican Men's Club breakfast -- while serving and cleaning up, he received numerous compliments and words of congratulations from breakfast patrons for BCFT's efforts leading to the A&P Tax victory.

Fred Lakes gave the group a summary of the meetings he and Frank had recently with State Senator Shawn Womack and State Representative Johnny Key, to get the wording of the A&P Tax code changed (to include a requirement that any city that wants to implement the tax must first get voter approval). Both Womack and Key were receptive to the proposed changes, and promised to do what they could to get the changes put into place. Their next legislative session isn't scheduled until 2007, but if they should get recalled before then, they will try to push the amendment through at that time.

Ed Schild reported that he had received a letter from Baxter Bulletin publisher Betty Barker Smith in response to his recent complaint that he had been treated unfairly (regarding frequency of letters to the editor). He read her letter to the group. Ed said that he had sent a response to her letter, and copies of it were sent to the president of the Gannett News Service (owner of the BB), the Associated Press, the Arkansas Press Association, National Newspaper Association, and the ACLU of Arkansas. He read that letter to the group, as well.

The question was raised about finding qualified, electable candidates to run for office in next year's local election. Will BCFT put together its own slate? The group also discussed the disadvantages of the current form of government, and the advantages of changing to the city manager form.

The next order of business was the offer of permanent office space from the owner of Nima's Pizza on the Square. Rob Welch reported that Rick (the owner) said he would be responsible for materials and separate electric service for the upstairs (approx. $1300). The subject of liability insurance was raised again, and Rob said he had agents preparing quotes for us. Electricity for the office space was estimated at $50-$60 per month; Internet service would also be required, plus phone and maybe cable (depending upon Internet provider chosen). Renovations would take a lot of time and effort; the facility is not ADA compliant, and parking might be a problem. Consensus of the group was that the offer is more than generous, the location is ideal, but unfortunately just too costly for the moment. The decision was made to continue to hold meetings at Redeemer Lutheran Church, the Baxter Inn Restaurant, or other locations at low or no cost.

Restrooms for the soccer complex: Jerry Caster volunteered to meet with the doctors who own the land the soccer complex was built on and with the mayor to come up with a plan for getting a fundraiser going to build the restrooms that are needed there. Frank reminded him that BCFT cannot commit any money, but would be glad to donate time and effort to any group that will organize an event to raise the necessary funds for this project.

Frank asked for volunteers to begin attending city committee meetings on a regular basis. Committee meetings are open to the public, and the chairpersons are supposed to ask for questions and comments from those in attendance. The committee meeting schedule is posted on the BCFT website, and has been mailed to those without Internet access. Ken Blade volunteered to cover the Parks & Rec committee meetings. Others were encouraged to call or e-mail with their preferences.

Water rate hike: Frank brought the group up to date on his efforts to propose an alternative rate structure to the Water & Sewer Committee and city council. As of this date, the proposal was almost ready to submit to Marshella Norell, committee chairperson; unfortunately, she is on vacation until May 28 and would not even be at the committee meeting where the discussion would take place (May 19). Frank said he planned to e-mail the spreadsheets to her in a day or two, and that she would then pass them on to the others who would need to see them before the meeting -- she made no other commitment.

Jim Bond encouraged everyone to attend the Water & Sewer Committee meeting on the 19th in the Council Chambers at City Hall, at either 4:00 or 4:30 pm (reports differed). Suzan will confirm date and time and let everyone know.

Mr. Chodacki asked if impact fees had been included in Frank's plan, and explained the difference between those and hook-up fees. Mrs. Chodacki told the group about the recent implementation of impact fees in Ozark, MO, and said that they are becoming more common all around the country, as cities acknowledge that new development has a major impact on existing infrastructure.

New Treasurer: Frank called for a volunteer to be our Treasurer. Bill Clark has asked to step down for personal reasons. Ken Blade will take over those duties.

BCFT shirts: Suzan reported that the Shirt Shop here in MH can print shirts for us -- choice of any light color, sizes from S-XXXL, ranging in price from $13-$16 for T-shirts and $23-$26 for polos. Bill Smith and a couple of others thought the prices were high, and suggested checking around to find a better deal, especially if we plan to sell them to the public as a fundraiser.

Bill Smith also suggested that BCFT invest in a banner, to be used at fundraising events, or in parades, etc., and volunteered to do some price-shopping. He also encouraged us to get involved in the upcoming Relay for Life fundraiser and the Red, White & Blue parade in June.

Next meeting & meeting frequency: Question was asked whether a monthly meeting would be sufficient -- consensus was yes (unless something urgent comes up). The last Saturday of every month was chosen as meeting day. Time was changed to 1: 00 pm because of conflict in Secretary's Saturday morning schedule. Ed Schild will check with Redeemer Lutheran Church to see if we can be assigned a regular spot on their calendar for that day and time; use of the Fellowship Hall now costs $7.50 for two hours. Assuming all goes according to plan, the next meeting will be Saturday, May 28, at 1 pm at Redeemer.

Vera Hughes suggested that we start taking a collection at every meeting to help cover our monthly expenses (hall rental, postage, etc.).

The meeting was adjourned. Frank encouraged everyone to stay and have lunch at the restaurant (they don't charge for use of the room if folks stay for lunch!).

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

Suzan Kaye

Secretary, BCFT

424-6235