Shop-building bid approved
Posted on Wednesday, May 7, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/gentry/News/2432/
GENTRY ó The city council, on Monday, declined to extend retirement benefits to a past employee and approved a bid to construct a shop building for the water and sewer / street and alley departments.
The council unanimously declined (council member Ruth Kuelper was absent ) to extend retirement benefits to Theresa Ocheltree, who worked for the city as recorder-treasurer for 11 years, from January 1982 until December 1992, while Gentry was a city of the second class.
A letter from Theresa Ocheltree requested the current city council authorize retirement benefits for her under Arkansas Code 24-12-127 because she worked full-time for the city for more than the required 10 years. The Arkansas code gives city councils the option of offering the benefits. The council at the time of Ocheltreeís employment did not give her the benefits.
Had her request been approved by the council, Ocheltree would be eligible at age 60 to begin receiving half her final salary as recorder-treasurer. According to documents provided by Ocheltree, she was paid $ 16, 735 in 1992.
The council also gave unanimous approval to accept the only bid received by the city to construct a steel building to serve as a shop for both the water and sewer and street and alley departments. The bid for $ 72, 964 was submitted by Quality Metal, of Gentry, and includes only the cement slab and the shell of the building.
The council also added back as a budget line item of the street and alley department $ 60, 000 ó which had been in previous budgets but was omitted this year. Funding for the building and finishing of the building will come from the $ 60, 000 already in the water department budget for the building and the $ 60, 000 put back into the street and alley budget. Much of the finishing work will be done by city employees.
In other business, the council gave approval to have a representative from the Arkansas Public Employee Retirement System address the council regarding the state retirement program and the benefits to the city and city employees if the city were to enroll in the system. The city currently has a retirement program involving numerous investment brokerage companies, and employee retirement funds have been hurt by the downswing in the markets. Council approves sales-tax initiative
The council voted unanimously to have an ordinance prepared for the June meeting which would place on the November ballot a sales-tax initiative allowing the city to continue collecting the half-cent sales tax which will expire when bonds on the library are paid off later this year and have the new tax designated for the cityís general fund.
Discussion also took place regarding progress on the library building. Mayor Wes Hogue told council members that SSi is continuing to make progress, but that some items may be out of the scope of the companyís contract ó in particular, the possibility that leaks in the walls may be because of old mortar and require the entire building to be tuck-pointed and sealed.
Council member Janie Parks suggested an independent engineer look at the building to be sure the leaks are actually the result of old mortar and not covered by the construction contract.