Monday night’s Maumelle City Council meeting was short and sweet so this update is the same. Mayor Caleb Norris recognized Lt. John Thomas as the city’s employee of the month for November 2020. Be sure to celebrate John Thomas Day in the city of Maumelle this Friday.
Typically, at the second meeting of the month, we review the previous month’s financial report. The report was deferred this week since the city’s finance department has been focused the past few weeks on completing our 2019 audit.
Doreen Mattes, our Director of Human Resources, gave an update on her department. Mattes mentioned her department has been working towards making processes more efficient by moving to a virtual application process for new hires. Another area they are working on is updating the Employee Handbook. As you have likely noticed the past few months, it’s been very difficult for businesses to hire employees. The city is also struggling with attracting new employees. With the increase in minimum wage the past few years, this has resulted in three of the city’s pay grades being compressed into one pay grade at minimum wage. Maumelle competes directly with private businesses for our workforce, so if other businesses are paying new workers more than the minimum wage, then it becomes difficult for the city to attract and retain a quality workforce. This will be an ongoing issue that the city will need to address in future budget cycles so we can be more competitive with the private market for future employees.
Moving on to old and new business, we had previously been reviewing an ordinance (ordinance 1028) that would rezone a parcel of land along Commerce Drive to Commercial (C2 zoning). We had tabled this at the previous meeting, but tonight we referred this item back to the Planning Commission so they can go through the public notification process. This will essentially start the process over again and the issue will go back through the Planning department.
Ordinance 1031 was on the second reading and brings our city into compliance with state law regarding our initiative and referendum process. There wasn’t any discussion on this item and I’d expect it to pass at the next meeting.
Ordinance 1032 was on third reading and passed unanimously. This ordinance also brings the city into compliance with state law that was passed in 2019. This will remove the city from the enforcement process when it comes to neighborhoods that have standards on architecture, design, among other things for homes. This enforcement will fall to the Property Owners Association that enforces the Bill of Assurance. In other words, the city won’t regulate home size, paint scheme, exterior finish, etc. This responsibility will instead be on the POA if one exists in that neighborhood.
Ordinance 1033 and 1034 are companion ordinances and involve a rezoning request for a parcel of property along Club Manor and Carnahan. There was no discussion on this request, and it will be on third reading June 7.
The Council confirmed the Mayor’s appointment of David Hodges to a new five-year term on the Maumelle Public Facilities Board. This term will expire in May of 2026.
There is also a vacancy on the Maumelle Planning Commission to fulfill the remainder of a term that will expire in May of 2022. If you are interested in applying for this position please email City Clerk Tina Timmons with your request to apply. The deadline is June 3. The Council will then interview candidates and vote for an individual to fulfill the remainder of this term.
If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know at 501-529-1336 or chad4maumelle@gmail.com.
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Maumelle: City Council meets
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Monday night’s Maumelle City Council meeting was short and sweet so this update is the same. Mayor Caleb Norris recognized Lt. John Thomas as the city’s employee of the month for November 2020. Be sure to celebrate John Thomas Day in the city of Maumelle this Friday.
Typically, at the second meeting of the month, we review the previous month’s financial report. The report was deferred this week since the city’s finance department has been focused the past few weeks on completing our 2019 audit.
Doreen Mattes, our Director of Human Resources, gave an update on her department. Mattes mentioned her department has been working towards making processes more efficient by moving to a virtual application process for new hires. Another area they are working on is updating the Employee Handbook. As you have likely noticed the past few months, it’s been very difficult for businesses to hire employees. The city is also struggling with attracting new employees. With the increase in minimum wage the past few years, this has resulted in three of the city’s pay grades being compressed into one pay grade at minimum wage. Maumelle competes directly with private businesses for our workforce, so if other businesses are paying new workers more than the minimum wage, then it becomes difficult for the city to attract and retain a quality workforce. This will be an ongoing issue that the city will need to address in future budget cycles so we can be more competitive with the private market for future employees.
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Moving on to old and new business, we had previously been reviewing an ordinance (ordinance 1028) that would rezone a parcel of land along Commerce Drive to Commercial (C2 zoning). We had tabled this at the previous meeting, but tonight we referred this item back to the Planning Commission so they can go through the public notification process. This will essentially start the process over again and the issue will go back through the Planning department.
Ordinance 1031 was on the second reading and brings our city into compliance with state law regarding our initiative and referendum process. There wasn’t any discussion on this item and I’d expect it to pass at the next meeting.
Ordinance 1032 was on third reading and passed unanimously. This ordinance also brings the city into compliance with state law that was passed in 2019. This will remove the city from the enforcement process when it comes to neighborhoods that have standards on architecture, design, among other things for homes. This enforcement will fall to the Property Owners Association that enforces the Bill of Assurance. In other words, the city won’t regulate home size, paint scheme, exterior finish, etc. This responsibility will instead be on the POA if one exists in that neighborhood.
Ordinance 1033 and 1034 are companion ordinances and involve a rezoning request for a parcel of property along Club Manor and Carnahan. There was no discussion on this request, and it will be on third reading June 7.
The Council confirmed the Mayor’s appointment of David Hodges to a new five-year term on the Maumelle Public Facilities Board. This term will expire in May of 2026.
There is also a vacancy on the Maumelle Planning Commission to fulfill the remainder of a term that will expire in May of 2022. If you are interested in applying for this position please email City Clerk Tina Timmons with your request to apply. The deadline is June 3. The Council will then interview candidates and vote for an individual to fulfill the remainder of this term.
If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know at 501-529-1336 or chad4maumelle@gmail.com.