Regular Month Meeting
Benton City Council
April 19, 2016
The regular monthly meeting of the Benton City Council was called to order at 5:00 P.M. by
Mayor Dotson with the Pledge of Allegiance and opening prayer by Chris Freeland.
Council Members Present:
Rita Murray Charles Edmonds
Chris Freeland Tim King
Sherra Riley Butch Holland
Other Staff Present:
Marty Johnson, City Attorney
Bethany Cooper, City Treasurer
Tracy Watwood, Police Chief
Kelly Collins, Gas Manager
Vickie Moore and her son of 555 Phelps Road were present regarding their high water bill. She
had a leak a couple of months back and says that she wasn’t notified by a door hanger. A motion was
made by Freeland, seconded by Holland to adjust her high water bill for this month to her normal of
$25.00. Motion carried.
Josh Tubbs was present regarding prospective economic development coming to the old
Fleetwood Plant. He stated that the State would like to see the County and City give them a 1% tax
break. The County is going to lower their payroll tax rate from 1% to 0.5%. While the City only has a
0.5% tax rate, the City would receive no payroll tax benefit. This agreement is set to be for 15 years if
accepted. A motion was made by Edmonds, seconded by Riley to approve. Motion carried.
Mayor Dotson announced that Benton Park Board has started Benton Trade Day which will take
place the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of each month beginning April 19 and running through October. Jerry
Chandler will be in charge of getting vendors together and placed at Benton City Park. The fee is $5.00
per vendor and Mr. Chandler will receive half of that at the end of each month.
Mayor Dotson informed the Council that East Side Village has changed their minds and now
want to be annexed into the City limits. From what Mayor Dotson has been told, the City will not be
responsible for any FEMA/floodplain issues with this location since it will be grandfathered in. Any new
housing will have to be State compliant though moving forward. City Attorney Johnson suggests that we
have the infrastructure and quality of streets inspected before accepting them in the City limits since the
City would take over that responsibility. Mayor Dotson asked the Council to think on it and discuss at
next month’s meeting.
Mayor Dotson recommended increasing the Council pay from $100.00 per month to $200.00
per month. In doing this, she no longer wants to pay for special called meetings. This increase will
include as many meetings as necessary each month. This pay increase cannot go into effect until
January 1, 2017 when a new Council is elected. Rita Murray asked how meeting attendance will be
handled and Mayor Dotson informed her that any meeting attendance requirements will need to be set
in the City’s Ethics Ordinance. A motion was made by Riley, seconded by Edmonds to approve Johnson
to draft an ordinance for this pay increase. Motion carried.
City Treasurer Bethany Cooper informed the Council that the City has a Water Well Account that
was set up several years back to save money for any well repairs. This account has since been dormant
and the money voted by past Council to open a Water Maintenance Account. Cooper suggested closing
the Water Well Account which has a balance of $217,026.74 and put that money into the Water
Maintenance Account so that it can be used for any water repairs and maintenance. A motion was
made by Edmonds, seconded by Freeland to approve. Motion carried.
Mayor Dotson updated the Council that currently Benton Water & Sewer disconnects water
service for past due balances above $35.00. She suggests changing that limit to $50.00. Motion was
made by Holland, seconded by Riley for Johnson to amend the ordinance for this change. Motion
carried.
There was a second reading of an ordinance amending Section 6.12 of the City of Benton, KY
Zoning Ordinance to provide for an application for a property owner in a mixed use overlay district to
utilize property in that district for a single purpose/residential or commercial use. Motion carried.
Mayor asked the Council to consider increasing the business license fees or implementing the
net profits tax. Currently, the highest business license fee is $151.00 for professionals such as doctors
and lawyers.
A motion was made by Riley, seconded by King to donate $500.00 to Marshall County High
School’s Project Graduation. Motion carried.
Precision Concrete gave another estimate for more sidewalk repairs. They estimated the North
section of Benton:
Option A – $5880.00 – ¼” and larger
Option B – $4702.25 – 5/8” and larger
South portion of Benton:
Option A – $7376.25 – ¼” and larger
Option B – $5255.50 – 5/8” and larger
Mayor Dotson mentioned that we hope to receive the $3000.00 KLC Safety Grant again in order
to cover some of the cost. A motion was made by Riley, seconded by Holland to select the South
portion with Option B. Motion carried.
After more discussion on the sidewalk repairs, a motion was made by Murray, seconded by Riley
to rescind the original motion. A motion was made by King, seconded by Riley to selection the South
portion with Option A. Motion carried.
The following items were presented as surplus for Benton Gas System:
Vermeer V-450 trencher
Ditch Witch 3610 trencher
5000 W generator
F250 Truck
Air compressor
A motion was made by Edmonds, seconded by Holland to approve Benton Gas System putting
these surplus items on Govdeals.com. Motion carried.
Chief Tracy Watwood presented the police report for March. There were 13 cases, 18 accidents,
216 citations of which 156 were for speeding and 378 calls to service.
A motion was made by Edmonds, seconded by Riley to approve payroll and invoices. Motion
carried.
A motion was made by Holland, seconded by King to approve the regular minutes of March 21,
2016. Motion carried.
Mayor Dotson presented a list to each Council on how she is restructuring each department
within the City. The Water Department will consist of Tony Seavers, Chad Warren and John Smith. The
Sewer Department will consist of Harold Helton, Kurt Ives, Jeff Dunn, Randy Anderson and Michael
Nimmo. The Maintenance Department will consist of David Carroll, Robert Hageman, Tim Gamble and
Steve Mathis. The mechanic is still Adam Duncan and Ricky Copeland is now in the Park Department.
These employees are to still help each other out as needed but she hopes this will help getting work
done more efficiently.
Mayor Dotson also announced that Little Caesars is coming to Benton and will build near
Walmart. A Mental Health Facility will be coming located near Marshall County Hospital but right
outside of the City limits. Dennis Smith is also building a new strip mall behind McDonalds and so far
will include a business called iWash.
There being no further business to come before the Council, meeting adjourned at 6:15 P.M.
upon motion of Freeland, seconded by King. Motion carried.
________________________________
Rita Dotson, Mayor
ATTEST:
_______________________________
Michele Edwards, City Clerk
