Article By Andrea Bruner, White River Now
The promotion of three police officers, a fire at the Batesville Regional Airport, a bill owed by Cushman Water, and annual housekeeping items were all part of the Batesville City Council meeting Tuesday night.
Public Works Engineer Damon Johnson said he and Batesville Mayor Rick Elumbaugh had recently attended the Cushman Water Board meeting.
“We (Batesville Water Utilities) sell water to Cushman,” Johnson told the council. “About three years ago, they were unable to continue to use their spring, so they had to buy 100 percent of their water from us.”
He said Cushman has not always paid off its water bill, so he and Elumbaugh went to visit the board and talk about a plan moving forward.
Johnson said he would work with Batesville City Attorney Tim Meitzen on creating a water use agreement that would also address Cushman’s unpaid balance.
Johnson also said the board is working with new leadership in Cushman, but they are serious about investing in their system for the betterment of their community.
“I thought the meeting went well, and they are doing the best they can,” he continued.
Otherwise across the city, Johnson said activity on water treatment plant upgrades is starting to “ramp up” as much as possible with the weather. He said the goal is to have groundbreaking in February, but no date has been set yet.
The expansion at Riverside Park is also making significant headway, with plans to go over the “final pricing exercise” next week. Bids will then be let, subs hired, and work is expected to begin this spring.
The Main Street bicycle lane project is all but finished, with the city working on punch list items. However, Johnson said there have been drainage problems since the project was completed, as the subcontractors “didn’t build the boxes to spec, but Johnny Coles (city street supervisor) is bird-dogging them pretty good about that.”
Meanwhile, Police Chief John Scarbrough gave his monthly report to the council and said patrol officers had recently started cross-training with investigators, learning that side of law enforcement. Scarbrough said the goal is to help them better understand what is needed for prosecution but also learn their role in getting better information, etc.
He also said the BPD is looking at revamping its website to make it more user-friendly and provide better access to the police department.
Scarbrough said implementing the mobile data terminals inside the patrol cars has been a tremendous upgrade for the department, as officers are now able to do more in the field. He did say that internet access was draining the terminals’ energy source but he has been working with the city’s IT department to iron out those issues.
Scarbrough then announced the promotions of three officers: Sgt. Rob Leonard has been promoted to lieutenant and Cpls. Kody Headley and Bryan Strickland have both been promoted to sergeants.
Scarbrough also shared a few statistics for the previous two months, noting that there were 1,961 calls for service in November and 1,036 in December; there were 63 accidents in December, up from 52 the previous month (and the majority of accidents occurred on a Friday or a Monday); 27 arrests made, down from 32 in November; and 58 incident reports, slightly down from 62 in November.
He said the BPD had 10,549 calls for service in the 2023 calendar year, but that number had grown to 12,367 last year.
But he said the department has also made significant positive changes, including a new uniform designed by the officers as a group. This was a huge morale boost, Scarbrough said, as each officer provided input in the badge, shoulder patch, and ballistic vest as well.
The department also upgraded side arms and trained each officer on the new weapon system, started a take-home program for the officers’ vehicles, and adjusted officers’ pay with certificate pay.
He said there are plans to start a Peer-to-Peer program, and officers have already attended training. All officers in the patrol division have been trained in Crisis Intervention. The BPD now has an officer certified in forensic interviews, and another officer is working toward becoming an accident reconstructionist.
A few goals for 2025 include obtaining accreditation, updating the policy manual, creating a field training program, moving toward a time clock system, training officers to use Less Lethal Impact Munition Weapons, adding more signage to the BPD, and getting officers a refresher course on active shooter response, CPR and tactics.
Meanwhile, Fire Chief Mark McCollum also presented his monthly report. He started by reporting on a fire earlier that morning at one of the hangars at the Batesville Regional Airport.
“We saved the hangar and the airplane inside – it could have been bad,” McCollum informed the council. “We kept everything shut in till we went into fight it.”
He said one of the firefighters was wearing a helmet camera, and footage was later posted on the fire department’s Facebook page. McCollum said.
He said a magnesium fire can trigger an explosion when hit with water (due to the amount of energy released when burned), but there are many cars and airplanes made with this lightweight metal nowadays. McCollum said the video shows the very reason for the personal protective equipment (PPE) and need for caution when fighting fires.
“The windows melted out of it but other than that, the airplane was in good shape,” he said.
As far as monthly statistics are concerned, the BFD answered 43 calls in December, one of those being a structure fire. There were two vehicle fires, three medical assists, seven rescues, 15 false alarms, two good intent including service calls, seven inspections, and three gas leaks. Firefighters also got in 92 training hours and participated in Shop with a Hero, “a ride to school,” and Christmas Brings Hope.
He noted that there was one smoke detector installation in December, bringing the total since Oct. 1 to 12. He reminded the council the city had received a grant in October to purchase and install free smoke detectors for residents inside city limits. There is a limit of one per residence, but citizens are welcome to purchase more detectors and have those installed by firefighters, free of charge.
“We’d rather spend 30 minutes there (installing detectors) than four or five hours at a house fire,” McCollum said.
In 2024, the BFD had responded to 95 fires, 250 rescue and medical assists, 48 hazardous condition calls, 38 service calls, 36 good intent calls, 143 false alarms, two weather-related incidents, and 18 unauthorized burning reports. It also conducted 833 inspections, multiple new business vent hood smoke tests, annual ladder, pump and hose tests and a flood drill. Firefighters collected money for the Fire Safety Council to give elementary students fire safety books, participated in a job fair, repaired the generator at the Eagle Mountain water tower, made multiple school visits, and applied for two grants (which were not received, but there are plans to reapply).
McCollum said the fire department had also done 156 plan reviews in 2024. The city has a department head meeting every Tuesday morning, and Code Enforcement Officer Chad McClure had suggested scheduling plan reviews after those meetings while the various department representatives were in one place.
“Every Tuesday, we have two or three people showing up wanting us to go over plans,” McCollum said. “It shows that we’re growing.”
He added, “We’re not here to shut them down – we’re here to protect their investment.”
Elumbaugh agreed, stating that code enforcement and fire/safety codes are “there for a reason, and it’s to protect our citizens. We want to make sure things are installed correctly. …
“We try to handle everything in a timely manner. … we don’t want to hold up progress. We try to jump on it as quickly as we can,” Elumbaugh said.
In other business Tuesday night:
* The council approved two housekeeping ordinances that are always done at the first of the year.
The first was an ordinance adopting the rules and procedures for the transaction of council business and another to waive competitive bidding on certain items, to include used equipment, motor fuel, SB-2, hot mix asphalt, cold mix asphalt, water treatment process chemicals, Badger radio read meters, property insurance and employee health insurance.
Elumbaugh said they do search for the best deals on items, but there are times these purchases need to be made in a timely manner.
Both were read by title only, with the second and third readings of the ordinances waived. Both were then adopted.
* In the mayor’s comments, Elumbaugh announced the next council meeting would be Feb. 11.
* During liaison reports, Alderman Robb Roberts said he has learned much about the city’s airport and praised the airport commission for its leadership. He said both revenue and the demand for hangars are up, but federal funding is not. He also said the main runway needs resurfacing, but the federal funds will only pay for two-thirds of the amount.
* During council comments, Alderwoman Brittany Bennett reported a “sewer issue” in her neighborhood on a Sunday, but said the city had dispatched crews within an hour. She praised their haste in resolving the issue.
* The council welcomed Alderman Lackey Moody, who attended his first meeting as a council member. He represents Ward 4, Position 2, previously held by Chris Poole, who moved outside the city limits.
The council also welcomed new City Clerk Jessica Davis, who took over when Denise Johnston retired, and Bryce Cash from IT, who has accepted the duty of videoing council meetings after the retirement of Utilities Manager Nick Baxter, who had performed the job for several years.
* During citizen comments, James Scales presented a video of recent works throughout the city and said he is hoping to create some public service announcements that would share information about Batesville.
Alderwoman Julie Hinkle was absent.
Featured image: Gena Tate, White River Now
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