Dover City Council
Minutes March 17, 2026
The City of Dover in Pope County, State of Arkansas, met in regular session March 17, 2026, 6 p.m. at the Dover City Hall. The following were present: Mayor Roger Lee presiding and the following Council Members: Russell Warhurst, Carl Wetzel, Brent Hottinger, Connie Ragsdale, Jonathan Isaac, and Attorney Jacob Phillips.
Absent: Fred Standridge
Prayer: Mayor Roger Lee.
Pledge of Allegiance: Connie Ragsdale.
Roll Call: Recorder Renee Nelson
Minutes of February 17, 2026, meeting were reviewed and there being no corrections, Council Member Warhurst made a motion to approve the minutes. Council Member Hottinger 2nd. A voice vote. Yeas:5. Nays: 0. Motion carried.
Monthly bills were received and signed. Council Member Ragsdale made a motion to approve payment of bills. Council Member Isaac 2nd. A voice vote. Yeas:5. Nays: 0. Motion carried.
Mayor Lee reviewed the financials and the balance sheet.
Park repairs have been completed.
Melissa Sanders presented the library report.
They had 1131 visitors for February. 10 new cards were issued. On February 20,2026, they had 31 visitors for a bingo game. Building was full and they will have to register for bingo in the future so they will have enough room. Spring Break activities: Monday-Movie Marathon, 1-5 pm., Tuesday-Chess Tournament for ages 9-18, 1-3 pm., Wednesday-Children Author for book reading, 10 am., Thursday-Morning-Adult Craft Club, Afternoon-Castle Building Contest, Friday-Teen-Adult Journaling, 4 pm.
Ron Walker presented the planning commission report.
The planning commission changed their next meeting to April 9, 2026, at Dover City Hall, at 6 pm. This will be a hearing for alley closings along with the regular meeting. City Council will also have one on April 21, 2026, at Dover City Hall at 6 pm.
1)REQUEST FROM MARION HELTON TO CLOSE A 16.5 FT WIDE BY 112.65 LONG ALLEY NORTH OF LOT 29 BLOCK F TOWN OF DOVER, RUNNING WEST FROM HILL ST.
2)REQUEST FROM ALEX PIPKIN TO CLOSE 16.5 WIDE BY 110 FT LONG ALLEY SOUTH OF LOT 29 BLOCK F TOWN OF DOVER, RUNNING WEST FROM HILL ST.
3)REQUEST FROM CITY OF DOVER TO CLOSE A 16.5 WIDE BY 118.35 LONG ALLEY, NORTH OF LOT 29 BLOCK F TOWN OF DOVER. STARTING AT THE NW CORNER OF LOT 29 THEN NORTH 16.5 FT. THEN EAST 118.35 FT
Mr. Walker reported several people have acquired permits for building and remodeling: two on Sr. 164, one on Hwy 7. He had contacted McDonalds about their project, but nothing has been settled on yet.
Kyle Lynch spoke to the council about changing the spelling on Josaphene St. the mayor said they would contact 911 to see what procedures need to be done to proceed with the spelling change, Josephene. The council made a motion to change the spelling to the original old town map spelling, Josephene, if 911 informed the city it was acceptable to do so. Council Member Isaac 2nd. A voice vote. Yeas:5. Nays:0. Motion carried.
J.J. White presented the utility report.
Water Dept.
- Repaired three-meter sets
- Repaired backflow preventer at ballpark
- Stripped old meters for scrap
- Built gantry for the shop
Sewer Dept.
- Repaired three manholes
- Cleaned yard where sewer repair was made
- Cleared drain at city hall
- Sewer filming
Street Dept.
- Replaced trash cans at city park
- Hauled away scrap from ballpark
- Repaired ballpark fence
- Repaired awning at city park
- Clean and replace street signs
- Maintenance on mowers
- Edge sidewalks and city hall
- Mowing
- Limb clean-up
Council Member Isaac presented the fire report.
He reports a quiet month, 9 calls, several cancelled in route, grass fire. The fire department purchased two new air monitors to detect carbon monoxide. They attended two training sessions.
Chief Titsworth presented the police report.
Total call for service; 173 for the month, consisting of traffic stops, MVC’s, citations, burglary, animal complaints, welfare concerns, disturbances, civil matters. Chief Titsworth informed the council that one of the patrol vehicles was having major issues. Pope County has a couple of older vehicles that they would release to us to use. Officer Fletcher has given notice he will be moving to Russellville. Chief Titsworth informed the council he would like to bring Officer R. Trapala from part-time to full-time. After discussion by the council, Council Member Wetzel made a motion to offer Officer Trapala a full-time position at recommended pay. Council Member Isaac 2nd. A voice vote. Yeas:5. Nays:0. Motion carried.
The police purchased one new computer and were informed by IT that it would be advisable to replace 3 others in their office.
Public Hearing Resolution 2026-2-H, A Resolution setting a public hearing for the vacating of an alley in the city of Dover, Arkansas. Council Member Hottinger made a motion to set public hearing date for the council as April 21, 2026, as per Resolution 2026-2-H. Council Member Isaac 2nd. A voice vote. Yeas:5. Nays:0. Motion carried.
Council Member Hottinger made a motion to accept Resolution 2026-3, a resolution expressing the willingness of the City of Dover to utilize federal-aid transportation alternatives program or recreational trails program funds. Council Member Warhurst 2nd. A voice vote. Yeas:5. Nays:0. Motion carried.
Council Member Hottinger made a motion to accept Resolution 2026-4, a resolution where the City of Dover wishes to apply for Great Strides/Trails for Life Grant Funds through the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism Program. Council Member Isaac 2nd. A voice vote. Yeas:5. Nays:0. Motion carried.
Council, along with the Chamber of Commerce, set a City Clean-up Day, this will include the city park and other areas of Dover. It will be on April 18, 2026, starting at 8:30 am, meeting at Dover Square.
Mayor Lee reported he had not heard back from one of the companies that had been contacted about cameras in the city. Due to the completion of the Sewer Construction Project, a single audit is required for amounts over $1,000,000. The treasurer sent out inquiries to several companies. She received 3 bids. Landmark Co., Nufer, Select Landing CPAs. She would like to go with Landmark. They can come to city hall to perform the audit, and their max price was $8500. After some discussion, the council agreed.
Mayor Lee asked the council, since the ballpark did not want the storage container behind city hall, “How would you like to proceed?”. The council advised the mayor to sell or scrap the container for whatever he thought was an acceptable amount. The mayor gave a copy of the employee organizational chart to the council and informed them HR was working on job descriptions also. The council was provided with a copy of the city’s property insurance schedule for review.
Council Member Ragsdale made a motion to adjourn. Council Member Isaac 2nd. A voice vote. Yeas:5. Nays:0. Meeting adjourned.
