Eureka Springs City Council endured a year of discord, quibbling and turnover, but identified a new site for city government meetings, passed legislation for paying down the city’s indebtedness, and provided for adequate care for animals.
January
- Melissa Greene was voted to fill the seat declared vacant in the wake of alderman Peg Adamson’s resignation. Alderman Mickey Schneider left the room in protest of voting procedure.
- Council had ended 2017 considering negotiating with the Community Center Foundation for a space for city government meetings. Mayor Butch Berry said City Attorney Tim Weaver was preparing a draft lease agreement, but alderman David Mitchell wanted council to perform “extreme due diligence” regarding the finances, lease with the school district, and other considerations related to CCF, so he moved to suspend all engagement and the motion carried, 4 to 1.
- Council decided to move toward renovating 25 Norris, a city-owned property, as a possible meeting site.
- New budget included $50,000 for a generator for the sewer treatment plant to use to save the city money during peak electricity usage periods in summer. Also included was $30,000 for Building Inspector Bobby Ray to use for rehabbing properties in violation of the Clean City Ordinance.
- Council moved to discontinue live broadcasting of meetings because of cost. They reversed the decision at the next meeting after a hue and cry from the public. Further clarification came in February, and broadcasting and recording continued as before.
February
- Council reconsidered the decision to move its meetings to 25 Norris Street.
* Alderman Kristi Kendrick expressed concerns over the Parks Commission redirecting grant funds from one site to another, as council had passed a resolution supporting the original intent of the grant. She moved that an ordinance to be drafted preventing such diversions.
- Much consternation was aired by the public about the downhill mountain bike trails being built at Lake Leatherwood City Park. Issues included the hasty process of the agreement made by Parks Director Justin Huss with the Walton Family Foundation, the lack of public input, and the possible impact to the park.
- Council argued about but approved a land purchase by Hospital Commission.
- An ordinance for stipulating how the city would pay down bonded indebtedness was met with contention and ultimately deferred for revisions.
March
- On March 12 citizens packed the Auditorium lobby, even standing on the stairs, because of the downhill trails controversy. Huss acknowledged the project had proceeded at “an unparalleled pace,” but explained how the deal came about, who was involved, and reasons for the hasty agreement. Huss maintained environmental concerns were paramount and predicted the bike trails would be a financial boon. Speaker after speaker pointed out potential benefits of the project. Mitchell moved to have a resolution drafted acknowledging the WFF for the donation. Disagreement arose about whether this letter was an endorsement. The gift was acknowledged and the project endorsed to great applause.
- Council denied the application to operate a new taxi service in town.
- Kendrick said Parks was acting beyond its scope and authority, and challenged the enabling ballot approved by voters and the process for appropriating the funds. Council asked for an opinion from the Municipal League.
- Council voted to allow Huss to develop a Memorandum of Understanding regarding Parks using the new greenhouse at the Community Center.
- At a workshop for considering where to have city meetings, disagreement reigned over what they were or were not supposed to discuss. At the point of canceling the workshop, the idea popped up to visit the basement of the Auditorium as an option. It became the new first choice as the future site for meeting, just needing some fixing up and an elevator.
- The city paid off the bond for the Police Department building two years early.
- The project to repair the tunnel under Flint Street began.
April
- Huss gave council an update on activities at LLCP including the fact Parks had joined with nearby cities to be designated an International Mountain Biking Association Ride Center. Kendrick asked questions about the land deal and noted Huss had moved forward with regional agreements before council was even sure of the legalities of the trails project.
- A resolution correcting a scrivener’s error on ballot title for the Lake Leatherwood tax was approved.
- Mitchell moved to have an ordinance drafted which would phase out the use of plastic bags in town. Not everyone agreed, but the vote prevailed for Weaver to prepare a draft ordinance.
- A resolution to apply for a Transportation Alternative Program grant for a sidewalk from the top of Planer Hill to the Community Center was approved.
May
- Clark said he had corrected an error in the amortization schedule attached to proposed Ord. 2265, which stipulated how the Infrastructure Improvement funds would be spent, and council passed the final reading.
- Tim Weaver stated the vote by council to allow Huss to develop an MOU for Parks to work in the Community Center negated the motion made by Mitchell during the Jan. 8 meeting, but a vote to override Mitchell’s motion failed.
- Eureka Springs had become a Purple Heart City.
- At the May 29 meeting, Mitchell moved to dissolve the Parks Commission, quickly seconded by Kendrick. There was a vigorous debate but the vote to approve the motion got only two votes.
June
- Planning’s request for a six-month moratorium on issuing Conditional Use Permits for Bed & Breakfasts in the R-1 and R-2 zones was denied.
- Because of an old ordinance, the city had to pay half of the cost for the repair of the rock wall on Ellis Grade.
- Mitchell announced he would not run again.
- CCF President Diane Murphy and CPA Rusty Windle responded to requests from council about the finances of CCF. Murphy commented the request from council was far outside its purview, but she responded as a courtesy. Windle noted he had done financial reviews for CCF every year so far and had found everything accounted for properly and board members were not paid.
- Weaver presented five proposed ordinances he had crafted out of recommendations made by Planning for updates to Code. Two were approved on the first reading and three were deferred to the next meeting.
- Despite more disputation, council voted 4-2 to make no change in the way city hall handled the Parks tax.
- Public Works Director Dwayne Allen asked for $25,000 to perform an audit of the water delivery system to identify leaks. The work would be paid from I&I funds, so Berry had authority to approve the agreement.
July
- Mitchell announced his resignation.
- The public had plenty to say about proposed ordinances regarding Bed & Breakfasts and CUPs. One ordinance was deferred on its third reading, two failed outright, and another passed its third reading.
- Because of the reports from Murphy and Windle, council rescinded the vote approving the Jan. 8 motion to suspend all further engagement with CCF.
August
- Planning commissioner Tom Buford was seated to fill the vacancy left by Mitchell.
- The ordinance clarifying which ordinances would require a public hearing passed its third reading.
- Resolution 731, accepting land donated by the WFF as part of the trails project, was approved.
- The Flint Street project was completed, funded by a $200,000 Community Development Block Grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
September
- Council approved a resolution authorizing Berry to apply for a grant to repair the dam at Black Bass Lake.
- Council approved appeals for two applications for CUPs, which Planning had denied.
- Schneider presented her work on amending the Animal Ordinance. Greene had a different interpretation of points about the size of enclosures, and in the end, aldermen voted to send Greene’s version to Weaver for preparing an ordinance.
October
- The pursuit to amend the Dog Ordinance logically led to pot-bellied pigs. Schneider suggested phasing them out by capping the limit to the number in town at that time, but Terry McClung warned council, “If the city has mini-pigs, will it allow mini-goats and mini-horses?” Nevertheless, council with the fourth approving vote from Berry gave Weaver the task of drafting an ordinance setting the sunset date of December 31, 2030, for allowing pet pigs in town, and Schneider’s six guidelines for caring for mini-pigs were to be included.
- Council decided against putting on the ballot whether to allow any further CUPs in residential zones.
- Clark presented a spreadsheet showing the city had at the end of September $823,036 “in the bank” which he compared to the December 2015 amount of $147,003.
- Kristi Kendrick announced her resignation.
November
- Food truck lottery winners were the Travis Holloway parking lot on Center Street, the Basin Park Hotel parking lot on North Main, Kim Yonke and Kendra Hughes for Hobbies and Homestead, and Dana and Jolene Lyon for Center Stage.
- Allen announced the recent water system audit identified two major leaks that his crews repaired which have already paid for themselves.
- Berry was re-elected mayor and council will consist of Bob Thomas, Mickey Schneider, Melissa Greene, Susan Harman, Harry Meyer and Terry McClung.
- William Reed told council he had been selected for the food truck lottery the first two years and had invested in a food truck and preparing a site beside his business. He was not selected this time. He asked council to amend or scrap the food truck ordinance. McClung suggested Reed establish a permanent business at the site instead.
- Berry presented an ordinance that would enable the city to get repaid for expenses incurred responding to violations of the Clean City Ordinance.
- In his quarterly report, Huss listed activities at LLCP included K-9 training and SORT training exercises.
December
- Council accepted the donation of two lots to the city. The property abuts the back of the Transit Department property.
- The first reading of an ordinance allowing the city to get repaid for mitigation or rehabilitation of properties violating the Clean City Ordinance was approved.