After the Labor Day break, Eureka Springs City Council reconvened for a regular meeting on Monday, Sept. 14, covering several topics and tying loose ends. Alderman Steve Holifield was absent with notice.
In public comments, Devin Henderson of the Chamber of Commerce gave an update on the entertainment district trial. “Based on the most recent information we’ve received from the city, there have been no major incidents or significant concerns associated with the district,” he stated, explaining that the primary concerns came from businesses excluded from the district.
“For that reason, we respectfully ask that the Chamber be given an opportunity to present a proposal to temporarily expand the trial boundaries from roughly Red Pizzeria to Rogue’s Manor – this would be before any permanent decisions are made,” Henderson said.
- Resident Jim Smith, who described having experience in grant writing for municipalities, recommended exhausting all possible grant opportunities before adding a sales tax – including federal, state, corporate giving, and private foundations.
“And we should solidify a commitment to that end,” Smith said, “by the administration, and all future administrations, by passing an ordinance detailing this proposed process.
“We forget that every corporation in the United States has a corporate giving mark. There are private foundations that have a ton of money that they give to municipalities or nonprofits,” Smith said. “I think we need relief, to think outside of the box, and we need to secure money from alternative sources.”
- In water and sewer updates, Alderman Terry McClung asked Public Works Director Simon Wiley about the leak at Gotahold Brewery. “Is it their side of the meter or you don’t know?” McClung asked. Wiley said the meter readings had not been reported to him, and that he believed there was an unmapped, abandoned water line under the Rowdy Beaver Restaurant causing the leak.
Alderman Rachael Moyer asked Wiley for clarification. “If the leak at Gotahold is a service line, does that mean that’s water we’re paying for?” “Yes,” Wiley replied. “If it doesn’t go through a meter we pay for it.”
Aldermen inquired what Wiley’s plan was to address the problem at Gotahold. Wiley explained that he was looking into leak detection services and equipment, but that the cost of a leak detection service, city-wide, could cost around $30,000.
Jack Moyer chimed in representing the Chamber’s Economic Development Committee, presenting a graph which estimated approximately $200,000 a year in water that the city is purchasing and not returning revenue on. Moyer suggested City Finance Director Michael Akins could easily assist Wiley in providing council with a rolling trend analysis to track water operations. Moyer said the last leak detection service sent leak trends down, making it worth the investment.
Wiley told aldermen that he did not have staff to operate the GIS mapping equipment all hours of the day, and the only leak detectors they owned were essentially “electronic stethoscopes.”
Mayor Butch Berry suggested that a water trend analysis would work differently from a business trend analysis. “Some months we have bad water leaks.”
“That’s why you extend your collection period to 24 months, to flatten the curve, but the reality is that you will see the leak, and you will see the repair. And if you don’t see the repair, then there’s sort of an issue there,” Moyer responded. “You potentially could save another 15 percent on water leaks. And you’re talking about six figures. The important message to the community is ‘we find the water leaks. We fix them. And we pass the savings onto the individual meters.’”
Council directed Wiley to investigate pricing for leak detection services and equipment. If a leak detection service is secured by October, they could have the leak at Gotahold fixed by the end of October.
- Rachael Moyer provided a final report on the Low-to-Moderate Income Survey. The LMI survey included three questions to help gauge citizens’ willingness to support the one percent sales tax. Of the 27 percent who chose to respond to those questions, 47 percent supported the bond issues, but nearly half of those did not support the one percent sales tax.
“There’s a fundamental misunderstanding about how the sales tax and bond issues are related. I think that points out the direction that we can take for further education,” she said.
- After meetings with the Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District about Community Block Grant opportunities, it was determined that the city did not have ready plans to apply. Another funding opportunity, unrelated to the LMI survey, with The Cup of Love also came up and was unsuccessful.
“While both of these situations are not catastrophic – extremely unfortunate.” Moyer said. “I think that they really plainly illustrate how Eureka lacks the planning needed to really successfully compete for these funding opportunities, even when we’re qualified.”
In closing comments, Moyer reiterated the need for visioning and long-range planning, citing a memo she shared with the mayor and council in October 2025 identifying gaps in the city’s master plan – which still exist. For the record, Moyer stated that she is in support of the following initiatives: to review land use and assess economic opportunity in our community, a housing needs assessment, development and publication of a public facilities and infrastructure assessment and plan, public facilities capital improvement plan, and action plan.
Berry thanked Moyer, “our statistician,” and the Chamber of Commerce for conducting the LMI survey but emphasized that qualification does not guarantee the city would be awarded a grant, and plans must be engineered, which is costly.
Other Business:
- Vacancies on Planning, CAPC, and Cemetery Commissions.
- A resident sent a written request for the mayor to wish her mother a happy birthday on her 102nd trip around the sun. Ms. Norma Jean was sung happy birthday by the entire council.
- Council voted unanimously to purchase Lot 10, Block 10 for $1,750 from Yellow Brick Road Trust.
- Resolution No. 914, establishing a temporary entertainment district for the Eureka Springs Rotary Club’s Oktoberfest was read by title only and approved.
- Ordinance No. 2390, levying a tax on all real and personal property in Eureka Springs was given three readings and passed unanimously.
- The 2025 clean-up budget was approved, establishing Resolution 915.
- City Finance Director Michael Akins gave explanation for a new state-wide mandatory treasurer training. Akins told council he had completed the training, which had to be done by Dec. 31 to avoid penalty. When asked if he’d learned anything new, Akins described the course as a re-education of important dates and fiscal deadlines for municipalities. He is having the other employees in his department complete the training as well, though it is not required.
- Council voted to accept a bid from LA Davis Construction to do the Black Bass Dam repair for $736,744.
- Alderman Harry Meyer addressed the issue of rough, unpaved roads within the city. Wiley said that he had applied for a state-aid grant back in 2025 but had not received an answer. When Black Bass Dam repairs are completed (2027-28), a company will be hired to place overlay on Oil Springs Rd. and the intention is to piggyback off that project to take care of other roads in town, keeping mobilization fees low. Meanwhile, Public Works will work on patching and grading.
Berry asked Wiley to create a list of streets needing overlay to prepare for the state-aid grant response.
- Moyer asked that commissions give quarterly reporting (written recording, along with verbal reports preferably) that include current financials, planned capital projects, outside funding sources and grants that have been applied for, condition and use of assets, and ongoing needs. Berry asked her to send him a list for him to communicate with chairs and directors.
- Alderman David Avanzino said that Jeep Jam was great for business, but the traffic during the parade was a problem.