City council convened at 4:30 Monday to compare options for relocating city meetings. Mayoral Assistant Kim Stryker had prepared three charts – one each for the Auditorium, the Norris Street site, and the downtown fire station – with categories under each where pros and cons would be noted.
Alderman Bob Thomas said he thought there would be only two properties discussed and compared. The motion for the workshop mentioned two sites and the agenda for meeting stated “Outcome for the workshop on Norris St. and City Auditorium for meetings.” He said other citizens might have attended if they had known there would be three options.
Mayor Butch Berry said he felt they needed to talk about all city-owned properties, plus it was a workshop, not a meeting, so there was room for open discussion.
Citizen Michael Shah said he thought the Community Center might be one of the options, and since it was not, he and his wife Faith excused themselves.
Thomas again was concerned about lack of clarity of what was being discussed, and Berry said, “If we’re going to get bogged down, I’m okay canceling this workshop,” and focus returned. Alderman Terry McClung asked if the conversation was about the Auditorium lobby or the Auditorium itself, and Thomas implored flexibility, at which time Berry mentioned the downstairs space known as the Gem.
Alderman Melissa Greene said they could sell the Norris Street site and use the money to fix up the Auditorium to suit their needs, and alderman David Mitchell agreed the city had not done well as a landlord over the years, so selling Norris Street or leasing it to Eureka Springs Hospital would remove it from their maintenance list, and the focus would return to the Auditorium.
Berry pointed out the city will be paying off the Police Department loan soon, and the city could refinance to get funds for refurbishing the downstairs, citing it would need an elevator, at which point aldermen took a 30-minute field trip downstairs. Berry pointed out where the elevator would be, and twos and threes wandered about inspecting the room. Once they reassembled, it was unanimous the Auditorium basement had become the best choice for city meetings if finances could be arranged to first install an elevator and a unisex handicapped accessible bathroom. Other amenities could come later.
When the item came up on the regular meeting agenda, aldermen voted unanimously for the mayor to provide them with an assessment of what it would cost to renovate the Gem to accommodate city meetings, and then voted for Berry to provide them with options for making the Norris Street site an income-producing property.
Final items
- Council voted to seat Beverly Abbey to the Planning Commission.
- The second reading of Ord. 2264, which clarifies “the use of funds received for grants approved by or applied for under city council authority” was approved unanimously.
- Berry announced the Hospital Commission and Cemetery Commission each have a vacancy.
- During council comments, both Greene and Mitchell urged the Parks Commission to rotate the position of chair more often.
Next meeting will be Monday, March 26, at 6 p.m. There will be a budget workshop at 5:15.