Public comments that started the Eureka Springs City Council meeting July 22 were largely concerned with a permanent entertainment district. Ken Fogel and Karen Lindblad spoke against the proposal saying it would cause a myriad of problems such as drunk driving, noise, and traffic snarls. Three people had their letters read into record also speaking out against it.
Those opposed to the proposal said that the permanent district favored a single individual’s business rather than many people’s, and that it would go against a previous vote not to allow a permanent entertainment district. When council discussed the matter, several issues were found.
First, whether to allow downtown and Pine Mountain Village to have entertainment districts at the same time, which wording of the current ordinance does not allow. After talking with Police Chief Billy Floyd, aldermen were open to creating two temporary districts as long as there was some distance between them and each provided their own security.
Floyd said the police would have no issue with two districts as long as security teams worked in conjunction with police keeping them apprised of logistics, such as who would be point of contact and what plans they would be following.
Aldermen Steve Holifield and David Avanzino said they were against a permanent entertainment district but had no problem allowing for times when there might be two consecutive temporary districts. Council voted to make changes to the Temporary Entertainment District Ordinance.
Additional items
- Margo Elliot from the Purple Flower, which advocates for survivors of domestic violence in Carroll County, said that the 501 (c) 3 nonprofit, has helped more than 80 new clients find food, housing, community resources, court support, and more. She appealed for donations, grants and any support the community could give.
- Public Works Director Simon Wiley updated ongoing sewer and water difficulties, telling aldermen that a collapsed line was being fixed at the composting facility and that a blower motor had gone down. He said he is waiting for three quotes to replace it.
Mayor Butch Berry asked when they would next hear from McClelland Engineering and Wiley replied that he meets with them every two weeks.
Avanzino asked about crews he saw working on Main Street, and Wiley said that after his crew found and fixed a broken line, other problems were discovered, so excavation will start this week.
- Alderman Terry McClung asked why electronic water meters are still not working, and said he thought another company was installing them and taking care of that. Wiley responded that the company had installed most of them, but then left and didn’t come back. Public Works has been trying to manage, but with the leaks and other concerns, there had not been enough time to get caught up on the meters. He said that 11 leaks had been fixed, but there were three still needing work.
- The moratorium on applications for Bed & Breakfasts, which ends this month, and unanimously extended to December 31.
- Holifield, who is acting chair of the CAPC, shared that a petition is going around to dissolve the CAPC, and urged council to educate people that if the CAPC ceases to exist, the funds dedicated to it will not be redirected to infrastructure, as one of the petition promoters claims, and that it would have a negative impact of the city.