Eureka Springs City Council held its first socially distanced meeting during the covid-19 pandemic utilizing live video streaming, allowing no audience inside the chambers, and accepting no public comments. Two aldermen joined the meeting remotely, while the remainder sat apart wearing masks and gloves. “It’s a scary time because we don’t know what the future is going to hold,” Mayor Butch Berry said.
Two agenda items brought to the table were deferred: Discussion of all commission meetings and workshops at the Auditorium, and discussion of the City Employee Handbook.
Berry’s three agenda items were addressed, and council unanimously approved each. The first resolution approved the Eureka Springs Transit System, Res. 775 pursuant to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin.
The second, Res.776, authorized temporary suspension of the collection of certain fees specific to the infrastructure and improvement of water usage during the covid-19 pandemic. Collection of these I&I fees within the portion of the city water bill will be suspended for the months of April, May, June, July, August and September 2020.
The resolution was placed into effect immediately as council enacted the emergency clause “because of the current economic crisis caused by the covid-19 pandemic, an emergency is hereby declared to exit; and it is hereby found that suspension of collection is necessary for the preservation of public peace, health, safety and continuance of public services.”
Res. 777 was the final resolution which authorized city administration to temporarily suspend previously approved accelerated bond payments for three months due to the pandemic.
There were no agenda items discussed for the next meeting but the Mayor did suggest that the meeting will be conducted in the same manner of closed chambers, video streaming, and social distancing. The Mayor said the worst thing we can do is relax our standards and open businesses too soon. “Our lives and our health are most important,” the mayor said.
The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 27, 6 p.m. with a 5:15 budget workshop beforehand