City Public Works Director Simon Wiley provided updates at the city council meeting Monday evening, saying he had met with McClelland Engineering that day to review solids’ handling. Such issues, Wiley explained, have arisen due to compost facility capacity and the state’s unwillingness to renew the composting permit.
“Right now, we haul from the Public Works yard via dump-truck, which dumps into a roll-off dumpster, which is picked up by Carroll County Solid Waste, and CARDS [waste management service] is contracted by Carroll County Solid Waste to haul it to Danville, Arkansas, to a landfill.”
Currently the state is requiring that Public Works increase the capacity of the compost facility to store six months’ worth of sludge. “Due to the topographical nature our area, it is virtually impossible to have a facility that big in Eureka Springs,” Wiley said. Meanwhile, the city will continue to work with McClelland to explore solutions for the sludge processing building and see “what modifications we can make to place a dumpster at the wastewater treatment plant.”
More information will be available at the next workshop on Monday, April 21 at 11 a.m. Additionally, Wiley said that during last week’s recorded 8.4 inches of rain, five million gallons of water ran through the plant on Saturday and Sunday alone without any major issue.
Alderman David Avanzino raised concerns about debris and blockage underneath the bridge at the intersection of Magnetic and Main, requesting more routine maintenance. Then, he moved to updates on the Tushy Festival.
Avanzino said he has spoken with the marketing liaison of Tushy, a company that manufactures bidets. He relayed that the creative team at Tushy expressed excitement in collaborating on the event. The idea is to throw a large event in Basin Park intended to educate, raise awareness, and help improve the city’s water system and infrastructure. The event will be the first of its kind, not just for Eureka Springs, but for Tushy, too. The idea sparked from the imminent and costly overhaul of the city’s water and sewage processing plant.
On to the hospital
Aldermen discussed the prospects of future hospital management following the April 7 hospital workshop, and commission Chair Sandy Martin was present to answer questions. Alderman Susane Gruning impressed due diligence on all avenues to see what’s best for the city vs. the possibility of being “pacified” as the hospital commission forges ahead in hiring a new CEO.
Alderman Steve Holifield iterated his wish for transparency in hospital commission meetings, to which Mayor Butch Berry said he believes the commission will begin meeting in the Auditorium. Avanzino divulged an insight that Mercy Health System has interest in taking over ESH, and that e-mails were being exchanged with Jason Wildeman, VP of outpatient services for Mercy NWA. When Berry asked how Avanzino acquired this information, Avanzino said he was “not willing to disclose that at this point.”
Martin told council that the hospital felt obligated first and foremost to Dr. House as “he submitted his interest awhile back.”
Martin confirmed that a lab fridge had been down due to a lightning strike but had been fixed. Martin said that the lab is running, and only on blood divert, so patients in need of blood transfusions and certain traumatic emergencies are sent elsewhere. Martin reported the hospital now has four Registered Practical Nurses, one full-time tech, a lab director in the process of concluding certification, a pathologist, and a lab manager. Martin says they are down one tech.
Avanzino asked Martin if what ESH is offering is essentially Urgent Care. “It’s a giant emergency room,” Martin said. Rumors that radiology is also on divert were confirmed by Martin, but she said it is only temporary due to radiology staff having unexpected obligations elsewhere.
Alderman Rachael Moyer presented financial research rendered from information requested and received from the hospital. Moyer explained that she entered the data into Excel worksheets, creating a 12-month rolling data analysis. She showed that expenses are up, particularly related to staffing, while revenues are going down.
According to the last six months of data, her calculations projected the hospital could lose up to $500,000 by the end of the year. Moyer said she has a master’s degree in statistics and analytics but claims no expertise in accounting. Therefore, she suggested an independent audit of hospital finances.
Berry noted that the audit is done by Forbes. Moyer affirmed, “And I understand what those audits are looking for. I’m asking for something different. I’m asking for an accountant – for someone who works in finance, to look at what’s happening right now and do forecasting to see what’s going to happen in the future. She questioned whether or not “the full commission is aware of the financial situation.”
Martin responded saying they are “very aware” of the financial situation and tried to account for disparities in the budget. “We are going to be taking a couple more hits on some major expenses like we did last month,” Martin said. “We had to buy about $320,000 worth of technical equipment… we have some significant bills coming in that we anticipated that are gonna hit now…”
She acknowledged that the budget was built in anticipation of a different reality – one without the lag in services leading to diversions, and lack of community confidence. “We know that we have to revise the budget and be more conservative with it.”
When asked what is going to change this trajectory, Martin said they hope to stabilize all departments, to build outpatient services through Telehealth, and rebuild confidence and trust. “We are a lot more stable than we were six months ago,” she said, to which Moyer replied, “I would argue that the finances say something different in the last six months.”
Alderman Harry Meyer closed by circling back to the revolving door of hospital staff. Berry said Telehealth would have a “large impact” on the hospital regarding revenue, and suggested council defer further discussion until the hospital financial workshop. Alderman Terry McClung agreed “as long as it happens sooner than later.”
Avanzino brought up discussion of reducing financial penalties on utilities for seniors and those living below the poverty line. McClung recalled, “we did that during Covid.”
Aldermen thanked preservation expert Bob Yapp and volunteers for restoration work being done inside the Auditorium.
Aldermen also gave kudos to the City Advertising and Promotion Commission and those involved with producing the Eureka Springs Music Awards, despite most of them having missed the black tie memo and showing up in overalls.
Just to be clear: A pathologist doesn’t typically care for patients but analyzes tissue & fluids for disease. And a “registered practical nurse” is not the same as an “RN”, who usually has a BSN and supervises an LPN (licensed practical nurse). Does the Eureka Springs hospital also have registered nurses to supervise the practical nurses or does the current CF0 high school graduate do that? And, why have a pathologist on board?