A second Town Hall discussing the proposed one percent sales tax was held at the Eureka Springs Auditorium on Sept. 24. Mayor Butch Berry introduced Shannon Jones and Daniel Barnes, members of McClelland Consulting Engineering, and Stewart Nance, who served as a moderator. Public Works Director Simon Wiley and City Finance Director Michael Akins were also present.
“As most of you know, we’re not like a normal town of 2,000 people,” Berry began. “We have somewhere between a half a million and a million visitors who come to town every year. That places a burden on our infrastructure and also uses the majority of our water and sewer. This sales tax helps spread that cost out.”
Akins gave an overview of related financials, explaining that the city has obtained two separate loans from the Arkansas Natural Resource Division. The first was a $100,000 emergency loan to be used for water repairs. The second is the $6 million for improvements on the wastewater treatment plant. With a three percent fee, the loan totals at $6,180,000; with estimated payments at about $489,000 a year. The Infrastructure & Improvement fee, what the city has used for major repairs in recent years, brings in about $223,000. Should the sales tax pass in November, collection would begin in January 2027, bonds would be issued, and projects would begin in March at the earliest.
Wiley showed slides and explained the steps between financing and construction. The first step is to select the project and complete the associated engineering and surveying. Next, plans must be submitted for state approval and then placed out for bidding, a 30-day process. Once the bidding process is complete, the project is presented to council for bidding approval and award before construction begins. “We’ll make a public announcement and release information regarding the projects that are being performed at that time,” Wiley said. “I will definitely keep everybody in the loop about what’s going on and what to expect, to the best of my ability.”
Wiley’s slides showed a graph of water loss since 2020. In 2022, a company was hired to detect leaks as water loss had peaked at 60 percent. Water loss was significantly reduced following the leak detection service but is on the rise again. “You have to remember we have an aging system, you patch a hole and it ends up finding the next weakest spot,” said Wiley, stating that the American Water Works Association recommends a service life of 40-50 years, which we have far exceeded.
A map outlining the main problem areas, produced by McClelland, pointed to excessive leak issues all the way down Van Buren. The Black Bass water line that leads to the 1894 water tower, was placed originally in 1894.
Wiley described the needs of the water and sewer systems, including regular upkeep required on lift stations, and replacing clay lines across the city.
The first project to be addressed are the city’s water towers, starting with the 1894 tower, which is currently shut down. Wiley said the project is ready to go, and they already have bids on it. Priority two is to begin replacement of shorter sections of water and sewer lines, as smaller sections take less time to engineer and get approval from the state. The final priority is to expand the wastewater system, installing a lift station on Lake Lucerne Rd. and extending sewer lines on Passion Play Rd.
Alderman Terry McClung noted the city would not begin paying interest on the bond until the money is actually borrowed; the debt would incur incrementally as individual projects move forward and funding is needed.
Alderman Harry Meyer pointed to mistakes made in prior administrations but said, “Now, I think we’ve got it going the right direction. We know we have leaks; we don’t need statistics, we know we have to find those leaks. We don’t know where all the water lines are because it was never mapped. If it was mapped, the map was lost. We’re on track to fix these things, we just need the money and the expertise to keep going.”
Kimberly Clark, resident of Pivot Rock Rd., said that she has been involved with water issues in Eureka since 1976. Without the intention of faulting anyone, Clark said, “it’s time for a major, major shift. To look at what the karst and earth are trying to show us, how it’s trying to show us, and go from there.”
Another resident asked if we are simply fixing what we have now, or if we are looking into the future; looking closely at the city’s geography and how shifts in topography may affect systems. Nance, the moderator with 17 years of experience in the industry, responded that the water and wastewater infrastructure rehabilitation industry has come “light years.”
“My experience is that you’re going to get better than new. You can’t change the topography, all you can do is put in new technology that accommodates and works with the topography and the karst,” Nance said. He explained that by stopping corroded pipes from pulling dirt and rocks into the sewer system, you stop the process of inflow and infiltration, which also helps the topography.
Wiley added that new pipes would be adequately bedded so they are more adaptable as earth shifts occur and will eventually reduce the volume of water coming through the treatment plant, saving on city water purchases.
Berry recalled efforts 20 years prior to restore potability to Basin Spring and others, but state law declares that a spring cannot be potable if there is a sewer line within 300 ft. “I was born and raised here, and my grandmother used to go across the street to the Basin Park and get water. My other grandparents would go to Onyx Spring and sit around and talk and get water. I’m very familiar with the importance of the spring water. When we fix our sewer lines, it probably won’t help the springs become potable, but it will certainly help the environment,” Berry said.
The city has loaned approximately $1.5 million to Public Works over recent years for necessary repairs. The Infrastructure & Improvement fund generates around $220,000 a year. Should the tax pass, the I&I fee will be eliminated from residents’ water bills. If it doesn’t pass, officials say the town would continue facing the same funding challenges.
“This is not an uncommon problem anywhere you go,” Barnes added. “This is needed. This is the best way to go. This is what we typically recommend, is a sales-tax bond-issue. It’s on your own time and others help pay for it.
“That’s the critical thing to think of, because remember – your water and sewer systems are regulated by the Arkansas Department of Health and the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality. If you do this now, you can do it on your time. If it continues to fail, you get to do it on the regulatory agency’s timeline and then you’re subject to the funding that’s available at the time, or the interest rate at the time. It’s always best to have this proactive approach.”